Comparison

Takeoff Timer vs TSA Wait Times

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

Head to head
About

Takeoff Timer

This app calculates the optimal time to depart for your flight by analyzing 17 real-time factors. It provides a personalized timeline from leaving home to takeoff, ensuring you arrive at the airport with the right amount of time.

Highlights
  • Real-time factor analysis
  • Personalized departure timeline
  • Live traffic and TSA wait times
  • Smart departure notifications
  • Home screen countdown widget
  • Works with all flights
Features
Read full description

Never stress about when to leave for the airport again. Takeoff Timer turns your flight into one exact departure time — built from 17 real-time factors like live traffic, TSA waits, and how you travel. Then it keeps watching your flight and tells you the moment anything changes. NEW — FLIGHT DELAY ALERTS • We monitor your saved flights around the clock • Delayed or cancelled? A push hits your phone within minutes • Your lock-screen countdown updates automatically • You decide: keep your original plan, or shift your whole timeline to the new departure — recalculated with fresh traffic HOW IT WORKS 1. Search your route (LAX → JFK) 2. Pick your flight from real-time results 3. Get your personal timeline: leave home → drive → security → boarding → takeoff WHAT WE ANALYZE — 17 FACTORS • Live traffic on your exact route • Real-time TSA waits, direct from 18 airports' own feeds • Weather, federal holidays, and peak travel days • Airport size and terminal complexity • Checked bags, TSA PreCheck, CLEAR • Alternative flights on your airline if you miss it • Kids, elderly, or slower-moving travelers • Parking, rideshare, or transit • …and more FEATURES • Live countdown on your lock screen and home screen widget • Flight delay + cancellation alerts • Smart "time to leave" notifications • A travel profile that tunes every timeline to you • Works with all US domestic and international flights TRUSTED BY TRAVELERS 770,000+ travelers helped in the last 90 days. As featured in USA TODAY, Yahoo, MSN, and AOL. Built by a frequent flyer who was tired of guessing. Privacy Policy: https://www.takeofftimer.com/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

TSA Wait Times

Plan airport departures with security wait time estimates and a personal flight planner. Get terminal-level breakdowns, source quality, and confidence labels for US airports. Schedule reminders to check conditions before you leave.

Highlights
  • Security wait time estimates
  • Airport-published data
  • Terminal-level breakdowns
  • Personal flight planner
  • Leave time calculations
  • Favorites and reminders
Features
Read full description

TSA Wait Times helps you plan smarter airport departures with security wait estimates, source and confidence labels, favorites, reminders, and a personal flight planner. WAIT ESTIMATES WITH SOURCE LABELS Search US airports by city, code, or name. Each result shows Standard and TSA PreCheck estimates, terminal-level breakdowns where available, source quality, confidence, and when the estimate was updated. Airport-published checkpoint sources are integrated for ABE, BOS, BWI, CHS, CLE, CLT, CMH, CVG, DAL, DCA, DFW, DTW, ELP, EWR, GRR, GSP, HOU, IAD, IAH, JAX, JFK, LAS, LAX, LEX, LGA, MCO, MHT, MIA, MSP, MYR, OMA, PDX, PHL, PHX, PIT, PSP, SEA, SFO, SLC, TUL, and XNA. Coverage varies by airport and lane; PreCheck may be estimated where the official source only publishes Standard waits. Other airports, including ATL and ORD, use labeled planning estimates. FLIGHT PLANNER Enter your flight time, drive time, expected TSA wait, and extra buffer. The app calculates when to leave and breaks down the plan minute by minute. If you have already checked an airport's wait estimate, the planner can use that value automatically. FAVORITES Save your most-used airports for quick access. WAIT HISTORY Lookups are saved locally so you can review past estimates. You can also log your actual wait time to compare the estimate against your own experience. REMINDERS Schedule a notification before your calculated leave time so you remember to check conditions again before heading to the airport. TRANSPARENT DATA Wait times are labeled by source. If an airport feed cannot refresh, the app may show an airport-published reading no more than five minutes old, clearly labeled Cached with its original timestamp and a notice. Older cached readings are discarded and the app uses a labeled historical planning estimate. The app avoids presenting modeled estimates as live TSA data. Always verify with TSA, MyTSA, your airline, or the airport before travel.

Screenshots

Takeoff Timer4 screens
TSA Wait Times4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Takeoff Timer at 100% against TSA Wait Times's 0%. Takeoff Timer also leads on rating (4.9 vs 3.7) and update cadence (every 6 days vs monthly). TSA Wait Times's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2). On price, ads, monetization model 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. Takeoff Timer sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days. TSA Wait Times asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Takeoff Timer holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Takeoff Timer has 39 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Takeoff Timer's written reviews are positive against 0% of TSA Wait Times's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Takeoff Timer ships an update every 6 days, TSA Wait Times monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Takeoff Timer versus TSA Wait Times: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTakeoff TimerTSA Wait Times
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (39 ratings) — better3.7 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings39 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTakeoff Timer LLCGreg Anderson

Customer experience

Takeoff Timer

All ratings38 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

TSA Wait Times

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Takeoff Timer

Subscriptions2
  • TakeoffTimer Pro (Weekly)$0.997 Days
  • TakeoffTimer Pro (Annual)$24.991 Year
None

TSA Wait Times

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Takeoff Timer free?
Takeoff Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is TSA Wait Times free?
TSA Wait Times is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Takeoff Timer or TSA Wait Times?
Takeoff Timer is rated higher. Takeoff Timer averages 4.9 out of 5 from 39 ratings, while TSA Wait Times averages 3.7 from 3 ratings.
Do Takeoff Timer or TSA Wait Times have ads?
Neither Takeoff Timer nor TSA Wait Times shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Takeoff Timer or TSA Wait Times?
Takeoff Timer ships an update every 6 days, and TSA Wait Times monthly. Most recently, Takeoff Timer was updated on October 25, 2026 and TSA Wait Times on October 24, 2026.

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