Comparison

FlyCharts vs PilotDeck

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

Head to head
About

FlyCharts

This app provides flight simulation enthusiasts with advanced tools for planning and navigating flights. It offers realistic performance data, global charts, and live simulator tracking with a moving map for both VFR and IFR routes.

Highlights
  • Advanced flight plan generator
  • Global navigation maps and charts
  • Live simulator tracking with moving map
  • Accurate aircraft performance data
  • Realistic fuel planning
  • Seamless flight plan export
Features
Read full description

FlyCharts is a powerful yet easy-to-use flight planner and navigation app built for flight simulation. Compatible with Flight Simulator (MSFS), Prepare 3D, Aerofly FS and X-Plane, it gives sim pilots realistic flight planning tools, global aviation charts, accurate aircraft performance data, and live simulator tracking with moving map. From VFR to IFR flight planning, FlyCharts helps you to plan and flight with accuracy and confidence. Advanced Flight Planning - Flight plan generator with advanced route finder - Manually add or remove waypoints and procedures from the flight plan - 80+ aircraft available, from general aviation to airliners - Flight profile with aircraft performance-based navigation - Accurate fuel planning with realistic consumption models - Oceanic tracks (NAT & PACOTS) for long-haul - Seamless flight plan export to supported simulators Live Navigation - Global navigation maps and enroute charts - SID, STAR and approaches procedures - Detailed airport charts worldwide - Live simulator tracking with moving map - Real-time weather map overlays Coming Soon - Integrated flight logbook - More aircraft, charts, and advanced planning tool Whether you fly short VFR hops or long-haul IFR routes, FlyCharts is your all-in-one flight planning companion for flight simulation.

About

PilotDeck

Access decoded aeronautical weather, live NOTAMs, and route briefings for any airport worldwide. Receive smart push alerts for critical weather changes and enjoy a clean, flight-deck style interface. Includes aviation news, training games, and a daily cognitive check.

Highlights
  • Decoded METAR and TAF weather reports
  • Live NOTAMs and SIGMET on map
  • Full route briefing with plain-English verdict
  • Smart push alerts for weather changes
  • Aviation news feed from trusted sources
  • Daily cognitive pre-flight check
  • Training games and aviation quizzes
Features
Read full description

PilotDeck puts real aeronautical weather in your pocket — decoded METAR and TAF, live NOTAMs, SIGMET on the map, aviation news and a full route briefing for any ICAO airport in the world. Built by a pilot, for pilots, in a clean flight-deck (FMS) style. WEATHER — FREE, FOREVER • Live METAR and TAF, decoded into plain language • Hour-by-hour forecast: temperature, wind, gusts, precipitation, pressure; 7-day outlook • Weather at your exact position: a minute-by-minute rain nowcast and a 12-hour trend • Unlimited airports on your watchlist, everything cached for offline reading SMART PUSH ALERTS — THE FEATURE PILOTDECK WAS BUILT ON Follow an airport and PilotDeck watches it for you. The moment a new METAR or TAF is issued — a wind shift, a drop to IFR — a push reaches you, even with the app closed. ROUTE BRIEFING — YOUR WHOLE FLIGHT ON ONE SCREEN One tap builds a departure–destination–alternate brief, judged at your ETD and ETA: • A plain-English verdict: GOOD TO GO / CAUTION / NOT RECOMMENDED • NOTAMs sorted honestly: red only for what can stop you — runway or approach closed, minima raised, RVR out • SIGMET along your track, drawn on the map and sorted against your cruising level • Wind on the real runway layout: best threshold, crosswind and tailwind for every runway end, Vapp from your VREF • TAF timeline with LVTO, LVP and below-minima tags; take-off alternate when you may depart but could not land back • Countries overflown with entry times; re-route around any airspace in a few taps • The whole briefing as a three-page PDF to share or keep with the flight's documents Flight tracks are recorded in the background and can be merged and shared. AVIATION NEWS Twelve trusted sources in one feed, categorised, with alerts for incidents and regulation changes. Bookmark to read offline. HOME SCREEN WIDGETS Live airport weather with a colour-coded wind compass, your Daily Check streak and the latest news. DAILY CHECK — A PRE-FLIGHT FOR YOUR BRAIN A two-minute cognitive pre-flight measures reaction, memory and decision-making and gives you a FIT index for today, with an IMSAFE self-check and a 30-day trend. REFERENCE IN SIX ICAO LANGUAGES Every screen has a REF key: an illustrated explanation in English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish. TRAINING AND TOOLS • Holding Entry, Scan & Catch, Crosswind Crunch, Needle Chase — games that train real skills, with a scientific debrief • Aviation quizzes with detailed explanations • Flight-planning tools: wind and drift, top of descent, crosswind, fuel, density altitude and more PRICING — HOW IT WORKS PilotDeck is built for pilots, by pilots. Everything a pilot needs for a flight — weather, NOTAM, SIGMET, briefing and PDF, routes, alternates, tracks, news — is free and stays free. No operational feature is locked behind a paywall. What is paid is the training side: PilotDeck PRO unlocks unlimited games, the full quiz banks and the Daily Check history. That is what keeps the team going — the servers, and the data that is only sold, not given away. A number of professional feeds would make the app noticeably better: full ADS-B traffic for the flight-radar layer (today it runs on free feeds, so aircraft and flight details are incomplete), richer NOTAM and airport data, wider weather coverage and faster updates. Each is a paid subscription on our side, and every PRO plan brings them closer. PilotDeck PRO: Monthly €4.99 · Annual €39.99 (best value). Both start with a 7-day free trial. Payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless turned off at least 24 hours before the current period ends; your account is charged within 24 hours prior to the end of that period. Manage or cancel in your App Store account settings. Any unused portion of a free trial is forfeited on purchase. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ In partnership with DataFly Systems LLC.

Screenshots

FlyCharts4 screens
PilotDeck4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: FlyCharts at none against PilotDeck's 2. FlyCharts also leads on device support (4 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). PilotDeck's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 3 weeks). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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

Both are free to download. PilotDeck sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. FlyCharts asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for FlyCharts against 4.9 for PilotDeck. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7 and 7 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

FlyCharts ships an update every 3 weeks, PilotDeck every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
FlyCharts versus PilotDeck: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFlyChartsPilotDeck
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (7 ratings)4.9 (7 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings77
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB56 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAppeedFlight Service SIA

Customer experience

FlyCharts

All ratings7 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

PilotDeck

All ratings7 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

FlyCharts

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

PilotDeck

Subscriptions2
  • PilotDeck PRO (Monthly)7 Days trial$5.991 Month
  • PilotDeck PRO (Annual)7 Days trial$44.991 Year

Questions

Is FlyCharts free?
FlyCharts is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PilotDeck free?
PilotDeck is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, FlyCharts or PilotDeck?
PilotDeck is rated higher. FlyCharts averages 4.9 out of 5 from 7 ratings, while PilotDeck averages 4.9 from 7 ratings.
Do FlyCharts or PilotDeck have ads?
Neither FlyCharts nor PilotDeck shows ads.
Which is updated more often, FlyCharts or PilotDeck?
FlyCharts ships an update every 3 weeks, and PilotDeck every 4 days. Most recently, FlyCharts was updated on October 30, 2026 and PilotDeck on November 9, 2026.

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