On Instruments vs X
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
On Instruments
Hone your instrument flying skills with this simulator. Navigate various courses by precisely managing heading, altitude, and airspeed. Features multiple difficulty levels, including courses with instrument failures.
- Instrument scanning practice
- Multiple course difficulties
- Heading, altitude, airspeed control
- Attitude Indicator failure simulation
- Score maximization
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Practice and hone your IFR instrument scanning skills while playing a variety of courses “On Instruments”. Each course includes a series of heading, altitude, and airspeed changes that must be flown with precision to maximize your score. Courses are divided into Easy, Intermediate and Expert Levels. Additional courses without course guidance are available, as well as a series with an Attitude Indicator failure.
X
Control your desktop flight simulator from your mobile device. Connect wirelessly over your local network to manage X-Plane 12 with pro-level precision. Experience a new way to interact with your flight simulation.
- Local LAN control
- X-Plane 12 integration
- Pro-level precision
- Mobile device interface
- Wireless connectivity
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Run X-Plane 12 for desktop Mac, Windows or Linux on your local LAN. Run this App on your iPad or iPhone on the same LAN! Choose the copy of X-Plane you want to control on the opening screen and viola: You've got Pro-Level control of X-Plane 12!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: X at Free against On Instruments's $2.99. On Instruments's advantage is rating (4.4 vs 3.8) and review sentiment (75% vs 37%). On ratings volume, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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
X is free to download; On Instruments costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On Instruments holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9 and 23 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 75% of On Instruments's written reviews are positive against 37% of X's.
On Instruments ships an update every 8 months, X every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | On Instruments | X |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.4 (9 ratings) — better | 3.8 (23 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 75.0% of reviews — better | 36.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 9 | 23 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 8 months | Every 5 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 13 MB | 3.0 GB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Aircraft Training Aids, LLC | Laminar Research |
Customer experience
On Instruments
X
In-app purchases
On Instruments
No in-app purchases
X
No in-app purchases
