Comparison

Tachbase vs Jeb's Horizon EFB

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

Head to head
About

Tachbase

This app provides pilots with essential tools for flight planning, in-cockpit navigation, and flight logging. It offers offline access to charts, weather data, and airport information, enhancing situational awareness and simplifying post-flight record-keeping.

Highlights
  • Offline moving map with VFR/IFR charts
  • Georeferenced approach plates and procedures
  • Airport information and weather data
  • Live traffic and weather with ADS-B receiver
  • IFR/VFR flight plan filing and management
  • Smart logbook with auto-logging and currency tracking
  • Customizable checklists
Features
Read full description

Tachbase is an electronic flight bag (EFB) for general aviation pilots — preflight planning, in-cockpit awareness, and logging in one fast, offline-first app for iPhone, iPad, and the web. TACHBASE ASSISTANT Ask in plain English — "Any NOTAMs at KSFO?", "Cat A minimums for the RNAV 31 at KPAO?", "Am I night current?" — and get answers looked up live, not from memory: weather, PIREPs and winds aloft; runways, crosswinds and Chart Supplement remarks; approach fixes and minimums from the plate; the FAR/AIM and FAA handbooks; and your own logbook, currency and aircraft. Runs on Tachbase's own servers — your questions never go to a third-party AI. Aviation only; sign in for your own records. Advisory, not an official briefing. FREE — EVERYTHING INCLUDED No subscription, nothing to buy. The moving map, charts and georeferenced plates, in-flight tools, and offline downloads all work without an account. Create a free account and nothing lives on one device: your logbook, flights, plans, aircraft, and checklists sync across iPhone, iPad, and the web. MOVING MAP Airports, airspace, navaids, fixes, airways, and MTRs — tap any feature for details. Airport diagrams draw on the map as you zoom in. Overlay VFR/IFR charts, live weather (radar, satellite, winds aloft, PIREPs, AIRMETs/SIGMETs), TFRs, and your route. Download states & territories offline. CHARTS & PLATES FAA approach plates, departure/arrival procedures, airport diagrams, and takeoff/alternate minimums — plus taxi diagrams where the FAA has none. Plates are georeferenced (your aircraft draws on the chart); drop any chart onto the map. AIRPORTS Frequencies, runway wind analysis, METARs/TAFs, NOTAMs, fuel & services, sunrise/sunset, and the chart supplement — all offline-ready. WEATHER Local Weather for your home or nearest airport: conditions, a plain-English TAF outlook and the 7-day forecast. Decoded METARs and TAFs, 270+ imagery products cached offline, FAA weather cameras, and FIS-B with an ADS-B receiver. NWS warnings, forecaster discussions and satellite loops arrive live from Tachbase's own GOES-18 satellite dish. TRAFFIC & FLIGHT INSTRUMENTS Connect any GDL90 ADS-B receiver — Stratux, Stratus 3, SkyEcho — for live traffic and weather. A PFD pairs an AHRS attitude indicator with an HSI that tracks your active leg or Direct-To. A customizable data bar adds terrain, obstacle, and traffic alerts with spoken callouts. FLIGHT PLANNING The route finder suggests routes ATC recently assigned — SIDs and STARs load with published legs on the map. Add approaches and airways; check a terrain profile with recommended MEA. Wind-corrected nav log with fuel planning, weight & balance, and PDF export. File, activate, amend, and close flight plans with Leidos Flight Services and official FAA/FSS briefings. Direct-To with holds and track lines. SMART LOGBOOK Log flights with approaches, passengers, and cost-splitting; auto-log with a GPS track; track FAA currency; and generate experience and 8710 reports. Import from ForeFlight or MyFlightbook, export CSV. Sign entries inline or via QR for instructor endorsements. AI APPS & DEVELOPERS Bring Tachbase into Claude or any MCP app, or build on our API: weather, airports, charts and regs — and, only with your approval, read-only access to your logbook, currency and aircraft. tachbase.com/developers PLUS: Home Screen widgets and a live Lock Screen flight activity; an aircraft hangar with weight & balance, POH takeoff/landing distances, and maintenance tracking; normal and emergency checklists; an E6B; an offline FAA library (FAR/AIM, handbooks, ACs); your own POHs and PDFs; iCloud backup; contacts; 8 themes. Tachbase supplements, not replaces, certified avionics and official sources. All data — aeronautical, weather, own-ship position — is for situational awareness only, not for primary or IFR navigation. Per FAA AC 91-78 and AC 120-76, the pilot in command must verify all information against official sources.

About

Jeb's Horizon EFB

Features
Read full description

Jeb's Flight Bag is a next-generation Electronic Flight Bag built for pilots who want a serious cockpit toolkit without the lock-in of subscription-only iPad apps. WHAT YOU GET – Moving map with FAA VFR Sectional, IFR Low, IFR High, satellite, and dark-mode tile layers. – Live ADS-B traffic via Sentry, Stratux, Stratus, Garmin GDL, uAvionix SkyEcho — anything that broadcasts GDL90 over WiFi. – Real WAAS GPS from your portable receiver — even on a WiFi-only iPad with no internal GPS chip. – NEXRAD weather radar over the US (Iowa State Mesonet, sub-km, ~2 min refresh) and RainViewer worldwide composite outside CONUS. – FAA d-TPP approach plates with georeferenced ownship overlay — the aircraft chevron moves on the plate at the right pixel position as you fly. – METAR / TAF / NOTAMs / SIGMETs / PIREPs / TFRs / winds aloft, with color-coded VFR / MVFR / IFR / LIFR flight category dots at every airport on the map. – Two-finger touch ruler — measure nm + bearing between any two points. – Synthetic-vision PFD-style attitude indicator from your device's IMU. The rotation-vector sensor is fused even on tablets without a gyroscope. – ATC frequency reference, nearest airports / navaids / fixes, ICAO route export, auto-routing with SID/STAR insertion. – Pilot's Operating Handbook reference — Cessna 152, 172, 182, Piper PA-28, Cirrus SR22, plus PDF upload that uses Claude AI to extract V-speeds, weights, fuel, and performance numbers from any aircraft's POH. – Performance calculator: density altitude, takeoff / landing distance with weight, headwind, and POH baseline corrections. – On-device LLM copilot — answers flight-planning questions, decodes METAR-ese, walks emergency checklists. Routes to Anthropic's Claude API when an API key is configured, falls back to bundled MLC LLM locally on capable hardware. WHO IT'S FOR – Student pilots who want a capable EFB without a big yearly bill. – International pilots flying outside FAA territory — the moving map and radar are worldwide; everything else gracefully falls back to the relevant regional AIP via browser deep-link. – AI-curious aviators who want a copilot in the cockpit without sending their flight data to a corporate server. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW – Coverage today is North America (United States + Canada). Airports, navaids, fixes, airways, approach plates, and ADS-B fallback are sourced from FAA / Nav Canada data. The moving map renders worldwide via OpenStreetMap tiles, but other layers are best-effort outside North America. – This app is provided for situational awareness ONLY. It is NOT a primary navigation source and NOT a substitute for current sectionals, plates, or certified onboard avionics. Read the in-app liability disclaimer before flight. – Sentry, Stratus, Stratux, Garmin GDL, and SkyEcho are trademarks of their respective owners. Orchestr Aerospace Inc. is not affiliated with any receiver manufacturer. – Optional Claude API key (from console.anthropic.com) unlocks AI POH parsing and the on-device copilot. Without a key, regex-based POH import + offline copilot still work. NOT FOR – Use as a sole means of compliance with FAA, EASA, Transport Canada, or other regulatory navigation requirements. – Replacement of certified onboard avionics or current published charts. – Operations where loss of the EFB would create a safety hazard. JEB'S PRO SUBSCRIPTION Jeb's Pro is offered as an auto-renewing monthly or annual subscription. Payment is charged to your Apple Account when you confirm the purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless it is cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel it any time in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.orchestrsim.com/privacy

Screenshots

Tachbase4 screens
Jeb's Horizon EFB4 screens

Verdict

The call

Tachbase and Jeb's Horizon EFB are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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. Tachbase sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Jeb's Horizon EFB sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Tachbase ships an update every 6 days, Jeb's Horizon EFB every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Tachbase versus Jeb's Horizon EFB: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTachbaseJeb's Horizon EFB
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 daysEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size69 MB126 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer808 Heavy Industries LLCWonmo Seong

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Tachbase

Subscriptions2
  • Tachbase Pro Monthly$5.991 Month
  • Tachbase Pro Annual$59.991 Year
3 purchases

Jeb's Horizon EFB

Subscriptions2
  • Jeb's Pro Monthly$5.991 Month
  • Jeb's Pro Annual7 Days trial$49.991 Year
One-time1
  • Jeb's Pro Lifetime$149.99

Questions

Is Tachbase free?
Tachbase is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Jeb's Horizon EFB free?
Jeb's Horizon EFB is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Tachbase or Jeb's Horizon EFB have ads?
Neither Tachbase nor Jeb's Horizon EFB shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Tachbase or Jeb's Horizon EFB?
Tachbase ships an update every 6 days, and Jeb's Horizon EFB every 4 days. Most recently, Tachbase was updated on October 28, 2026 and Jeb's Horizon EFB on October 31, 2026.

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