Comparison

Airmate vs NDP Charts

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

Head to head
About

Airmate

This app provides pilots with comprehensive flight planning tools, including weather forecasts, airport data, and navigation charts. It enhances situational awareness with a moving map, traffic displays, and terrain elevation views. Pilots can also file flight plans and record their flights.

Highlights
  • Flight planning and weather forecasts
  • Airport data and aviation maps
  • Moving map with aircraft location
  • Traffic and terrain elevation display
  • Flight plan filing and management
  • Flight recording and replay
  • ADS-B traffic and weather reception
Features
Read full description

Airmate is a free and easy to use flight planning and weather app for pilots, improving situational awareness and providing instant access to airport data and aviation maps, up to date weather and NOTAMs, traffic around. IFR and VFR airport plates are freely available in US (FAA charts), Europe, and more than 200 other countries. Many of them are georeferenced and could be overlaid on the aviation chart. A powerful Plate Manager allows to download in advance all airport plates in a country, they could be easily printed and viewed. During the flight, the moving map will display the aircraft location along the route, show airports and aeronautical data details and traffic around, warn you if your planned route is crossing restricted areas. A profile view is available to display terrain elevation, crossed areas and forecasted weather across the route. Airmate can also display a backup aircraft attitude indicator and flight parameters in an EFIS-like view. In the whole world, Synthetic Vision displaying in the EFIS-like view the ups and downs of rolling terrain ahead is available. In selected countries, Airmate can display scenery if this option is purchased. Airmate includes a worldwide aeronautical database updated free of charge with airports, navigation beacons, waypoints, airways, obstacles, regulated and restricted areas. Topographic maps and elevation data for most countries may be downloaded free of charge, as well as additional aviation map overlays such US Sectionals. A procedure database provide details of departure (SID), arrival (STAR) and instrument approaches in the USA, and you could add those procedures to your planned flight route (the procedure database includes all US airports, we are workding to add airports in other countries). Once loaded, the procedure path is displayed on the aeronautical map, including curved paths and racetracks. When coupled with a supported external ADS-B received, Airmate will display nearby traffic on the moving map, and receive FIS-B weather and NOTAM during the flight. To improve safety, Airmate can display neighbouring traffic received over mobile network. Such traffic include commercial airlines and transponder-equiped aircrafts, FLARM gliders, aircrafts whose pilots are using Airmate and other users using other safety broadcasting equipment. Airmate is able to transmit the flight plan data to supported avionics such Dynon SkyView. Thanks to the Auto Route feature, you could search and select the best route for your flight, and then file your VFR or IFR flight plan. Once filed, your flight plan could easily be managed, delayed or cancelled. Airmate will also record your flights and allow to replay them later or export the flight path in gpx format, you could take pictures from the app during flights. Pilot log entries are automatically computed from flown flights. A Satellite map display mode in flight planning or replay mode allows to familiarize with significant landmarks. Airmate will save planned and flown flights, user waypoints and user aircrafts in the cloud and sync them between your devices and Airmate web flight planning. Airmate brings numerous social features to the community. Pilots may leave ratings, tips and comments to share their experience with fellow pilots, and report fuel prices and landing fees. They could find friends, instructors, flight schools, aviation events and aircraft to rent near their home airport or any visited airport. Airmate may be connected to most flight simulators to keep flying skills sharp, and will manage also AHRS and simulated traffic data transmitted by the flight simulator. Planned flights and personal waypoints may be imported and exported. Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

NDP Charts

Access up-to-date airport and enroute charts for simulated flights. This tool provides real-world aviation data, updated monthly, for easy flight planning and in-flight reference.

Highlights
  • Real and up-to-date airport and enroute charts
  • Monthly chart updates
  • Quick access to airport charts via Quick Flight menu
  • Kneeboard feature for in-flight chart access
  • Print chart functionality
  • Easy to handle user interface
Features
Read full description

As in real life aviation many users are aiming at conducting their simulated flights with the aid of real and up to date airport and enroute charts. Numerous add-ons use navdatabases for Microsoft Flight Simulator as well as X-Plane for planning and performing flights. Aerosoft already offers the NavDataPro update service for the FMS navdata. With NavDataPro Charts Aerosoft will expand the regular update service to the airport and enroute charts. Like the navdata the chart data are supplied by Lufthansa Sytems and are used in real world aviation by more than 180 airlines throughout the world. The chart data will be updated monthly. Every time the user logs in he will get access to the up-to-date charts automatically. You don’t have to do anything to get the charts updated. The NavDataPro Charts Desktop Client is an easy to handle user interface. It allows you to choose an airport, select and view the charts and print a chart. You can search an airport in the airport list. Simply enter your departure, destination and alternate airport in the Quick Flight menu for a quick access to the airport charts. Use the kneeboard feature during your flight to have all needed charts handy.

Screenshots

Airmate4 screens
NDP Charts4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Airmate at 75% against NDP Charts's 0%. Airmate also leads on rating (4.5 vs 2.3) and ratings volume (549 vs 3). NDP Charts's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and iOS requirement (10.0 vs 12.0). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Airmate sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $24.99 per year. NDP Charts asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Airmate holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 2.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Airmate has 549 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 75% of Airmate's written reviews are positive against 0% of NDP Charts's.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Airmate versus NDP Charts: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAirmateNDP Charts
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (549 ratings) — better2.3 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews75.0% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings549 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeks—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.010.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size220 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMyriel Aviation SAAerosoft GmbH

Customer experience

Airmate

All ratings545 ratings
Positive89.2%
Neutral4.4%
Negative6.4%
Written reviews412 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral9.5%
Negative15.5%

NDP Charts

All ratings3 ratings
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%
Written reviews15 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Airmate

Subscriptions2
  • Airmate Premium$24.991 Year
  • Photorealistic terrain display$47.991 Year
One-time8
  • Flight plan filing token$1.99
  • Token for 1 year chart access$3.99
  • Support Airmate development!$4.99
Show 5 more
  • Support Airmate development!$8.99
  • Chart download token$8.99
  • Support Airmate development!$17.99
  • Airmate Pro version$22.99
  • Airmate Dispatcher$44.99
None

NDP Charts

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Airmate free?
Airmate is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is NDP Charts free?
NDP Charts is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Airmate or NDP Charts?
Airmate is rated higher. Airmate averages 4.5 out of 5 from 549 ratings, while NDP Charts averages 2.3 from 3 ratings.
Do Airmate or NDP Charts have ads?
Neither Airmate nor NDP Charts shows ads.

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