Comparison

Drone Buddy vs OpenAthena

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

OpenAthena

Features
Read full description

OpenAthena™ is a project which allows consumer and professional drones to spot precise locations through their images. This is accomplished by combining their sensor metadata with digital elevation data to provide the instant location of what is being observed.

Screenshots

Drone Buddy4 screens
OpenAthena4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: OpenAthena at none against Drone Buddy's 11. Drone Buddy's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months). 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 11 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. OpenAthena asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Drone Buddy ships an update weekly, OpenAthena every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Drone Buddy versus OpenAthena: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDrone BuddyOpenAthena
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (8.4K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews55.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings8.4K — better—
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS1514.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size124 MB74 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKirway LLCRobert Krupczak

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

OpenAthena

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

11 purchases

Drone Buddy

Subscriptions9
  • Upgrade to Pro Monthly$3.991 Month
  • Unlock Drone Buddy Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Drone Buddy Pro Monthly$9.991 Month
Show 6 more
  • 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
One-time2
  • Unlock Pro Access Lifetime$79.99
  • Unlock Pro Lifetime$99.99
None

OpenAthena

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Drone Buddy free?
Drone Buddy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is OpenAthena free?
OpenAthena is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Drone Buddy or OpenAthena have ads?
Neither Drone Buddy nor OpenAthena shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Drone Buddy or OpenAthena?
Drone Buddy ships an update weekly, and OpenAthena every 2 months. Most recently, Drone Buddy was updated on September 24, 2026 and OpenAthena on September 20, 2026.

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