Cockpit Log vs Contrails
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Cockpit Log
Automatically log your flights using your iPhone's sensors. Scan your boarding pass to pre-fill flight details and record takeoff to landing. View your flight path, key metrics, and build a personal aviation logbook.
- Boarding pass scanning
- Sensor-based flight recording
- Automatic flight phase detection
- GPS track mapping
- Personal aviation logbook
- Offline map packs
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Scan your boarding pass, tap Start, and your iPhone's own sensors record the flight from takeoff to landing. Your flight record is not copied from third-party flight data. It holds only what your GPS, barometer and motion sensors actually measured. It is a record that you were there. ■ Recording · Scan the boarding pass barcode to fill in flight number, route and seat · Or share a booking confirmation email to add the boarding pass · One sample per second, takeoff to landing · Altitude, ground speed, G-force, cabin pressure altitude · Automatic phases: taxi, takeoff, cruise, landing, taxi · Keeps recording with the screen off or another app open ■ Before you fly, after you arrive · Home shows your next flight with its route map and a to-the-second countdown · Flight briefing: your aircraft, gate, and weather at the destination · Arrival guide: baggage belt, arrival gate, immigration hall, and where to catch your rideshare (some details aren't available at every airport) ■ After you land · Measured takeoff and touchdown times, and time airborne · Peak altitude, speed and G-force · Your actual GPS track on a map · Takeoff and landing runway identification · Arrival airport stats and carbon footprint ■ Logbook · Your flights add up into a personal aviation logbook · Keeps the aircraft you flew (type, registration, photo), seat and gate · Search by flight number or route · Import past flights from another app's CSV, and export all your flights as CSV ■ Records: collections and habits · Airlines and alliances, airports and runways, countries, and every aircraft you've flown become collections · Aircraft details: photo, specs, registration history, and your flights on it · Cabin pressure profile and personal records · Your seat habits, on-time rate, and a year in review that opens each December ■ Your data stays yours · Raw GPS coordinates stay on this device and in your own iCloud. They are never sent to our server · Only your boarding passes and flight summaries (flight number, times, peak values) are backed up · Email import sends only the text of the email you share, to read the flight details · Delete everything, or your whole account, at any time ■ About GPS in the cabin Reception depends heavily on where you sit. In our own measurements, window seats recorded 95-100% of the flight while non-window seats managed 14-53%. Sitting by a window and keeping your phone near it makes a large difference. A gap in the GPS track is not a failed recording. Altitude, G-force and flight phases keep recording from the barometer and motion sensors. ■ BUSINESS · Offline route maps so you can follow the route with no internet in the air · A full PDF of each flight record, and watermark-free share cards · See where the aircraft you flew is flying today · An aircraft's full registration history, and on-time rates by airline · A single-flight pass is available if you would rather not subscribe Available in English, Korean and Japanese. Subscription details Cockpit-log BUSINESS · Monthly — $3.99 per month · Yearly — $39.99 per year A BUSINESS subscription unlocks the offline route map you can use in the air without internet, a full PDF of every flight record, watermark-free share cards, today's flights for aircraft you've flown, full registration history, and on-time rates by airline. Recording, boarding passes, the logbook, stats, collections and the visited-countries map are free. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and your Apple ID is charged for renewal. You can manage or cancel in Settings > Apple Account > Subscriptions after purchase. Business Single Flight Pass — $1.99 (one-time, non-renewing. Applies to a single flight and unlocks that flight's offline route map, PDF and watermark-free share card) Terms of Use: https://www.cockpit-log.com/v1/policy/terms Privacy Policy: https://www.cockpit-log.com/v1/policy/privacy
Contrails
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Contrails keeps a trace of every route you fly. Add a flight in seconds — by hand, from a Wallet boarding pass, or straight from your ticket e-mail — and watch your airports, countries and kilometres turn into a personal world. YOUR WORLD, ON A GLOBE Every flight is drawn as a great-circle arc. Spin the 3D globe or switch to the flat map, then tap any route to open the flights that took it. ADD FLIGHTS WITHOUT TYPING • Share a ticket PDF or booking e-mail from Mail to Contrails — flight numbers, airports and dates are detected for you to confirm. • Drop in an Apple Wallet boarding pass (.pkpass) or a PDF boarding pass. • Or add it manually with airport and airline autocomplete. UPCOMING TRIPS Plan future flights with a countdown. When the day comes, the flight moves into your collection on its own. PHOTO MEMORIES Attach up to five photos to each flight and relive them from the flight's detail page. FRIENDS & FEED • Add friends by username, by scanning their QR code, or invite them from your contacts. • See their new flights in the feed, react with emoji and leave comments. • Discover who was on the same flight as you. • Add your X, Instagram and YouTube handles to your profile. NOTIFICATIONS Friend requests, comments, reactions and shared flights arrive as push notifications and in a built-in notification center. MAYOR BOARDS Become the top flyer of any airport and defend your title against friends. BADGES & WRAPPED Cross the equator, reach the Moon's distance, complete all seven continents — every milestone unlocks a badge. At year's end, your Wrapped tells the story of your flying year, ready to share. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Use it as a guest with no account, or sign in with Apple, Google or e-mail to back up and sync. Choose who sees your profile, block or report anyone, export all your data, or delete your account from the app at any time. Leave your trace.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Contrails at every 2 days against Cockpit Log's every 2 weeks. Contrails also leads on iOS requirement (16.4 vs 18.2). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Cockpit Log ships an update every 2 weeks, Contrails every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Cockpit Log | Contrails |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.2 | 16.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 84 MB | 68 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | hyeongju park | GIZEM KIRAZ KAYA |
In-app purchases
Cockpit Log
No in-app purchases
Contrails
No in-app purchases









