Software · head to head
ForeFlight vs FlightAware
ForeFlight
Software
Comprehensive flight planning and pilot briefing app
- From
- $130/year
- Rated
- -
FlightAware
Software
Global flight tracking and aviation data platform
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only FlightAware has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: ForeFlight device restrictions: 2 iPads and 1 iPhone, or 1 iPad and 2 iPhones per licence; FlightAware flightAware Global is sold per aircraft tail, with discounts applied only when multiple aircraft are tracked
- They diverge on capability: ForeFlight covers Flight planning, FlightAware covers Real-time tracking.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which ForeFlight and FlightAware actually diverge.
| Attribute | ForeFlight | FlightAware |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $130/year | Free |
| Pricing model | subscription | freemium |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Platforms | iPad, iPhone | Web, Ios, Android |
| Founded | 2007 | 2005 |
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
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 ForeFlight
- Flight planning
- Aeronautical charts
- Weather briefings
- Navigation
- Weight & balance
- Garmin avionics
- Jeppesen charts
- ADS-B receivers
Only in FlightAware
- Real-time tracking
- Flight status
- Airport info
- Delay tracking
- Weather data
- APIs
- Third-party apps
- Airlines
Both cover
- Data encryption
- Ios support
- Android support
- Web support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
ForeFlight
- Flight planning and navigation for pilotsnot FlightAware
- Aviation weather and digital logbooknot FlightAware
- Airport information and terrain profilingnot FlightAware
FlightAware
- Tracking a business aviation fleet by tail number with taxi and ground alertsnot ForeFlight
- Blocking or selectively sharing an aircraft's flight legs for privacynot ForeFlight
- Pulling live and historical flight positions and tracks into an application over a REST APInot ForeFlight
- Predicting arrival times with Foresight for airline and airport operationsnot ForeFlight
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
ForeFlight
- Device restrictions: 2 iPads and 1 iPhone, or 1 iPad and 2 iPhones per licence
- Geographic region limited to one per subscription
- Annual billing only, no monthly option
- Starter plan lacks Synthetic Vision and advanced planning tools
- Essential plan lacks pre-built aircraft profiles and fuel planning
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
Pricing, plan by plan
ForeFlight
$130/yearNo published plan breakdown. See the ForeFlight review.
FlightAware
Free- FreeFree
- Flight tracking
- Basic info
- Mobile app
- Subscription$9.99/month
- Ad-free
- Premium tracking
- Weather maps
Which should you pick?
Choose ForeFlight if
- You need flight planning.
- You work on iPad, iPhone.
- You also want aeronautical charts.
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.
Questions people ask
- Is ForeFlight or FlightAware better?
- Neither clearly leads. ForeFlight starts at $130/year and FlightAware at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, ForeFlight or FlightAware?
- FlightAware has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $130/year for ForeFlight and Free for FlightAware.
- Does ForeFlight or FlightAware run on more platforms?
- ForeFlight runs on iPad, iPhone. FlightAware runs on Web, Ios, Android.
- Can I use FlightAware for free?
- Yes. FlightAware has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. ForeFlight starts at $130/year.
- What is ForeFlight best used for?
- ForeFlight is most often used for flight planning and navigation for pilots, aviation weather and digital logbook, airport information and terrain profiling. Of those, flight planning and navigation for pilots and aviation weather and digital logbook are not what FlightAware is typically brought in for.
- What can ForeFlight do that FlightAware cannot?
- ForeFlight covers Flight planning, Aeronautical charts, Weather briefings, Navigation. FlightAware covers Real-time tracking, Flight status, Airport info, Delay tracking. Both handle Data encryption, Ios support, Android support, Web support.