Softwr

Aviation · head to head

DUATS vs Flighty

DUATS logo

DUATS

Aviation

FAA Direct User Access Terminal System for flight briefings

From
$9.95/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Flighty logo

Flighty

Aviation

Subscription flight tracking for iOS with predictive delay alerts

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: DUATS service has been discontinued as of May 2018; Flighty it is iOS-only, so a mixed-platform household or an Android user cannot use it at all.
  • They diverge on capability: DUATS covers Flight briefings, Flighty covers Delay prediction.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which DUATS and Flighty actually diverge.

Attributes where DUATS and Flighty differ
AttributeDUATSFlighty
Starting price$9.95/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer user per month or one-time purchase
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidiOS
Founded1990Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Aviation).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in DUATS

  • Flight briefings
  • Weather data
  • Flight planning
  • Flight filing
  • NOTAMs
  • FAA systems
  • Weather services
  • Chart databases

Only in Flighty

  • Delay prediction
  • Gate and baggage alerts
  • Auto flight import
  • Taxi and weather context
  • Trip statistics
  • Family sharing

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

DUATS

  • Flight briefingnot Flighty
  • Flight planningnot Flighty
  • Flight filingnot Flighty
  • Weather briefingnot Flighty

Flighty

  • A frequent business flyer who wants a delay warning before the gate agent announces itnot DUATS
  • An iPhone user willing to pay for a single well-maintained app instead of a free ad-supported onenot DUATS
  • A family wanting to see at a glance where a travelling relative currently isnot DUATS
  • A traveller who wants automatic flight import from confirmation emails without manual entrynot DUATS

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

DUATS

  • Service has been discontinued as of May 2018
  • No longer available for flight planning or briefing

Flighty

  • It is iOS-only, so a mixed-platform household or an Android user cannot use it at all.
  • The free tier tracks very few flights, so anyone who flies more than occasionally is pushed toward the subscription almost immediately.
  • Delay predictions are a probability model, not a guarantee, and can be wrong in either direction.
  • It depends on the same underlying ADS-B and airline feeds as free trackers, so the raw position data is not exclusive to Flighty.
  • A lifetime purchase is expensive relative to a year or two of the annual plan, so it only pays off for someone certain they will use it for years.

Pricing, plan by plan

DUATS

$9.95/month
  • Basic$9.95/month
    • Flight briefings
    • Weather data
    • Flight planning
  • Premium$29.95/month
    • All Basic features
    • Advanced weather
    • Priority briefings

Flighty

On request
  • Flighty Plus$9.99/month
    • Unlimited tracked flights
    • Delay prediction alerts
    • Gate, baggage and taxi data
  • Flighty Plus Annual$49/year
    • Same features billed yearly
  • Flighty Lifetime$299/one-time
    • One-time purchase, no renewal

Which should you pick?

Choose DUATS if

  • You need flight briefings.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want weather data.
DUATS review

Choose Flighty if

  • You need delay prediction.
  • You work on iOS.
  • You also want gate and baggage alerts.
Flighty review

Questions people ask

Is DUATS or Flighty better?
Neither clearly leads. DUATS starts at $9.95/month and Flighty at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, DUATS or Flighty?
DUATS starts at $9.95/month and Flighty at On request.
Does DUATS or Flighty run on more platforms?
DUATS runs on Web, Ios, Android. Flighty runs on iOS.
What is DUATS best used for?
DUATS is most often used for flight briefing, flight planning, flight filing, weather briefing. Of those, flight briefing and flight planning are not what Flighty is typically brought in for.
What can DUATS do that Flighty cannot?
DUATS covers Flight briefings, Weather data, Flight planning, Flight filing. Flighty covers Delay prediction, Gate and baggage alerts, Auto flight import, Taxi and weather context.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

DUATS: Is DUATS still available?

No. The FAA discontinued the Direct User Access Terminal Service (DUATS II) on May 16, 2018.

Source
Flighty: Is there an Android version?

No. Flighty has only ever shipped for iOS.

DUATS: Did DUATS cost money?

No. DUATS was free to all registered U.S. pilots and student pilots holding a current medical certificate.

Source
Flighty: Can I use it for free?

A limited free tier exists but tracks very few flights; regular use requires the Plus subscription or the lifetime purchase.

DUATS: What replaced DUATS?

Pilots now access internet-based weather, aeronautical information, and flight plan filing through the FAA flight service website at no charge.

Source
Flighty: How is it different from Flightradar24 or FlightAware?

Those are free-first, cross-platform trackers with ads; Flighty is a paid iOS-only app that adds predictive delay alerts.

Share

Related pages

More on DUATS

More on Flighty

Keep looking

Other head to heads