Comparison

Airmate vs PilotDeck

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

PilotDeck

Access decoded aeronautical weather, live NOTAMs, and route briefings for any airport worldwide. Receive smart push alerts for critical weather changes and enjoy a clean, flight-deck style interface. Includes aviation news, training games, and a daily cognitive check.

Highlights
  • Decoded METAR and TAF weather reports
  • Live NOTAMs and SIGMET on map
  • Full route briefing with plain-English verdict
  • Smart push alerts for weather changes
  • Aviation news feed from trusted sources
  • Daily cognitive pre-flight check
  • Training games and aviation quizzes
Features
Read full description

PilotDeck puts real aeronautical weather in your pocket — decoded METAR and TAF, live NOTAMs, SIGMET on the map, aviation news and a full route briefing for any ICAO airport in the world. Built by a pilot, for pilots, in a clean flight-deck (FMS) style. WEATHER — FREE, FOREVER • Live METAR and TAF, decoded into plain language • Hour-by-hour forecast: temperature, wind, gusts, precipitation, pressure; 7-day outlook • Weather at your exact position: a minute-by-minute rain nowcast and a 12-hour trend • Unlimited airports on your watchlist, everything cached for offline reading SMART PUSH ALERTS — THE FEATURE PILOTDECK WAS BUILT ON Follow an airport and PilotDeck watches it for you. The moment a new METAR or TAF is issued — a wind shift, a drop to IFR — a push reaches you, even with the app closed. ROUTE BRIEFING — YOUR WHOLE FLIGHT ON ONE SCREEN One tap builds a departure–destination–alternate brief, judged at your ETD and ETA: • A plain-English verdict: GOOD TO GO / CAUTION / NOT RECOMMENDED • NOTAMs sorted honestly: red only for what can stop you — runway or approach closed, minima raised, RVR out • SIGMET along your track, drawn on the map and sorted against your cruising level • Wind on the real runway layout: best threshold, crosswind and tailwind for every runway end, Vapp from your VREF • TAF timeline with LVTO, LVP and below-minima tags; take-off alternate when you may depart but could not land back • Countries overflown with entry times; re-route around any airspace in a few taps • The whole briefing as a three-page PDF to share or keep with the flight's documents Flight tracks are recorded in the background and can be merged and shared. AVIATION NEWS Twelve trusted sources in one feed, categorised, with alerts for incidents and regulation changes. Bookmark to read offline. HOME SCREEN WIDGETS Live airport weather with a colour-coded wind compass, your Daily Check streak and the latest news. DAILY CHECK — A PRE-FLIGHT FOR YOUR BRAIN A two-minute cognitive pre-flight measures reaction, memory and decision-making and gives you a FIT index for today, with an IMSAFE self-check and a 30-day trend. REFERENCE IN SIX ICAO LANGUAGES Every screen has a REF key: an illustrated explanation in English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish. TRAINING AND TOOLS • Holding Entry, Scan & Catch, Crosswind Crunch, Needle Chase — games that train real skills, with a scientific debrief • Aviation quizzes with detailed explanations • Flight-planning tools: wind and drift, top of descent, crosswind, fuel, density altitude and more PRICING — HOW IT WORKS PilotDeck is built for pilots, by pilots. Everything a pilot needs for a flight — weather, NOTAM, SIGMET, briefing and PDF, routes, alternates, tracks, news — is free and stays free. No operational feature is locked behind a paywall. What is paid is the training side: PilotDeck PRO unlocks unlimited games, the full quiz banks and the Daily Check history. That is what keeps the team going — the servers, and the data that is only sold, not given away. A number of professional feeds would make the app noticeably better: full ADS-B traffic for the flight-radar layer (today it runs on free feeds, so aircraft and flight details are incomplete), richer NOTAM and airport data, wider weather coverage and faster updates. Each is a paid subscription on our side, and every PRO plan brings them closer. PilotDeck PRO: Monthly €4.99 · Annual €39.99 (best value). Both start with a 7-day free trial. Payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless turned off at least 24 hours before the current period ends; your account is charged within 24 hours prior to the end of that period. Manage or cancel in your App Store account settings. Any unused portion of a free trial is forfeited on purchase. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ In partnership with DataFly Systems LLC.

Screenshots

Airmate4 screens
PilotDeck4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: PilotDeck at every 4 days against Airmate's every 6 weeks. PilotDeck also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 75%) and rating (4.9 vs 4.5). Airmate's advantage is ratings volume (549 vs 7) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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 and PilotDeck sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

PilotDeck holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Airmate has 549 ratings behind it against 7, 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 100% of PilotDeck's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Airmate ships an update every 6 weeks, PilotDeck every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Airmate versus PilotDeck: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAirmatePilotDeck
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (549 ratings)4.9 (7 ratings) — better
Positive reviews74.8% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings549 — better7
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS12.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size220 MB56 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMyriel Aviation SAFlight Service SIA

Customer experience

Airmate

All ratings549 ratings
Positive89.3%
Neutral4.4%
Negative6.4%
Written reviews413 reviews
Positive74.8%
Neutral9.4%
Negative15.7%

PilotDeck

All ratings7 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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
2 purchases

PilotDeck

Subscriptions2
  • PilotDeck PRO (Monthly)7 Days trial$5.991 Month
  • PilotDeck PRO (Annual)7 Days trial$44.991 Year

Questions

Is Airmate free?
Airmate is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PilotDeck free?
PilotDeck is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Airmate or PilotDeck?
PilotDeck is rated higher. Airmate averages 4.5 out of 5 from 549 ratings, while PilotDeck averages 4.9 from 7 ratings.
Do Airmate or PilotDeck have ads?
Neither Airmate nor PilotDeck shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Airmate or PilotDeck?
Airmate ships an update every 6 weeks, and PilotDeck every 4 days. Most recently, Airmate was updated on November 6, 2026 and PilotDeck on November 9, 2026.

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