FlightDeck vs Airplanes.live
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
FlightDeck
This app provides real-time flight tracking with AI-generated insights, offering context beyond raw data. It highlights notable aircraft, weather conditions, and airport details, with customizable alerts and emergency detection.
- Real-time flight tracking map
- AI-generated flight briefs
- Notable aircraft spotting
- Weather intelligence overlays
- Detailed airport information
- Customizable flight alerts
- Emergency squawk detection
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Every plane in the sky. Every cockpit message. Every emergency, the second it happens. FlightDeck plugs into the same live feeds airlines and ATC run on and turns them into plain English. PILOT MESSAGES (ACARS) The digital messages pilots and dispatchers send worldwide, decoded live the moment they go out. Diversions, emergencies, mechanical issues, and the occasional cockpit humor. No other app shows you this. TRACK YOUR FLIGHT Follow any flight on your Lock Screen with real ATC-grade detail: IFR clearance, pushback, the exact runways it uses, even the inbound jet that becomes your flight. EVERYTHING ELSE Live weather radar, turbulence and pilot reports, D-ATIS, METARs, and plain-English NOTAMs. FAA ground stops and delays, active runways, gates, TSA waits, and approach charts. Emergency squawks are for military and government aircraft, and custom alerts you write in plain English. SUBSCRIPTION FlightDeck requires a subscription to use. We offer a weekly or yearly subscribtion. Privacy Policy: https://www.tryflightdeck.com/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.tryflightdeck.com/terms
Airplanes.live
Track live aircraft in the sky, including airliners, general aviation, helicopters, and military traffic. View detailed flight information, weather overlays, and a radar-scope view with convergence alerts. Offers a Pro version with advanced features for a fee.
- Live aircraft tracking
- Detailed flight information
- Weather radar overlay
- ATC scope mode
- Convergence alerts
- Search by callsign/registration
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See every aircraft in the sky — unfiltered. Airplanes.live is a live flight tracker powered by the community-run airplanes.live receiver network. Unlike other trackers, it shows you everything the network sees: airliners, general aviation, helicopters, and the military and privacy-flagged traffic that other apps remove. THE MAP • Live aircraft colored by altitude, with type-specific silhouettes • Tap any aircraft for photos, route, altitude, speed, and registered owner • Flight trails, search by callsign / registration / hex • Light and dark maps, all served from our own infrastructure WEATHER • Live NOAA/NWS radar overlay, animated or latest-frame • See the weather traffic is flying around, in real time ATC SCOPE MODE • A radar-scope view with data blocks — callsign, flight level, speed, type • Convergence alerts between converging aircraft • Emergency squawk (7500/7600/7700) highlighting PRO • Weather radar, advanced filters, unlimited watchlist, and alerts • Feed data to airplanes.live? Pro is free for feeders. Aircraft positions come from publicly broadcast ADS-B signals received by a volunteer community. For informational and educational use — not for navigation, separation, or safety-of-life purposes. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Terms of Service: https://airplanes.hughesit.us/terms Privacy Policy: https://airplanes.hughesit.us/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: Airplanes.live at freemium against FlightDeck's subscription. Airplanes.live also leads on ads (none vs shown) and rating (5.0 vs 4.6). FlightDeck's advantage is ratings volume (1.1K vs 1) and chart position (#31 vs unranked). On price, update cadence, 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. FlightDeck sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per 7 days and Airplanes.live sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Airplanes.live holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: FlightDeck has 1.1K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | FlightDeck | Airplanes.live |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (1.1K ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 18.9% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 1.1K — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days | Every 4 days |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Subscription | Freemium — better |
| Best chart rank | #31 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 139 MB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | JAC LLC | Blake Hughes |
Customer experience
FlightDeck
Airplanes.live
In-app purchases
FlightDeck
- FlightDeck Pro$6.997 Days
- FlightDeck Pro$12.997 Days
- FlightDeck Pro$19.991 Month
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- FlightDeck Pro$49.991 Year
- FlightDeck Pro3 Days trial$49.991 Year
- FlightDeck Pro3 Days trial$69.991 Year
Airplanes.live
- Pro Monthly$2.991 Month
- Pro Yearly$19.991 Year








