Comparison

NRST vs flyNav Flight Navigation

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

Head to head
About

NRST

This app helps pilots navigate by providing essential airport information, including distance, elevation, and required descent rates. It offers real-time data updates and customizable descent settings for various aircraft types. Worldwide airport coverage is available, with daily database updates.

Highlights
  • Real-time airport data
  • Customizable descent rate
  • Worldwide airport coverage
  • Filter airports by runway
  • Glide distance calculation
  • Watch app integration
Features
Read full description

Don't miss your airport! Designed for pilots of any size aircraft, this app provides you with bearing and vertical speed required to nearby airports. The following information is shown for destinations: • Distance from current location • Field Elevation • Descent rate required • Time to Top of Descent (TOD) • Bearing • Frequencies • Runways • Glide distance delta Additionally your current speed, course, altitude and vertical speed are displayed. Tapping on the information button, Time to TOD or Target Altitude allows you to customize the desired descent rate. All data is updated in real time as you fly. You may choose a nearby airport or select an airport by identifier by scrolling down on the airport list. Filter by runway length and surface type and choose any of the following: airports, seaplane bases, heliports, balloon ports and closed airports. You may optionally provide a glide ratio for your aircraft. The glide distance long or short of the selected airport is then displayed and is conveniently color coded. A positive, green glide delta indicates the glide distance has been estimated to exceed the distance to the airport with a 25% safety margin. Runway headings, if known, are used to draw runways on the heading indicator. If the magenta arrow is pointed straight up and aligned with a runway then you are headed straight in. Worldwide airport information is provided by multiple sources. Canada, Europe and all continents are covered! For more information go to ourairports.com/world.html. Database updates are performed daily. Your location and altitude is provided by your device's location services. If location or altitude is not available that information will not be displayed however you can still search for an airport by identifier. Unfortunately external GPS devices are generally NOT compatible. You must be moving for course information and the magenta relative bearing arrow to be displayed. The Watch app has many of the same features and fits on your wrist. See distances to nearby airports or bearing to a selected airport. Frequencies and runway lengths can be seen with a swipe. A green glide icon or delta indicates glideability is likely. Just like the iPhone and iPad app, the Watch app requires GPS information to locate nearby airports and relative bearing. Additionally, altitude is needed to calculate descent rates. Feedback and feature requests are appreciated. Thanks! Subscription Fine Print ---------------------- - 1 month FREE trial - Database Subscription or Apple Watch Subscription is required for new users - The subscription is for 1 year and updated data is available daily - The annual subscription is $11.99/year or $17.99/year for Watch - Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase - Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period - Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal - Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase - No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during active subscription period - Privacy policy and terms of use are located at: http://toonsy.net/privacy.html - Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication.

About

flyNav Flight Navigation

This app provides VFR flight navigation with a moving map, detailed airspace information for multiple regions, and a database of thousands of airfields worldwide. It offers on-route weather, NOTAMs, and flight logging capabilities for pilots.

Highlights
  • Moving map flight navigation
  • USA & Europe airspaces
  • 20,000+ airfields worldwide
  • On-route weather & NOTAMs
  • Offline map data
  • Flight logging
Features
Read full description

flyNav is a flight navigation app for VFR. Overview Features: - Moving map flight navigation with vector based maps - Airspaces for USA & Europe included - About 20.000 airfields & airports worldwide - Navaids VOR, DME, NDB for Europe - Supported devices: Apple iPhone, Apple iPad and Apple Watch - Easy-to-read Navigation Display - On-route weather & NOTAM information Detailed Feature: - Waypoints database with about 20.000 airfields & airports worldwide - Airspaces for USA, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Swiss, Austria, Belgium, Hungary, Finnland,... - Moving map with vector based data (offline available!) - Navigation display with course and bearing indicator incl. waypoint distance and ETA - Altimeter with flight level support (using barometric sensor) - Plan a route directly in map via touch & drag - Automatic link of map orientation to airplane course - 5 minutes indicator - Manual route planner with ICAO & city search - Load & save routes - Automatic detection of take off time and touch down time - Track your flights via GPX - Emergency function: find nearest airfield and check if it's reachable - Import additional airspaces via openair format, e.g. traffic circuits - On-route NOTAM - On-route weather - Flight-log in PDF-format (printable & exportable) The handbook can be downloaded at http://www.flynav-app.com

Screenshots

NRST4 screens
flyNav Flight Navigation3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: NRST at Free against flyNav Flight Navigation's $29.99. NRST also leads on rating (4.6 vs 1.5) and ratings volume (9 vs 2). flyNav Flight Navigation's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 6) and review sentiment (71% vs 47%). On update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

NRST is free to download; flyNav Flight Navigation costs $29.99 up front. NRST sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per year. flyNav Flight Navigation asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

NRST holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 1.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9 and 2 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 47% of NRST's written reviews are positive against 71% of flyNav Flight Navigation's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
NRST versus flyNav Flight Navigation: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNRSTflyNav Flight Navigation
PriceFree — better$29.99
Rating4.6 (9 ratings) — better1.5 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews46.9% of reviews70.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings9 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationSubscriptionPaid — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS17.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size50 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperToonsy NetWalter Greger

Customer experience

NRST

All ratings9 ratings
Positive88.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative11.1%
Written reviews32 reviews
Positive46.9%
Neutral6.3%
Negative46.9%

flyNav Flight Navigation

All ratings2 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews17 reviews
Positive70.6%
Neutral11.8%
Negative17.6%

In-app purchases

6 purchases

NRST

Subscriptions6
  • Early Adopter Device Subscription1 Month trial$0.991 Year
  • Early Adopter Device and Watch Bronze1 Month trial$1.991 Year
  • Device Only1 Month trial$11.991 Year
Show 3 more
  • Device Only1 Month trial$14.991 Year
  • Device and Watch1 Month trial$17.991 Year
  • Device and Watch1 Month trial$24.991 Year
None

flyNav Flight Navigation

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is NRST free?
NRST is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is flyNav Flight Navigation free?
flyNav Flight Navigation costs $29.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, NRST or flyNav Flight Navigation?
NRST is rated higher. NRST averages 4.6 out of 5 from 9 ratings, while flyNav Flight Navigation averages 1.5 from 2 ratings.
Do NRST or flyNav Flight Navigation have ads?
Neither NRST nor flyNav Flight Navigation shows ads.
Which is updated more often, NRST or flyNav Flight Navigation?
NRST ships an update every 4 months, and flyNav Flight Navigation every 4 months. Most recently, NRST was updated on November 1, 2026 and flyNav Flight Navigation on November 6, 2026.

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