Comparison

flightboard. vs Live Departures

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

Head to head
About

flightboard.

Features
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FlightBoard turns your iPhone or iPad into a real-time arrivals board for the sky and sea above you. Watch flights pass overhead from your window. See the ferries and cargo ships in your nearest port. Mount an iPad on the wall and let it run as an editorial-style departures display. LIVE FLIGHTS - Worldwide ADS-B coverage via OpenSky Network and the adsb.lol community feed - Bring-your-own-key OpenSky support raises the rate limit from 100 to 4,000 calls per day - Five visual themes: LED Matrix, Departure Board, Minimal, Radar sweep, Ambient - Real route data resolved on demand (origin → destination, airline, aircraft type) LIVE SHIPS - AIS positions for vessels in your radius, via AISStream.io's free WebSocket feed - Color-coded by vessel category — cargo, tanker, ferry, fishing, sailing, military - Tap any vessel for full detail (callsign, MMSI, flag, length, beam, draught, last fix) - One-tap deep link to ShipSpotting.com photo galleries WALL DISPLAY MODE - Full-screen kiosk for an iPad mounted on a wall or paired with AirPlay - Editorial layout with oversized display type, hairline dividers, monospace numerics - Burn-in prevention with subtle pixel-shift drift, configurable font scale and dim level - Tap any flight or ship row to open the full detail sheet PRO FEATURES (one-time purchase or subscription) - All five themes - Wall display kiosk mode - Live Activities for tracked flights - watchOS companion app - Custom alert rules - Full spotter log with achievements and CSV export - 200 km tracking radius (free tier: 50 km) - iCloud sync across devices NO ACCOUNT REQUIRED FlightBoard does not collect data, does not show ads, and does not require sign-up. Your location is used only to determine which aircraft and vessels are nearby. API credentials are stored in iOS Keychain and never leave your device. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Live Departures

Features
Read full description

You're standing at the stop and you want to know one thing: when does the next train leave? Live Departures shows exactly that. Tap a stop, see the departures. No sign-up, no ads, no ticket shop, no detours. And on the way you stay informed: delays and platform changes until you arrive. SWITZERLAND AND GERMANY IN ONE APP Most apps cover one country. This one covers both. A single tap in the menu switches between Switzerland and Germany — each with its own favourites. Across the border, too: for trains from Switzerland to Germany you see the real destination and all stops up to it. YOUR STOPS, RIGHT AT THE TOP The app remembers the stops you use, and the most recently used comes first. Pin the important ones (swipe right, up to 5): they stay at the very top and are never pushed out. Up to 12 places per country, nothing else to create or manage. WHAT YOU SEE • Line, destination and departure time in real time • Delays (!) and cancellations (X) at a glance • Track, bay or pier — depending on the mode of transport • Green dot: real-time data for this trip • Every stop in real time — tap any trip (train, S-Bahn, tram, bus), with delay, cancellation and platform change per stop • Refreshes every 60 seconds FOLLOW TRIP Follow a trip in the stop list and mark where you get off: a bar at the bottom shows arrival, platform and delay, wherever you are in the app. It updates while the app is open and closes by itself after arrival. NEARBY New city? The arrow icon finds the stops around you. THE WAY YOU LIKE IT German or English. Orange or white accent. Times as a countdown (3') or as the clock (14:32). Set once, kept for good. NO ACCOUNT, NO TRACKING No account, no analytics, no ads. Favourites, settings and a followed trip stay on your device. DATA SOURCES Switzerland: transport.opendata.ch — every Swiss operator Germany: Transitous, a community project with the timetable data of the transport operators Both public and free. Good to know: Live Departures shows departures, not A-to-B journey planning. Live data needs an internet connection.

Screenshots

flightboard.4 screens
Live Departures4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Live Departures at none against flightboard.'s 3. flightboard.'s advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs fortnightly). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. flightboard. sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Live Departures asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

flightboard. ships an update every 3 days, Live Departures fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 4 level
flightboard. versus Live Departures: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameterflightboard.Live Departures
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMedicon AppsMartin Haas

In-app purchases

3 purchases

flightboard.

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$3.991 Month
  • Yearly$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime$79.99
None

Live Departures

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is flightboard. free?
flightboard. is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Live Departures free?
Live Departures is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do flightboard. or Live Departures have ads?
Neither flightboard. nor Live Departures shows ads.
Which is updated more often, flightboard. or Live Departures?
flightboard. ships an update every 3 days, and Live Departures fortnightly. Most recently, flightboard. was updated on October 28, 2026 and Live Departures on October 25, 2026.

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