Comparison

MetarBoard Wind vs Wind & Runways

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

Head to head
About

MetarBoard Wind

Features
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MetarBoard Wind brings real-time wind conditions to life with animated particle visualizations overlaid on official FAA airport diagrams. A companion app to MetarBoardPro.com, our multi-pane METAR dashboard for web and TV. Search any airport by ICAO or FAA identifier and instantly see wind direction, speed, and gusts displayed as flowing color-coded streaks. LIVE WEATHER DATA Wind observations are pulled directly from aviationweather.gov METAR reports and refresh automatically every 5 minutes. When METAR is unavailable, the app falls back to TAF forecast data or the nearest reporting station within 30 miles, so you always have the latest wind picture. CROSSWIND CALCULATOR View headwind and crosswind components for every runway end at the airport, sorted best-to-worst. Instantly identify the most favorable runway for current conditions. FAA AIRPORT DIAGRAMS Official FAA d-TPP airport diagrams are displayed as the backdrop for the wind visualization, giving you spatial context for wind direction relative to runways and taxiways. FLIGHT CATEGORIES Color-coded VFR, MVFR, IFR, and LIFR badges show ceiling and visibility conditions at a glance. METAR observation age is tracked in minutes, with stale data clearly highlighted. NEARBY AIRPORTS Allow location access to see METAR-reporting airports within 100 miles, sorted by distance. Tap any nearby airport to jump straight to its wind display. FAVORITES Star any airport for quick access. Your favorites persist across launches and appear in a collapsible panel for fast switching between airports you fly most. SMART SEARCH Type an ICAO code and get autocomplete suggestions from a bundled database of nearly 29,000 airports. FAA identifiers are accepted too — enter "T31" and it resolves to "KT31" automatically. DESIGNED FOR READABILITY Choose dark or light theme manually, or let the app switch automatically based on time of day. All UI panels collapse to keep the airport diagram front and center. The dark theme inverts diagram colors for comfortable nighttime use. WORKS EVERYWHERE Runs natively on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. No account required. No ads. NOT FOR FLIGHT PLANNING OR NAVIGATION MetarBoard Wind is for informational and educational purposes only. Weather data is sourced from the Aviation Weather Center. Airport diagrams are sourced from the FAA. This app is not affiliated with or endorsed by the FAA, NOAA, or any aviation authority. Always use official sources for flight planning decisions.

About

Wind & Runways

This app provides pilots with essential preflight information, including wind components, runway diagrams, and weather data for over 76,000 airports worldwide. It helps pilots assess conditions at both major and smaller, non-towered fields, and includes NOTAMs for operational awareness.

Highlights
  • Wind component calculations for runways
  • Visual runway diagrams with surface type
  • METAR, TAF, and NOTAM data integration
  • Map view with radar and airspace layers
  • Flight route creation and navigation log
  • Support for over 76,000 airports worldwide
  • Live observation age updates
Features
Read full description

Wind & Runways helps pilots quickly understand how the current wind lines up with the runway. It brings together METARs, runway data, TAF-based wind trends, NOTAMs, airport details, radar coverage, airspace information, and route planning in a simple view built around the decisions pilots actually make. For pilots using Stratux, Wind & Runways can also connect directly to compatible Linux-based Stratux ADS-B hardware to provide live traffic information along with cockpit instruments including an artificial horizon and compass with an adjustable heading bug. For each airport, the app calculates headwind, tailwind, and crosswind components for every runway end using the latest available weather. A visual runway diagram makes it easy to see the wind direction at a glance, and the app can suggest the best runway based on the strongest headwind component. When the wind is calm or mostly direct crosswind, it says that clearly instead of forcing a recommendation. Runway diagrams show paved runways in gray and turf or grass runways in green, making surface type easy to spot. Helipads are displayed separately with an H symbol and wind indication. The map view helps you understand the bigger picture around your route or local flying area. You can view nearby METAR stations, see where current observations are available, check radar coverage, display rendered airspace, and turn on a TFR layer directly on the map. You can also create, edit, and save flight routes by adding airports, stations, or fixes, then view a basic navigation log with leg distances and route details. This makes it easier to compare conditions across airports, spot nearby reporting stations, identify active flight restrictions, and keep weather, airspace, and route-planning awareness in one place. Wind & Runways is not limited to airports with their own weather stations. I built it specifically so pilots could check conditions at the little grass strips, private fields, and non-towered airports around them — not just the larger airports with METARs. If an airport does not report its own weather, the app finds a nearby reporting station and clearly shows where the weather is coming from, including the distance to that station. Weather data comes from NOAA’s Aviation Weather Center. Airport cards show wind, gusts, altimeter, temperature, visibility, ceiling layers, present weather, and flight category. Observation age updates live so you can quickly tell how fresh the report is. The Wind tab uses TAF data to show how wind is expected to change over the next several hours, helping you plan for a later departure or arrival. Wind & Runways includes airport and runway information for more than 76,000 airports worldwide using the OurAirports database, including many smaller strips and private fields. Name, elevation, runway data, and surface information are available even for many airports that do not report their own weather. The NOTAMs tab pulls active FAA Notices to Air Missions so you can check for runway closures, TFRs, equipment outages, and other operational items without leaving the app. You can save favorite airports, reorder them, and sync them across devices with Apple or Google sign-in. You can also use the app without an account. Recently loaded METAR, TAF, and NOTAM data remains available offline, with stale data clearly marked. Unit preferences are supported for wind speed, temperature, altimeter, and elevation. Wind & Runways is built by a pilot, for pilots — with a fast, cockpit-friendly layout focused on runway wind, airport weather, traffic awareness, airspace, route planning, and the information you want close at hand before and during a flight. Free to download. Sign in to sync favorites, or use it anonymously.

Screenshots

MetarBoard Wind2 screens
Wind & Runways4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Wind & Runways at none against MetarBoard Wind's 3. Wind & Runways also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 3 weeks) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.2). On price, ads 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. MetarBoard Wind sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Wind & Runways asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MetarBoard Wind ships an update every 3 weeks, Wind & Runways every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
MetarBoard Wind versus Wind & Runways: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMetarBoard WindWind & Runways
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.0 (2 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—2 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS26.215.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size31 MB72 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEdward JudenJeff Cardillo

In-app purchases

3 purchases

MetarBoard Wind

One-time3
  • Small Tip$0.99
  • Medium Tip$2.99
  • Large Tip$4.99
None

Wind & Runways

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is MetarBoard Wind free?
MetarBoard Wind is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Wind & Runways free?
Wind & Runways is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do MetarBoard Wind or Wind & Runways have ads?
Neither MetarBoard Wind nor Wind & Runways shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MetarBoard Wind or Wind & Runways?
MetarBoard Wind ships an update every 3 weeks, and Wind & Runways every 5 days. Most recently, MetarBoard Wind was updated on October 26, 2026 and Wind & Runways on October 25, 2026.

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