Comparison

Visibility Tool vs MetarBoard Wind

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Visibility Tool

This app transforms your phone into a weather sensor to measure local visibility for safe and legal flights. Simply point your camera at the horizon and capture a photo to get an accurate visibility metric, usable even without cell service.

Highlights
  • Measures local visibility
  • Converts phone into weather sensor
  • Works offline, no cell service needed
  • Provides visibility metric (1-10+ miles)
  • Supports drone and general aviation compliance
  • Useful for first responders and Medevac
Currently charting
Read full description

Accurately determine local visibility to ensure your flight is safe and legal by turning your mobile phone into a weather sensor. The simple point-and-click capability enables anyone globally to determine local visibility, even in flight. The technology works by pointing the mobile phone camera towards the horizon and then angling up until the view is unobstructed by buildings, trees or other foreground objects. Users take a photo in any direction they want and the technology responds with a visibility metric ranging from 1-10+ miles (1.6-16+ kilometers). Visibility Tool software is downloaded on your device. It is not cloud-based and does not require cell service. As such, drone operations can be flown weather compliantly within the national airspace from your backyard to the remotest of destinations. Similarly, pilots can use the tool at altitude where cell service is not available. More information is available at https://lowaltitudeweathernetwork.com/ Visibility tool applications include: - UAS and drone operations (Instantaneous FAA part 107.51 regulatory visibility compliance for every UAS operation) - General aviation (As part of your preflight, obtain instantaneous FAR 14 CFR section 91.155 regulatory visibility compliance for your VFR operation) - First responder and Medevac flights (This tool allows First Responders to instantly determine if Medevac can be safely initiated or alternatively, ground transport is necessary because of poor visibility) - Other use cases: Ground transportation, Maritime operations, Athletic and outdoor activities, Pulmonary and health monitoring Accurate visibility is important because low visibility is a leading cause of weather-related accidents/fatalities in General Aviation, Helicopter/Medevac, UAS and ground transportation.

About

MetarBoard Wind

Features
Read full description

MetarBoard Wind brings real-time wind conditions to life with animated particle visualizations overlaid on official FAA airport diagrams. A companion app to MetarBoardPro.com, our multi-pane METAR dashboard for web and TV. Search any airport by ICAO or FAA identifier and instantly see wind direction, speed, and gusts displayed as flowing color-coded streaks. LIVE WEATHER DATA Wind observations are pulled directly from aviationweather.gov METAR reports and refresh automatically every 5 minutes. When METAR is unavailable, the app falls back to TAF forecast data or the nearest reporting station within 30 miles, so you always have the latest wind picture. CROSSWIND CALCULATOR View headwind and crosswind components for every runway end at the airport, sorted best-to-worst. Instantly identify the most favorable runway for current conditions. FAA AIRPORT DIAGRAMS Official FAA d-TPP airport diagrams are displayed as the backdrop for the wind visualization, giving you spatial context for wind direction relative to runways and taxiways. FLIGHT CATEGORIES Color-coded VFR, MVFR, IFR, and LIFR badges show ceiling and visibility conditions at a glance. METAR observation age is tracked in minutes, with stale data clearly highlighted. NEARBY AIRPORTS Allow location access to see METAR-reporting airports within 100 miles, sorted by distance. Tap any nearby airport to jump straight to its wind display. FAVORITES Star any airport for quick access. Your favorites persist across launches and appear in a collapsible panel for fast switching between airports you fly most. SMART SEARCH Type an ICAO code and get autocomplete suggestions from a bundled database of nearly 29,000 airports. FAA identifiers are accepted too — enter "T31" and it resolves to "KT31" automatically. DESIGNED FOR READABILITY Choose dark or light theme manually, or let the app switch automatically based on time of day. All UI panels collapse to keep the airport diagram front and center. The dark theme inverts diagram colors for comfortable nighttime use. WORKS EVERYWHERE Runs natively on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. No account required. No ads. NOT FOR FLIGHT PLANNING OR NAVIGATION MetarBoard Wind is for informational and educational purposes only. Weather data is sourced from the Aviation Weather Center. Airport diagrams are sourced from the FAA. This app is not affiliated with or endorsed by the FAA, NOAA, or any aviation authority. Always use official sources for flight planning decisions.

Screenshots

Visibility Tool3 screens
MetarBoard Wind2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: MetarBoard Wind at Free against Visibility Tool's $9.99. MetarBoard Wind also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 5 months). Visibility Tool's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and chart position (#54 vs unranked). On ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

MetarBoard Wind is free to download; Visibility Tool costs $9.99 up front. MetarBoard Wind sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Visibility Tool asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Visibility Tool ships an update every 5 months, MetarBoard Wind every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Visibility Tool versus MetarBoard Wind: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVisibility ToolMetarBoard Wind
Price$9.99Free — better
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaid—
Best chart rank#54 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better26.2
Further details — not scored
Size1006 MB31 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFlightprofiler, LLCEdward Juden

In-app purchases

None

Visibility Tool

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

MetarBoard Wind

One-time3
  • Small Tip$0.99
  • Medium Tip$2.99
  • Large Tip$4.99

Questions

Is Visibility Tool free?
Visibility Tool costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is MetarBoard Wind free?
MetarBoard Wind is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Visibility Tool or MetarBoard Wind have ads?
Neither Visibility Tool nor MetarBoard Wind shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Visibility Tool or MetarBoard Wind?
Visibility Tool ships an update every 5 months, and MetarBoard Wind every 3 weeks. Most recently, Visibility Tool was updated on October 24, 2026 and MetarBoard Wind on October 16, 2026.

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