Comparison

Avionics Buddy vs Simulator Station

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

Head to head
About

Avionics Buddy

Enhance your flight simulation experience with live telemetry, maps, and customizable gauges on your Apple devices. Monitor aircraft position, weather, and flight statistics, and access airport information and approach helpers.

Highlights
  • Live aircraft telemetry
  • Follow-mode map
  • Customizable cockpit gauges
  • Trip Computer
  • Lifetime Logbook
  • Airport search and library
  • Runway approach helpers
Features
Read full description

Turn your iPhone, iPad or Mac into a live companion display for Microsoft Flight Simulator with live telemetry, maps, customizable gauges, airport information, weather, flight statistics, approach helpers, missions and challenges—all without leaving the simulator window. See your aircraft position on the map, monitor altitude, heading, airspeed, ground speed and vertical speed, browse airports, inspect runways, check live airport weather and use visual approach helpers while you fly. Take on Missions & Challenges and give your flights a destination. Choose from included challenges or download additional mission packs, explore airports around the world and complete each objective by flying there in Microsoft Flight Simulator. Avionics Buddy automatically recognizes your landings, tracks your challenge progress and awards medals as you complete them. Avionics Buddy is built for sim pilots who want to extend their Microsoft Flight Simulator setup beyond the main screen. Use it as a beautifully designed cockpit display on your desk or as an additional avionics screen in a larger multi-monitor simulator setup. Its adaptive interface makes use of the available screen space across iPhone, iPad and Mac, letting you build your own flight deck using the Apple devices you already own. Track your current flight with the Trip Computer, including distance, fuel, speed, altitude, wind and temperature. Continue building your Lifetime Logbook with accumulated flight time, takeoffs, landings, distance flown and personal records across all your simulator sessions. Search more than 80,000 airports, save your favorites, display selected airports on the map, inspect runways and review live weather before departure. Export and import your Airport Library to back up your saved airports or transfer them between your iPhone, iPad and Mac. Stay connected to your flight, even when Microsoft Flight Simulator is running on another screen. Key Features • Missions & Challenges with automatic landing detection, progress tracking and medals • Downloadable mission packs with detailed mission briefings – https://www.avionicsbuddy.com/missions/ • Live aircraft telemetry from Microsoft Flight Simulator • Follow-mode map with aircraft position, heading and selectable aircraft icons • Customizable cockpit gauges with multiple layouts, styles and live Session Gauge metrics • Trip Computer with live flight statistics for every session • Lifetime Logbook with cumulative flight time, takeoffs, landings, distance and records • Awards and medals earned through your flying • Search over 80,000 airports with favorites and map integration • Export and import your Airport Library between Apple devices • Runway approach helpers for visual alignment during simulator arrivals • Live airport weather with wind, pressure, clouds and current conditions • Optional cabin sound effects, including seatbelt announcements and other immersive details • Adaptive layouts across iPhone, iPad and Apple Silicon Mac • Local network connection through the free Avionics Buddy Bridge for Windows • No account required • No cloud telemetry How it works 1. Start Microsoft Flight Simulator on your Windows PC. 2. Download and run the free Avionics Buddy Bridge for Windows – https://www.avionicsbuddy.com/#bridge 3. Scan the QR code with Avionics Buddy on your iPhone, iPad or Mac. 4. Fly with live telemetry on your second screen. Avionics Buddy is intended for Microsoft Flight Simulator entertainment use only. It is not designed for real-world navigation, flight training, flight planning or operational aviation use. Avionics Buddy is not affiliated with Microsoft, Asobo Studio, Working Title, OurAirports or any aircraft manufacturer.

About

Simulator Station

Enhance your flight simulation with a comprehensive companion app. It offers advanced cockpit control, flight planning tools, live traffic and weather data, and performance calculations for MSFS and X-Plane.

Highlights
  • Precision aircraft repositioning
  • Interactive 3D globe with live traffic/weather
  • Smart EFB with AI-powered NOTAMs
  • Airline-grade performance calculator
  • Voice-assisted checklists
  • Payload and fuel planner
  • Emergency and failure generator
Features
Read full description

Transform your simulator into an airline cockpit with Simulator Station—the ultimate study-level Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) and Instructor Operating Station for MSFS 2020/2024 and X-Plane. Built with an authentic airline interface, it gives you total command over every flight phase. PRECISION REPOSITIONING, APPROACH TRAINING & DOORS • Dynamic Approach Setup: Teleport to Left/Right Downwind, Base, or Final at 7, 10, or 15 NM. • Charts & Gate Spawning: View taxiways and runways. Tap any gate to spawn on the stand. • Navaid Teleport: Search any VOR/NDB and set radial, distance, heading, altitude, and speed. • Aircraft Door Control: Open and close all passenger doors and cargo hatches instantly. ULTIMATE WEATHER ENGINE & TRAINING SCENARIOS • 40+ Weather Scenarios: Train in severe conditions like microbursts and windshear. • Custom Weather Builder: Customize every atmospheric parameter from scratch with precision. • Real-Time Injection: Inject weather instantly via airport METARs or enable Live Weather. GROUND SERVICE HANDLING & GSX INTEGRATION • Full Ground Services: Request the jetway, set passenger counts, and dispatch refueling, catering, lavatory, GPU, cleaning, and de-icing trucks. • Pushback & GSX Control: Full pushback steering and seamless GSX integration for MSFS. ADVANCED FAILURE MANAGEMENT (MSFS 2020/2024 & X-PLANE) • 130+ System Failures: Trigger custom or timed failures in MSFS and X-Plane to practice emergencies, or clear all issues instantly with Fix All. INTERACTIVE TCAS & AI TRAFFIC INJECTION • Custom Traffic Spawning: Inject AI traffic onto your sim and ND with custom speed, altitude, separation, vertical speed, and crossing paths. • Takeoff, Landing & Incursions: Train behind traffic with realistic wake turbulence and react to surprise runway incursions. INTERACTIVE 3D GLOBE, LIVE TRAFFIC & WEATHER • Global Teleport & 3D Weather: Tap anywhere to teleport and view animated Rain, Wind, Temp, Precipitation, and Aurora layers. • Live Online Traffic: Track VATSIM/IVAO traffic telemetry with Airways, Holds, FIRs, and PIREPs. • Airport Info: View runways, ATC frequencies, TAF, METAR, NOTAMs, and Live Voice ATIS. INSTANT WORLD TOUR MODE • 30+ Global Landmarks: Teleport to 30+ iconic landmarks in under a second on iPhone and iPad in MSFS and X-Plane without setting up a flight. ADVANCED FLIGHT ANALYSIS & TELEMETRY • Takeoff & Landing Grading: View exact rotation and touchdown plots with instant landing grades (Smooth, Hard) and error breakdowns. • Flight Data Recorder: Record flights and analyze speed, bank, altitude, and VS on interactive profile graphs. DEEP SYSTEMS MONITORING & UNIVERSAL WEB FMC • Live Systems Monitor: Track hundreds of live aircraft and sim data points across every system in a clean dashboard. • Universal X-Plane FMC: Full Web FMC control supporting virtually all X-Plane aircraft. REMOTE INSTRUCTOR OPERATING STATION (IOS) • Live Remote Checkrides: Let an instructor join remotely with live screen viewing to move your plane, inject scenarios, and trigger failures. SMART EFB, PERFORMANCE, CO-PILOT & SIMBRIEF • Integrated Smart EFB: View Upper Air Wind/Temp and SIGWX charts, translate/read NOTAMs aloud with AI, and use T/O, Landing, Hold, and CRAFT scratchpads. • Performance Calculator: Compute V-speeds (V1, VR, V2), flaps, flex temps, and stopping distances via METAR, slope, and autobrakes with overrun alerts. • Virtual Pilot & Briefings: Voice A320/B737 checklists and automated T/O and landing audio briefings. • Payload & SimBrief: Adjust fuel (0-100%) and payload dynamically, and auto-import SimBrief flight plans. Privacy Policy: https://doc-hosting.flycricket.io/privacy-policy-simulator-station/63f44b66-01cf-4a00-98bc-4e45fe33e2ce/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Download Simulator Station today, elevate your realism, and fly like a real-world captain.

Screenshots

Avionics Buddy4 screens
Simulator Station4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Simulator Station at Free against Avionics Buddy's $3.99. Simulator Station also leads on iOS requirement (15.5 vs 18.0). Avionics Buddy's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 9) and ads (none vs shown). On review sentiment, update cadence 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

Simulator Station is free to download; Avionics Buddy costs $3.99 up front. Simulator Station sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Avionics Buddy asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 3 level
Avionics Buddy versus Simulator Station: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAvionics BuddySimulator Station
Price$3.99Free — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 3 weeks
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.015.5 — better
Further details — not scored
Size68 MB128 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSharif El FatatryOsama Nabel

Customer experience

Avionics Buddy

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Simulator Station

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Avionics Buddy

No in-app purchases

9 purchases

Simulator Station

Subscriptions6
  • MSFS Monthly Pass$2.991 Month
  • X plane monthly pass$2.991 Month
  • MSFS Yearly Pass$12.991 Year
Show 3 more
  • X plane yearly pass$12.991 Year
  • MSFS & X-Plane Yearly$12.991 Year
  • MSFS & X-Plane Monthly$17.991 Month
One-time3
  • MSFS Lifetime Pass$29.99
  • X plane lifetime pass$29.99
  • X plane and MSFS Lifetime Pass$44.99

Questions

Is Avionics Buddy free?
Avionics Buddy costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Simulator Station free?
Simulator Station is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Avionics Buddy or Simulator Station have ads?
Simulator Station shows ads; Avionics Buddy does not.
Which is updated more often, Avionics Buddy or Simulator Station?
Avionics Buddy ships an update every 3 weeks, and Simulator Station every 3 weeks. Most recently, Avionics Buddy was updated on November 5, 2026 and Simulator Station on October 31, 2026.

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