Mini Radar vs Airplanes.live
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Mini Radar
View live aircraft around you on a radar scope or in augmented reality. Get detailed information on each plane, customize your view, and set alerts for favorite aircraft. Ideal for aviation enthusiasts and curious minds.
- Live radar scope
- AR Sky View
- Aircraft details
- Customizable views
- Favorites and alerts
- Apple Watch support
- Dynamic Island integration
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Mini Radar shows the aircraft flying around you, live, on a clean radar scope. It's built on adsb.fi — a free, community-run ADS-B network. Volunteers around the world run small receivers and share what they pick up, and that shared feed is what you see. No account, no subscription, no ads. WHAT YOU GET • A live radar centered on you — or anywhere you search • Tap any aircraft for details: type, registration, altitude, speed, heading, squawk, and route (origin to destination) when available • Switch between a classic radar scope and a satellite map backdrop • Pinch, double-tap, or drag to zoom — from a few miles out to 250 NM • Color aircraft by type (commercial, private, helicopter, glider, military…) or by altitude, or switch on distinct per-type icons • North-up or heading-up — one tap on the compass button rotates the scope (radar or satellite) so the direction you're facing is up • A live contacts list and class filters, right on the scope • Sweep or pulse animation — your choice • A nearest-aircraft compass that always points to the closest plane POINT AT THE SKY • AR Sky View — hold up your phone and see the aircraft overhead, labeled in real space; pinch to zoom in ON YOUR WRIST • A standalone Apple Watch radar — zoom with the Digital Crown, tap a plane for details ALWAYS-ON GLANCE • Dynamic Island and Lock Screen tracking for what's overhead — your favorites, or any aircraft nearby, with a live bearing arrow FAVORITES & ALERTS • Star aircraft by tail number, callsign, or hex — they're highlighted whenever they appear nearby • Optional alert when a favorite comes within 10 NM of you (opt-in; uses background location only while it's turned on) SAVED PLACES • Save and name locations to jump between them • Choose what the radar opens to: your live location, the nearest airport, or a saved spot MADE TO READ EASILY • Colorblind-friendly palette • Light, dark, or automatic theme A NOTE ON COVERAGE Because the data comes from volunteer receivers, coverage is best where people are feeding and can have gaps elsewhere. Not every aircraft broadcasts ADS-B, and route lookups aren't available for every flight. Mini Radar is for curiosity and learning — not for navigation or any operational use. Want better coverage where you live? Anyone can become a feeder with a Raspberry Pi, an RTL-SDR dongle, and an antenna. There's a short how-to inside the app. Data by adsb.fi. Route information by adsbdb.
Airplanes.live
Track live aircraft in the sky, including airliners, general aviation, helicopters, and military traffic. View detailed flight information, weather overlays, and a radar-scope view with convergence alerts. Offers a Pro version with advanced features for a fee.
- Live aircraft tracking
- Detailed flight information
- Weather radar overlay
- ATC scope mode
- Convergence alerts
- Search by callsign/registration
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See every aircraft in the sky — unfiltered. Airplanes.live is a live flight tracker powered by the community-run airplanes.live receiver network. Unlike other trackers, it shows you everything the network sees: airliners, general aviation, helicopters, and the military and privacy-flagged traffic that other apps remove. THE MAP • Live aircraft colored by altitude, with type-specific silhouettes • Tap any aircraft for photos, route, altitude, speed, and registered owner • Flight trails, search by callsign / registration / hex • Light and dark maps, all served from our own infrastructure WEATHER • Live NOAA/NWS radar overlay, animated or latest-frame • See the weather traffic is flying around, in real time ATC SCOPE MODE • A radar-scope view with data blocks — callsign, flight level, speed, type • Convergence alerts between converging aircraft • Emergency squawk (7500/7600/7700) highlighting PRO • Weather radar, advanced filters, unlimited watchlist, and alerts • Feed data to airplanes.live? Pro is free for feeders. Aircraft positions come from publicly broadcast ADS-B signals received by a volunteer community. For informational and educational use — not for navigation, separation, or safety-of-life purposes. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Terms of Service: https://airplanes.hughesit.us/terms Privacy Policy: https://airplanes.hughesit.us/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Mini Radar at none against Airplanes.live's 2. Mini Radar also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs weekly) and ratings volume (11 vs 1). Airplanes.live's advantage is chart position (#198 vs unranked). On price, rating, 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
Both are free to download. Airplanes.live sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Mini Radar asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Mini Radar against 5.0 for Airplanes.live. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Mini Radar has 11 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Mini Radar ships an update every 2 days, Airplanes.live weekly. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Mini Radar | Airplanes.live |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (11 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 11 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 days — better | Weekly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | — | #198 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 8 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | John Grey80227563111 | Blake Hughes |
Customer experience
Mini Radar
Airplanes.live
In-app purchases
Mini Radar
No in-app purchases
Airplanes.live
- Pro Monthly$2.991 Month
- Pro Yearly$19.991 Year








