DUATSvs
ForeFlight
ForeFlight: Modern EFB app for flight planning and weather briefing with broader platform support
DUATS has been discontinued. This page is kept for the record, and for the alternatives below.
See what replaced itDUATS
FAA Direct User Access Terminal System for flight briefings
As of 30 August 2026, DUATS starts at $9.95/month. DUATS is the FAA-approved Direct User Access Terminal System that provides flight briefing services, weather information, and flight planning tools directly to. Softwr lists it under Aviation. DUATS is made by DUATS International, launched in 1990, available on Web, iOS, Android.
Overview
What DUATS does
DUATS is the FAA-approved Direct User Access Terminal System that provides flight briefing services, weather information, and flight planning tools directly to pilots. It is the official government system for obtaining preflight briefings, filing flight plans, and accessing aviation weather data.
What people use it for
- Flight briefing
- Flight planning
- Flight filing
- Weather briefing
The honest half
Where it falls short
Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about DUATS.
- Service has been discontinued as of May 2018
- No longer available for flight planning or briefing
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of DUATS
Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.
- DUATSvsSkyDemon
SkyDemon: European-focused flight planning tool with strong VFR capabilities
Pricing
What DUATS costs
Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.
Basic
$9.95 /mo
- Flight briefings
- Weather data
- Flight planning
- Flight filing
Premium
$29.95 /mo
- All Basic features
- Advanced weather
- Priority briefings
- Unlimited filings
Capabilities
Features
Flight briefings
Weather data
Flight planning
Flight filing
NOTAMs
FAA systems
Integration with FAA systems
Weather services
Integration with Weather services
Chart databases
Integration with Chart databases
ATC integration
Integration with ATC integration
FAA approved
FAA approved security feature
Data encryption
Data encryption security feature
Secure access
Secure access security feature
Answered, with sources
Questions people ask
Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.
Is DUATS still available?
No. The FAA discontinued the Direct User Access Terminal Service (DUATS II) on May 16, 2018.
SourceDid DUATS cost money?
No. DUATS was free to all registered U.S. pilots and student pilots holding a current medical certificate.
SourceWhat replaced DUATS?
Pilots now access internet-based weather, aeronautical information, and flight plan filing through the FAA flight service website at no charge.
SourceBehind it
Who makes DUATS
- Company
- DUATS International
- Based in
- Washington, DC
Timeline
DUATS over time
- Discontinued2018-05-16
FAA discontinues DUATS II service
Source
Keep looking
Where to go from DUATS
- DUATS alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- DUATS pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- DUATS badgesWhich rules it meets, and the figure behind each
- All Aviation softwareThe full category
- Best Aviation softwareThe shortlist, and how it was cut
Best Aviation software for
Compare DUATS with
- ForeFlight
- 1800wxbrief
- SkyDemon
- Boeing Aviator
- Lido Flight Planning
- Garmin Pilot
- EFB Pro
- FltPlan Go
- Jeppesen FliteDeck Pro
- NAVBLUE N-Flight Planning
- PFPX Flight Planning
- Ramco Aviation Suite
- Rocket Lab Mission Software
- Safelog Pilot Logbook
- simBrief
- SITA Airport Management
- SkyVector
- Jeppesen
Other Aviation software
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Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for DUATS, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.
More on DUATS
DUATS alternatives
What people switch to, and what they give up
DUATS pricing
Every tier, and where the cost actually lands
Compare DUATS
Put it head to head with anything we hold
DUATS badge
Its rating, and an embed for your own site
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