Comparison

Drone Buddy vs Drone Scanner

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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

About

Drone Scanner

Transform your device into a drone scanner to track nearby flights in real-time. View detailed flight information, including pilot data and location history, on an interactive map. The app is updated to comply with current EU and US regulations.

Highlights
  • Real-time drone tracking
  • Detailed drone information
  • Interactive flight map
  • Support for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi broadcasts
  • Flying zone highlighting
  • Data export functionality
Features
Read full description

The world's first drone Remote ID scanner made by Dronetag. _____ READ BEFORE DOWNLOADING! Limited access to features on some phones is caused by manufacturers’ restrictions. All iOS phones, for example, prohibit app access to Wi-Fi, so only Bluetooth data transmission will work (if and only the drone has an active Remote ID over Bluetooth). It is not a flaw of our app; we cannot fix this, and we don’t deserve negative reviews for these issues. _____ Transform your phone or tablet into a drone scanner and track all the nearby flights over Direct / Broadcast Remote ID standards. Browse real-time data about drones on a detailed map highlighting specific flying space zones. Download Drone Scanner for free and discover what drones fly above your head. Favourite features: - Discover more about drones flying nearby in real-time - Examine detailed information broadcasted by drones via Bluetooth 4, Bluetooth 5, Wi-Fi Beacon, and Wi-Fi NAN - Browse a detailed map with your location and all nearby aircraft - Check available data about drones, including real-time height, direction, pilot identification, pilot position, operation description, and location history - Various flying zones marked and highlighted on the map - Easy export of collected data - Continuously updated to reflect the latest EU & US regulations All these features you find in Drone Scanner – a free app for tracking drones. The app is developed by Dronetag, manufacturing devices for remote drone identification. How it works: Anyone can quickly identify what drones are flying in the sky nearby. Direct Remote ID is a feature that transmits live flight data via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi to the surrounding area. Drone manufacturers use various technologies to build an identification feature in new drones. Older drone pilots use add-on devices, enabling them to become digitally visible. With hardware on your smartphone, Drone Scanner can receive and read broadcasted data.

Screenshots

Drone Buddy4 screens
Drone Scanner2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Drone Buddy at 4.7 against Drone Scanner's 1.9. Drone Buddy also leads on review sentiment (55% vs 16%) and update cadence (every 10 days vs every 3 months). Drone Scanner's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

Both are free to download. Drone Buddy sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Drone Scanner asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Drone Buddy holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 1.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Drone Buddy has 8.4K ratings behind it against 147, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 55% of Drone Buddy's written reviews are positive against 16% of Drone Scanner's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Drone Buddy ships an update every 10 days, Drone Scanner every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Drone Buddy versus Drone Scanner: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDrone BuddyDrone Scanner
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (8.4K ratings) — better1.9 (147 ratings)
Positive reviews54.8% of reviews — better15.9% of reviews
Number of ratings8.4K — better147
Update frequencyEvery 10 days — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS1514.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size127 MB41 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKirway LLCDronetag

Customer experience

Drone Buddy

All ratings8,418 ratings
Positive94.7%
Neutral3.1%
Negative2.2%
Written reviews241 reviews
Positive54.8%
Neutral10.0%
Negative35.3%

Drone Scanner

All ratings145 ratings
Positive16.6%
Neutral6.2%
Negative77.2%
Written reviews107 reviews
Positive15.9%
Neutral5.6%
Negative78.5%

User reviews

Drone Buddy

From 8.4K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Unique and outstanding design
  • 👍 Correct and reliable data
  • 👍 Easy to use and navigate
  • 👍 Helpful for drone flying

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and freezes
  • 🔍 Missing vital data and information
  • 💰 Expensive subscription
  • 🌍 Not accurate for non-US regions

Drone Scanner

From 147 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Works as advertised
  • 🚀 Great app for Android
  • 💡 Excellent Remote ID scanner

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Does not work on iOS
  • 🐛 Unable to detect drones
  • 🔒 Privacy concerns
  • 🔒 Collects personal information

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

Drone Scanner

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes on launch
  • Unable to locate drones in proximity
  • Inaccurate location tracking

Requested features

3 requests
  • Add support for WiFi-based Remote ID
  • Add support for more drone models
  • Allow changing units from metric to imperial

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Drone Buddy

Subscriptions8
  • Upgrade to Pro Monthly$3.991 Month
  • Unlock Drone Buddy Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Drone Buddy Pro Monthly$9.991 Month
Show 5 more
  • Drone Buddy Pro 3 months$12.993 Months
  • Unlock Drone Buddy Pro$17.996 Months
  • 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
One-time2
  • Unlock Pro Access Lifetime$79.99
  • Unlock Pro Lifetime$99.99
None

Drone Scanner

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Drone Buddy free?
Drone Buddy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Drone Scanner free?
Drone Scanner is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Drone Buddy or Drone Scanner?
Drone Buddy is rated higher. Drone Buddy averages 4.7 out of 5 from 8.4K ratings, while Drone Scanner averages 1.9 from 147 ratings.
Do Drone Buddy or Drone Scanner have ads?
Neither Drone Buddy nor Drone Scanner shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Drone Buddy or Drone Scanner?
Drone Buddy ships an update every 10 days, and Drone Scanner every 3 months. Most recently, Drone Buddy was updated on November 1, 2026 and Drone Scanner on November 3, 2026.

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