Drone Buddy vs PINE Motion
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Drone Buddy
This app provides drone pilots with essential flight data, including weather radar, wind maps, and no-fly zone information. It helps users plan safe flights, discover new flying locations, and stay updated on drone news. An optional subscription offers advanced features.
- Weather radar and wind maps
- No-fly zone data
- Best flying window forecasts
- Crowd-sourced flying spot discovery
- Drone news updates
- Drone flying hub for jobs and business
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Don’t waste a trip. Check wind, weather, and airspace before you take off — then find nearby flying sites shared by other pilots. Trusted by over 1 million pilots. 4.7 stars from 8.4K App Store ratings. WHAT YOU GET • Go / no-go — a clear fly check for your pin from weather, TFRs, and U.S. Class B/C/D/E • Wind and weather — live wind, gusts, rain radar, and visibility so you know if it’s actually flyable • Best flying windows — the calmest daylight slots, scored for wind, rain, cloud, visibility, and daylight • No-fly reference maps — global airports, U.S. Class B/C/D/E, US / UK / Canada national parks, TFRs, stadium events, and FAA UAS restricted areas. Adjust airport circle range for your certification. These are planning tools, not official clearance, and not a LAANC filing. • Where to fly — crowd-sourced sites with photos and notes from other pilots • Flying Hub — save favorite spots; businesses can post jobs, inspections, surveys, and training • Drone news — regulations, gear, and industry updates DRONE BUDDY PRO Check any pin first: go / no-go on a searched site, hourly wind, calm flying windows for 10 days, and TFR alerts on the pin you care about. 3-day free trial on the annual plan, then the yearly price shown in-app. Cancel anytime in Apple ID settings. Also available as a 3-month plan or a one-time lifetime purchase. Subscriptions auto-renew unless you turn off auto-renew at least 24 hours before the period ends. Payment is charged to your Apple ID. Manage or cancel in Account Settings. Please cross-check local laws and airspace before every flight. Drone Buddy is not affiliated with the FAA and does not replace B4UFLY or an FAA-listed LAANC app. Maps and community sites can be incomplete — you are responsible for a legal, safe flight. Privacy: https://dronebuddy.io/privacy Terms: https://dronebuddy.io/terms Support: sayhi@dronebuddy.io Web: https://dronebuddy.io
PINE Motion
Control a universal motion device for cameras and other equipment. Enables advanced photographic and videographic techniques like time-lapses, panoramas, and 360-degree captures.
- Remote device control
- Time-Lapse
- Macro photography
- Video recording
- Giga-Pixel Panoramas
- 360-degree imaging
- Astro tracking
- Turntable control
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PINE is a compact and universal device that can be connected to a variety of different camera slider rails, pan & tilt heads, turntables and more, which are driven by stepper motors. It is THE tool for photographers and videographers who want to do motion controlled applications. Supported application modes include: * Time-Lapse * Macro * Video Recording * Giga-Pixel Panoramas * 360-degree Images & 360-degree Time-Lapse * Astro Tracking * Turntable * 3D-Scan
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Drone Buddy at 4.7 against PINE Motion's 3.5. Drone Buddy also leads on ratings volume (8.4K vs 2) and update cadence (every 10 days vs every 5 weeks). PINE Motion's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 11) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15). On price, 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. Drone Buddy sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. PINE Motion asks for nothing beyond the download.
Drone Buddy holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Drone Buddy has 8.4K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Drone Buddy ships an update every 10 days, PINE Motion every 5 weeks. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Drone Buddy | PINE Motion |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (8.4K ratings) — better | 3.5 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 55.5% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 8.4K — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days — better | Every 5 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 127 MB | 23 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Kirway LLC | Black Forest Motion |
Customer experience
Drone Buddy
PINE Motion
Bugs and requests
Drone Buddy
Reported bugs
3 issues- Map crashes after populating airports
- Profile settings not saving
- Inconsistent wind speed data
Requested features
4 requests- Color-coded wind speed indicators
- Ability to report and verify no-fly zones
- Integration with air traffic control
- Metric units support
PINE Motion
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Drone Buddy
- Upgrade to Pro Monthly$3.991 Month
- Unlock Drone Buddy Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
- Drone Buddy Pro Monthly$9.991 Month
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- Drone Buddy Pro 3 months$12.993 Months
- Unlock Drone Buddy Pro$17.996 Months
- Drone Buddy Pro Access Yearly$19.991 Year
- Unlock Drone Buddy Pro Yearly3 Days trial$34.991 Year
- Unlock Drone Buddy Pro Yearly$39.991 Year
- Unlock Drone Buddy Pro Yearly3 Days trial$59.991 Year
- Unlock Pro Access Lifetime$79.99
- Unlock Pro Lifetime$99.99
PINE Motion
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Drone Buddy free?
Is PINE Motion free?
Which has better reviews, Drone Buddy or PINE Motion?
Do Drone Buddy or PINE Motion have ads?
Which is updated more often, Drone Buddy or PINE Motion?
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