SkyBrief vs VFR Weather Basic
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SkyBrief
This app provides comprehensive preflight weather briefings, route planning, and weight & balance calculations for general aviation pilots. It summarizes conditions, highlights hazards, and assesses flight risks to ensure safe departures. Supports custom aircraft profiles and personal minimums.
- Weather briefings with AI summaries
- Route planning with hazard highlighting
- Weight & balance calculations
- Personal minimums and alerts
- Flight risk assessment (FRAT)
- Regional weather charts and NOTAMs
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SkyBrief — Preflight Weather Briefings for Pilots Honest, complete weather briefings you can trust before every flight. SkyBrief turns raw METAR, TAF, TFR and NOTAM data into a clear go/no-go picture — with no invented values and no guesswork. When a data source is unavailable, SkyBrief tells you plainly instead of filling the gap with made-up numbers. FREE • Live METAR & TAF for any U.S. airport, decoded into plain language • Automatic VFR / MVFR / IFR / LIFR flight category and a go/no-go read • NOTAM digest — active notices grouped by type, closures and restrictions first • Nearby stations, airport directory, and a 24-hour conditions trend • Weight & balance calculator with CG envelope • Flight logbook, currency tracker, and custom checklists • Home Screen widget — your home airport's conditions at a glance • Shareable briefing cards PRO • AI-powered plain-language briefings, with voice read-aloud • Route briefings with real FAA TFRs and true terrain profiles • Winds-aloft nav log and a best-altitude optimizer (compare time & fuel by altitude) • Live radar & satellite overlay on your route • Personal-minimums monitoring with optional push alerts • Kneeboard flight mode, W&B what-if scenarios, and PDF briefing export • Cloud-synced briefing history BUILT ON HONEST DATA Your decisions deserve honest inputs. SkyBrief shows real observations and forecasts from aviationweather.gov and the FAA — and is transparent whenever data is missing or a scan can't complete. ACCESSIBLE Full in-app text-size scaling and high-contrast, readable text in every lighting and sky condition. SkyBrief is a decision-support tool and is not a substitute for an official FAA weather briefing. Always obtain an official briefing before flight. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://skybriefapp.com/privacy.html SkyBrief Pro is an auto-renewable subscription. Monthly and annual plans are available with a 7-day free trial. Payment is charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription automatically renews unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel in your App Store account settings.
VFR Weather Basic
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VFR Weather Basic is a limited version of VFR Weather. It allows you to get the current METAR of an airport (user input of any US airport ICAO code). It will then show the latest METAR report gathered from aviationweather.gov This free version has limitations that the paid VFR Weather app does not: - Only allows METAR, no TAF or Runway information. - Only one airport vs departure, multiple en-route and destinations airports. - Show me button does not show satellite view of airport with wind sock and wind information. - Runway selection for report is disabled (does not show runway details in report page). - Winds Aloft button is disabled.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: VFR Weather Basic at none against SkyBrief's 4. VFR Weather Basic also leads on ads (none vs shown). SkyBrief's advantage is chart position (#191 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (16.4 vs 18.6). On price 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
Both are free to download. SkyBrief sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. VFR Weather Basic asks for nothing beyond the download.
| Parameter | SkyBrief | VFR Weather Basic |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (16 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 25.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 16 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days | — |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Best chart rank | #191 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 — better | 18.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 85 MB | 9 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Rohith Velmurugan | Jeff Bieren |
In-app purchases
SkyBrief
- SkyBrief Pro Monthly7 Days trial$4.991 Month
- SkyBrief Pro (Annual)7 Days trial$39.991 Year
- SkyBrief Pro Monthly$4.99
- SkyBrief Pro Annual$39.99
VFR Weather Basic
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is SkyBrief free?
Is VFR Weather Basic free?
Do SkyBrief or VFR Weather Basic have ads?
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