ForeFlight vs Garmin Pilot: iPad Navigation Apps Compared

Every pilot with an iPad eventually faces this choice: ForeFlight or Garmin Pilot? Both dominate the EFB market, and honestly, they’re both excellent. But they take pretty different approaches to how they work.

Quick Answer: ForeFlight runs $99-$299/year and has the cleanest interface – weather graphics are gorgeous. Garmin Pilot’s $99/year flat and syncs wirelessly with Garmin panels (huge if you fly G1000/G3000 equipped birds). For VFR flying, ForeFlight’s easier. For IFR in a Cirrus or fancy twin? Garmin Pilot’s wireless integration is hard to beat.

Interface – First Impressions Matter

ForeFlight just feels right from the first time you open it. The map page shows what you need, nothing more. Weather overlays are smooth, charts transition seamlessly when you zoom. I’ve had it crash maybe twice in five years. Updates are solid.

Garmin Pilot? Busier. Lots of buttons, lots of menus. Power users love it – you can customize everything. New pilots? They get overwhelmed. There’s a learning curve, but once you’ve got it down, you can access stuff faster than ForeFlight. Just takes some time to get there.

Weather and Planning

ForeFlight’s weather graphics are straight-up beautiful. The Graphical Forecast panel shows icing, turbulence, cloud layers – it’s like having your own meteorologist. METARs and TAFs display clean. The Flights Brief pulls everything into one doc. Smart Glide for engine-outs? Actually useful.

Garmin Pilot pulls from multiple sources including their own network. But here’s the killer feature: Connex. Your iPad links wirelessly to your panel-mount Garmin and boom – real-time traffic and weather from your transponder right on the tablet. If you’ve got compatible avionics, this alone justifies the subscription.

Navigation Stuff

Both’ve got VFR/IFR charts, approach plates, airport diagrams. ForeFlight’s plates are easier to read on small screens. Garmin’s charts match what’s on your panel, which is nice when you’re cross-checking.

Logbook? ForeFlight wins by a mile. Auto-tracks flights, imports from ADS-B receivers, exports to spreadsheets. Works great. Garmin’s logbook exists but feels tacked-on. Neither handles endorsements well – you’ll still need your paper logbook for checkrides anyway.

Money

ForeFlight starts at $99/year for Basic (VFR only). Pro’s $199 and adds synthetic vision, hazard advisor, weight & balance. Pro Plus is $299 with global charts.

Garmin Pilot? $99/year gets you everything in the US. $149 more for global. For IFR pilots who need all the features, that flat pricing’s actually cheaper. But if you’re VFR-only, ForeFlight Basic at $99 is tough to beat.

So Which One?

Get ForeFlight if you want the best user experience and don’t have Garmin avionics. It’s the industry standard for good reason – it just works. Most flight schools teach on it.

Get Garmin Pilot if you fly birds with Garmin panels. That wireless sync is magic. Also if you like the one-price-for-everything model. The learning curve pays off.

Bottom Line

Look, most CFIs teach ForeFlight because it’s easier to learn. Most Cirrus and King Air pilots use Garmin Pilot because their panels sync perfectly. Either one beats paper charts by a country mile.

Download both free trials. Fly a few patterns with each. You’ll figure out pretty quick which one feels right. Can’t really go wrong – they’re both way better than what we had ten years ago.