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Aviation · head to head

FlightAware vs Flighty

FlightAware logo

FlightAware

Aviation

Global flight tracking and aviation data platform

From
Free
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

  • Only FlightAware has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: FlightAware flightAware Global is sold per aircraft tail, with discounts applied only when multiple aircraft are tracked; Flighty it is iOS-only, so a mixed-platform household or an Android user cannot use it at all.
  • They diverge on capability: FlightAware covers Real-time tracking, Flighty covers Delay prediction.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which FlightAware and Flighty actually diverge.

Attributes where FlightAware and Flighty differ
AttributeFlightAwareFlighty
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreemiumPer user per month or one-time purchase
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidiOS
Founded2005Unknown

Identical on both: 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 FlightAware

  • Real-time tracking
  • Flight status
  • Airport info
  • Delay tracking
  • Weather data
  • APIs
  • Third-party apps
  • Airlines

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.

FlightAware

  • Tracking a business aviation fleet by tail number with taxi and ground alertsnot Flighty
  • Blocking or selectively sharing an aircraft's flight legs for privacynot Flighty
  • Pulling live and historical flight positions and tracks into an application over a REST APInot Flighty
  • Predicting arrival times with Foresight for airline and airport operationsnot Flighty

Flighty

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

Where each one falls short

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

FlightAware

  • FlightAware Global is sold per aircraft tail, with discounts applied only when multiple aircraft are tracked
  • Global satellite tracking through Aireon space-based ADS-B requires the Platinum plan at $295 per month or $3,540 per year
  • Secure flight sharing, flight leg unblocking and access management start at the Gold plan at $168 per month, not the $60 per month Silver plan
  • AeroAPI Standard carries a $100 monthly minimum and AeroAPI Premium a $1,000 monthly minimum regardless of usage
  • Historical flight data and flight alerting are excluded from the free AeroAPI Personal tier
  • AeroAPI Personal is rate limited to 10 result sets per minute against 5 per second on Standard
  • AeroAPI billing is metered per result set, for example $0.050 per result set for flight search, where one result set is 15 records
  • AeroAPI volume discounts begin only above $1,000 of monthly usage
  • Firehose, Foresight and FBO Toolbox carry no published price on the commercial products page

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

FlightAware

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Flight tracking
    • Basic info
    • Mobile app
  • Subscription$9.99/month
    • Ad-free
    • Premium tracking
    • Weather maps

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 FlightAware if

  • You need real-time tracking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want flight status.
FlightAware 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 FlightAware or Flighty better?
Neither clearly leads. FlightAware starts at Free and Flighty at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, FlightAware or Flighty?
FlightAware has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for FlightAware and On request for Flighty.
Does FlightAware or Flighty run on more platforms?
FlightAware runs on Web, Ios, Android. Flighty runs on iOS.
Can I use FlightAware for free?
Yes. FlightAware has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Flighty starts at On request.
What is FlightAware best used for?
FlightAware is most often used for tracking a business aviation fleet by tail number with taxi and ground alerts, blocking or selectively sharing an aircraft's flight legs for privacy, pulling live and historical flight positions and tracks into an application over a rest api, predicting arrival times with foresight for airline and airport operations. Of those, tracking a business aviation fleet by tail number with taxi and ground alerts and blocking or selectively sharing an aircraft's flight legs for privacy are not what Flighty is typically brought in for.
What can FlightAware do that Flighty cannot?
FlightAware covers Real-time tracking, Flight status, Airport info, Delay tracking. Flighty covers Delay prediction, Gate and baggage alerts, Auto flight import, Taxi and weather context.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Flighty: Is there an Android version?

No. Flighty has only ever shipped for iOS.

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.

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.

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