Comparison

Drone Buddy vs Drone Pal

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 Pal

Features
Read full description

Fly with confidence. Protect your gear. Drone Pal is the ultimate pre-flight companion for drone pilots of all skill levels. Whether you’re flying a sub 250g mini or a heavy professional rig, get an instant Go/No-Go assessment based on real-time weather and safety data. Why Drone Pal? - Custom Safety Thresholds: Not all drones handle wind the same way. Select your weight class (under 250g to 1kg+) to get personalized safety alerts. - At-a-Glance Conditions: Our intuitive Green/Yellow/Red status system tells you instantly if it’s safe to take off. - Precision Weather: Powered by Apple Weather, get hyper-local data on wind speeds, gusts, visibility, and precipitation. Key Features: - 24H Forecast: Plan your golden hour shoots with hourly wind, cloud cover, and temp predictions. - Kp Index: Monitor geomagnetic activity to ensure GPS reliability and prevent flyaways. - No-Fly Zone Map: A streamlined reference for airports, heliports, and caution zones to keep you compliant. - Sun & Sky: Track sunrise/sunset times and UV index for the perfect lighting and pilot comfort. - Camera Tutorials: Learn pro-style camera settings for real-world scenarios (day, night, action, real estate) with quick guides for FPS, shutter, ISO, and ND setup. - Flight Documents: Keep licenses, registrations and important paperwork organized and ready for flights and inspections. - Home Screen Widget: Check current Go/No-Go flight conditions at a glance, right from your home screen - no need to open the app. Note: Drone Pal provides a safety reference map; always cross-check with local laws and regulations before any flight. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Drone Buddy4 screens
Drone Pal4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Drone Buddy at none against Drone Pal's shown. Drone Buddy also leads on update cadence (weekly vs fortnightly). On price, in-app purchases, 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 and Drone Pal sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Drone Buddy ships an update weekly, Drone Pal fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Drone Buddy versus Drone Pal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDrone BuddyDrone Pal
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (8.4K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews54.8% of reviews—
Number of ratings8.4K — better—
Update frequencyWeekly — betterFortnightly
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size127 MB42 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKirway LLCOktay Shakirov

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 Pal

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
2 purchases

Drone Pal

Subscriptions1
  • Drone Pal Pro3 Days trial$2.991 Month
One-time1
  • Drone Pal Pro$24.99

Questions

Is Drone Buddy free?
Drone Buddy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Drone Pal free?
Drone Pal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Drone Buddy or Drone Pal have ads?
Drone Pal shows ads; Drone Buddy does not.
Which is updated more often, Drone Buddy or Drone Pal?
Drone Buddy ships an update weekly, and Drone Pal fortnightly. Most recently, Drone Buddy was updated on November 11, 2026 and Drone Pal on October 31, 2026.

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