Comparison

iAWOS vs AlertCat

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

Head to head
About

iAWOS

Features
Read full description

iAWOS puts a realistic AWOS weather display on your screen: the same information a real controller would read out, drawn from live METAR data for over 84,000 airports. Built for VATSIM and IVAO virtual controllers and sim pilots, iAWOS gives you everything you need to run the frequency or fly the approach. Wind, QNH, visibility, cloud layers, and RVR, all decoded and ready to issue the moment you need them. WIND & RUNWAY ANALYSIS • Animated wind rose with live heading indicator • Crosswind and tailwind components for every runway end • Instant alerts when wind exceeds limits • Full runway picker across all published ends AERODROME WEATHER • Temperature, dewpoint, and QNH/QFE • Visibility in miles or metres • Cloud layers with coverage and altitude • RVR decoded for precision approaches • Weather phenomena: rain, snow, fog, mist SOURCES YOU TRUST • NOAA: official real-world METAR • VATSIM: live sim network weather • IVAO: live sim network weather • Clock-aligned refresh for current conditions 84,000 AIRPORTS • Full ICAO and IATA search • Favourites and recent history • Bundled database with conditional live updates DESIGNED FOR THE JOB • Ambient AWOS-style instrument display • Adaptive layout for iPad, Mac, and iPhone • Dark and light themes with a 24-colour palette • Haptic feedback and smooth animations • Full VoiceOver and accessibility support SUPPORTER Upgrade to Supporter to unlock custom colour themes, 6 alternative app icons, and help keep iAWOS growing. --- Designed for VATSIM, IVAO, and other flight simulation networks, and for educational use by real-world pilots. Not approved for operational real-world aviation use.

About

AlertCat

Features
Read full description

AlertCat helps you check conditions near you and across Catalonia using public information about civil protection, weather, wildfires and local resources. NEAR YOU AND ACROSS CATALONIA Check hazardous weather warnings, civil protection plan phases and the Pla Alfa fire-risk level. Search for municipalities and access local information and the sources behind each alert. WILDFIRE PREVENTION Explore a map of water points, tracks, settlements, completed and planned fuel-break strips, municipal plots and Collserola lookout towers. Combine these layers with active or stabilised fires and municipal and county boundaries. Barcelona Provincial Council’s layers cover its own territory. Measure distances and areas on the map. In Resilience, save basemaps and prevention layers for a municipality, county or selected area. Refresh each download to incorporate changes to the inventory. FIRES AND FOLLOWING Check fires reported by official sources, their progress and reported resources. Follow a fire, configure notifications and view progress on the Lock Screen on supported devices. WEATHER AND MAPS Access forecasts, rainfall, animated rain radar and wind information. Explore different basemap styles and weather and territorial layers. ENVIRONMENT AND PREVENTION Find information about river flows, reservoirs, drought, sea conditions, beaches, earthquakes, confinement areas, closed mountain areas, flood zones, defibrillators, climate shelters, air quality, and chemical hazards and warning sirens. MOUNTAINS AND WHERE AM I? Discover peaks, refuges, snow and access information in Mountain mode. With “Where am I?” you can check your coordinates and municipality, locate defibrillators and call 112. Saved maps and data help when connectivity is limited; current information and some features require an internet connection. No user account or advertising. Available in Catalan, Spanish and English. Customise the action buttons, preferences and notifications, and check source status in Settings. Data comes from services including Protecció Civil, Meteocat, Bombers, Agents Rurals, ICGC, Barcelona Provincial Council, ACA, Servei Català de Trànsit and other sources identified in the app. Prevention inventories do not guarantee real-time resource availability. AlertCat is an independent app, not an official app of the Government of Catalonia or the emergency services. It does not replace instructions from the authorities. In an emergency, call 112. Free download. Full access to AlertCat requires an annual subscription, with a 3-day free trial for eligible App Store customers. After the trial, €0.99 per year in Spain; your local price is shown before you confirm the purchase. The subscription renews automatically until cancelled through your Apple Account. Previous AlertCat purchasers keep full access without a subscription. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

iAWOS4 screens
AlertCat3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: AlertCat at every 2 days against iAWOS's every 4 weeks. AlertCat also leads on iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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

Both are free to download. iAWOS sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and AlertCat sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

iAWOS ships an update every 4 weeks, AlertCat every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 4 level
iAWOS versus AlertCat: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteriAWOSAlertCat
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 4 weeksEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size56 MB33 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWilliam BealArnau Canal

In-app purchases

1 purchases

iAWOS

One-time1
  • iAWOS Supporter$2.99
2 purchases

AlertCat

Subscriptions1
  • AlertCat Annual3 Days trial$0.991 Year
One-time1
  • AlertCat Lifetime$2.99

Questions

Is iAWOS free?
iAWOS is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is AlertCat free?
AlertCat is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do iAWOS or AlertCat have ads?
Neither iAWOS nor AlertCat shows ads.
Which is updated more often, iAWOS or AlertCat?
iAWOS ships an update every 4 weeks, and AlertCat every 2 days. Most recently, iAWOS was updated on November 5, 2026 and AlertCat on November 9, 2026.

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