Comparison

Drone Buddy vs Tailboard UAS

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

Tailboard UAS

This app provides drone pilots with a comprehensive toolkit for safe and efficient flight operations. It includes features for airspace and weather checks, document storage, risk assessments, and rule references.

Highlights
  • Airspace and weather checks
  • Pilot document storage
  • Risk assessment forms
  • Part 107 rule reference
  • Professional flight workflows
Read full description

Tailboard UAS is all-in-one tool to help pilots of all skill levels. Easily check airspace, weather, checklists, store pilot document, fill out risk assessments, reference Part 107 rules, and more. New Pilot - Learn an irreplaceable workflow to help you consistently flying in a safe way. Gain confidence knowing you have a professional workflow without building one. Experienced Pilot - Keeps you consistently building decision making skills, and instincts. You'll be a legend in no time. Professional Pilot - Prevent complacency and document actions to cya and make sure you stay at the top of your game. https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ https://www.tailboarduas.com/privacy

Screenshots

Drone Buddy4 screens
Tailboard UAS4 screens

Verdict

The call

Drone Buddy and Tailboard UAS both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of Tailboard UAS's written reviews are positive against 55% of Drone Buddy's. Drone Buddy's advantage is ratings volume (8.4K vs 25). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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 and Tailboard UAS sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Drone Buddy against 4.8 for Tailboard UAS. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Drone Buddy has 8.4K ratings behind it against 25, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 55% of Drone Buddy's written reviews are positive against 100% of Tailboard UAS's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Drone Buddy ships an update weekly, Tailboard UAS fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Drone Buddy versus Tailboard UAS: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDrone BuddyTailboard UAS
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (8.4K ratings)4.8 (25 ratings) — better
Positive reviews54.8% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings8.4K — better25
Update frequencyWeekly — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size127 MB35 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperKirway LLCKurtis Damerow

Customer experience

Drone Buddy

All ratings8,419 ratings
Positive94.7%
Neutral3.1%
Negative2.2%
Written reviews241 reviews
Positive54.8%
Neutral10.0%
Negative35.3%

Tailboard UAS

All ratings23 ratings
Positive95.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative4.3%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

Tailboard UAS

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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
4 purchases

Tailboard UAS

Subscriptions4
  • Monthly14 Days trial$6.991 Month
  • Monthly Professional$12.991 Month
  • Yearly14 Days trial$76.901 Year
Show 1 more
  • Yearly Professional14 Days trial$142.991 Year

Questions

Is Drone Buddy free?
Drone Buddy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Tailboard UAS free?
Tailboard UAS is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Drone Buddy or Tailboard UAS?
Tailboard UAS is rated higher. Drone Buddy averages 4.7 out of 5 from 8.4K ratings, while Tailboard UAS averages 4.8 from 25 ratings.
Do Drone Buddy or Tailboard UAS have ads?
Neither Drone Buddy nor Tailboard UAS shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Drone Buddy or Tailboard UAS?
Drone Buddy ships an update weekly, and Tailboard UAS fortnightly. Most recently, Drone Buddy was updated on November 11, 2026 and Tailboard UAS on November 3, 2026.

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