SkyBound Dashboard vs NTA SkyNav
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SkyBound Dashboard
This platform helps hot air balloon pilots and crew track flights in real time, coordinate with each other, and plan routes with integrated weather data. It also offers tools for business management, competition support, and flight logging.
- Real-time GPS flight tracking
- Crew coordination with shared maps
- Integrated weather forecasts
- Flight planning with KML/GPX import
- Competition task extraction via AI
- Automatic flight logging
- Commercial pilot business tools
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SkyBound is the all-in-one platform for hot air balloon pilots and crew. Track flights in real time with precision GPS, coordinate with your crew, plan flights with integrated weather, and manage your ballooning business — all from one app. FLIGHT TRACKING Track every flight with live GPS including altitude, speed, heading, and vertical rate. Your crew sees your position in real time and gets navigation to your landing spot. Background tracking keeps working even when the app is minimized. Pair an external GPS or Balloon Live Sensor (BLS) for competition-grade position — or use your phone's GPS, which takes over automatically if a sensor drops. CREW COORDINATION Create teams with your pilots and crew. Everyone sees live positions on a shared map during flights. No more constant calls and texts — your crew knows exactly where you are and where you're headed. Talk to crew and spotters with push-to-talk voice, and let a spotter mark your map with a laser pointer to call out targets and hazards. CARPLAY CHASE Plug into Apple CarPlay and your crewed pilots load automatically — no need to unlock your phone. Follow each pilot's color-coded live track and drift projection on your car's display, with directions to the landing spot. WEATHER INTELLIGENCE Get flight-specific weather forecasts right at your launch coordinates. View wind speed and direction at multiple altitudes, hourly breakdowns, and sunrise/sunset times. Pick the forecast model that fits your flight — ECMWF, GFS, HRRR, NBM, or RAP. Check active TFRs and NOTAMs with an interactive map. SKYCAST WIND SIMULATOR Drop a takeoff, dial in a wind profile by altitude, and fly the app manually before you ever leave the ground. SkyCast uses the real flight HUD — gauges, target cards, drift cones — so you can see how altitude choices steer you across the map. Perfect for practicing competition tasks or briefing new crew. FLIGHT PLANNING Plan routes on an interactive map with zone overlays. Import KML and GPX files for competition targets, restricted areas, and custom boundaries. Set altitude floors and ceilings with color-coded rules. COMPETITION SUPPORT Snap a photo of your task sheet and let AI extract targets, coordinates, and scoring rules. Import task sheets directly from WatchMeFly. See task overlays on your flight map in real time. Share any target with another pilot — it lands in their pre-flight, in their own UTM zone. FLIGHT LOG Every flight is automatically logged with full GPS tracks, altitude profiles, duration, and distance. Replay any flight on the map. FOR COMMERCIAL PILOTS List your business in our nationwide pilot directory. Manage bookings, track your customer pipeline, send invoices with Stripe payments, and view revenue analytics. SUBSCRIPTIONS All features require an active subscription. Flight Plan — $9.99/month or $109.99/year (auto-renewable subscription) Includes: Flight tracking, weather briefings (ECMWF / GFS / HRRR / NBM / RAP), TFR/NOTAM alerts, flight logging, crew coordination, pilot-to-pilot connections, flight groups, pilot directory access, SkyBound AI Assistant, competition task sheet analysis, SkyCast wind simulator, lift calculator, and drift planning tools. Commercial Plan — $34.99/month or $379.99/year (auto-renewable subscription) Includes everything in Flight Plan, plus: Public pilot profile on skybounddashboard.com, online booking system, customer management, invoicing with Stripe payments, revenue analytics, and priority support. Subscriptions automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Payment is charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. You can manage or cancel subscriptions in your Apple ID account settings. Terms of Use: https://www.skybounddashboard.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://www.skybounddashboard.com/privacy
NTA SkyNav
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NTA SkyNav — The professional navigation app for hot air balloon pilots Built by balloon pilots for balloon pilots. NTA SkyNav combines everything you need for your flight in a single app: precise GPS navigation, weather models, wind profile management, landing prediction and live team tracking with push-to-talk. NAVIGATION • Real-time GPS with barometric altitude and QNH from the nearest METAR station • Multiple map layers with airspace overlays and elevation data • Airspaces worldwide with ICAO classification • Obstacles: power lines and wind turbines with live warnings • Offline maps for areas without coverage • Magnetic and true north reference • Frequency display of the nearest FIS station WEATHER AND WIND • Live wind profile with multiple altitude layers • Weather models: ICON-D2, ICON-EU and ECMWF IFS • Automatic weather briefing as PDF • QNH automatically from METAR or Open-Meteo • Live weather updates for your location FLIGHT RECORDING • Automatic track with precise GPS smoothing • Auto takeoff and landing detection • Cloud sync of all flights across devices • Export as Excel • Auto-save after recording ends ADS-B RADAR • Air traffic in real time on the map • Classification by aircraft type (jet, prop, helicopter, glider, balloon) • Proximity warning for nearby aircraft LIVE TEAM TRACKING • Pilot and retrieve crew see each other in real time • Push-to-talk voice communication • Multiple crew members at once • Works over mobile data or Wi-Fi • No SIM needed — runs over the internet GAS MANAGEMENT • Consumption tracking per cylinder • Automatic switching when empty • Remaining quantity display LOAD CALCULATOR • Calculation of gross lift and MTOW • Accounts for temperature and altitude • Unlimited balloon profiles • Passenger management with individual weights GOAL NAVIGATION • Set waypoints with live distance and bearing • Landing prediction calculates the expected landing point • Accounts for current sink rate and altitude DIGITAL LOGBOOK (PRO) • capzlog.aero integration: automatically transfer balloon flights to your digital logbook • Complete logbook data: takeoff/landing, pilot, passengers, distance • Background transfer after landing EXCLUSIVE FOR PROS • Outdoor mode with adjusted contrast for sunlight • Customizable navigation fields • Various map markers and heading lines PRO SUBSCRIPTION Experience NTA SkyNav free for 7 days in full. Then 9.99 € per month or 89.99 € per year. Cancel anytime. Crew add-on available for additional retrieve slots. IMPORTANT NOTE NTA SkyNav is a navigation aid and does not replace the pilot's responsibility to navigate. The pilot remains responsible at all times for the safe operation of the balloon. CONTACT Developer: Lukas Reinberger, Austria Support: info@ntaskynav.app Privacy: https://ntaskynav.app/datenschutz.html Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: NTA SkyNav at every 2 days against SkyBound Dashboard's weekly. 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
Both are free to download. SkyBound Dashboard sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and NTA SkyNav sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
SkyBound Dashboard ships an update weekly, NTA SkyNav every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SkyBound Dashboard | NTA SkyNav |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (8 ratings) — better | — |
| Number of ratings | 8 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Subscription | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 74 MB | 58 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Luke Thompson | LUKAS REINBERGER |
In-app purchases
SkyBound Dashboard
- Flight Plan Monthly$9.991 Month
- Commercial Plan Monthly$34.991 Month
- Flight Plan Yearly$109.991 Year
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- Commercial Plan Yearly$379.991 Year
NTA SkyNav
- Crew Add-on$2.991 Month
- NTA Pro Monthly7 Days trial$8.991 Month
- NTA Pro Jahresabo (Beta)7 Days trial$44.991 Year
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- NTA Pro Yearly7 Days trial$79.991 Year
Questions
Is SkyBound Dashboard free?
Is NTA SkyNav free?
Do SkyBound Dashboard or NTA SkyNav have ads?
Which is updated more often, SkyBound Dashboard or NTA SkyNav?
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