Best Apps for Tracking Flights in 2026: 7 Apps Compared

Flightradar24 is the app most people picture when they think of flight tracking. Its live map shows aircraft moving around the world in real time, and tapping any plane reveals its route, speed, altitude, aircraft type and registration. Point your phone at the sky with the AR view and it labels the plane overhead, which is a delight for curious kids and aviation fans alike. The free version covers basic tracking well, and the app runs on iOS and Android.

Paid tiers start with Silver at around 1.49 dollars per month on annual billing, which removes ads and extends flight history to 90 days, while Gold at around 3.99 dollars per month adds weather layers, air traffic control boundaries and 365 days of history. The free version times out after a while and shows ads, so heavy users will feel the nudge to pay. For watching any flight on a map, free or paid, Flightradar24 remains the benchmark.

FlightAware is the practical free alternative to Flightradar24. Its app tracks any commercial flight worldwide in real time, plus general aviation in the United States and Canada, and it sends free alerts for departures, arrivals, cancellations, gate changes, delays and diversions. A full-screen map with a weather radar overlay helps you see why a flight is delayed, and the "Where is my plane" view shows the inbound aircraft for your flight.

The basic free plan includes a small number of global flight tracking alerts, with unlimited alerts reserved for premium tiers, and there is a paid option to remove ads. FlightAware's interface is more functional than beautiful, and it will not win a design contest against Flighty. But if you want reliable free alerts and solid airport delay data without paying, FlightAware is the most capable free tracker here.

Flighty is the app frequent flyers swear by. It follows your own flights rather than the whole sky, and its Pro alerts cover more than 65 alert types, including delay predictions, gate predictions, tail-number assignments and baggage carousel assignments. Many users report learning about delays from Flighty before the airline announces them, and the Connection Assistant judges whether a tight connection is still possible as conditions change. The free version includes unlimited flight tracking and live flight sharing, and every Pro feature is free for your first flight.

Pro costs 59.99 dollars per year, shown as 4.99 dollars per month on annual billing, with weekly, lifetime and family options also offered. The hard limit is platform. Flighty works on iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac, and there is no Android version. If you live in Apple's world and fly more than a few times a year, Flighty is worth every cent. Android users should look at byAir instead.

Plane Finder has tracked live flights since 2009 using its own worldwide network of receivers picking up ADS-B and MLAT signals from aircraft. The app shows a clear global map with 2D, 3D and satellite views, plus an AR view that identifies planes overhead through your camera, and tapping an aircraft shows its model, speed, altitude and registration. A free Lite version carries adverts, while in-app purchases range from 1.99 to 19.99 dollars per item.

Plane Finder is simpler than Flightradar24 and less alert-focused than FlightAware, which is exactly its appeal for casual plane watchers and families following a relative's flight. It will not predict your delay or manage your connection. For opening a map, finding a plane and watching it land, it does the job with minimal fuss and no subscription pressure.

TripIt takes a different route to flight tracking. Forward a booking confirmation email and it builds a master itinerary for the whole trip, covering flights, hotels, car rentals and activities in one place, with calendar sync and sharing. The free tier covers itinerary organisation, inbox import, maps and document uploads, which is enough for travellers who mainly want their bookings in one place.

TripIt Pro costs 49 dollars per year with a 30-day free trial, and it adds the flight tracking features: real-time flight alerts, alternate flight suggestions when plans change, check-in reminders, terminal and gate information, baggage claim details, fare tracking and seat tracking. If you already live inside TripIt, Pro is a natural upgrade. If you only want to watch one flight on a map, Flightradar24 or FlightAware will serve you better for free.

KAYAK Trips is the free itinerary tracker inside the KAYAK app. Forward booking confirmations to [email protected] or sync your email account, and it builds an itinerary with real-time flight status, gate change and baggage claim notifications, plus airport terminal maps and security wait times. Trips work offline, so you can check your itinerary without signal, and you can share plans with friends and family.

The price is hard to argue with, since KAYAK Trips is completely free and works across devices. The limit is scope. Tracking centres on your own bookings, so it is less useful for watching a relative's flight or browsing the skies than Flightradar24 or Plane Finder, and there is no global live radar map. For a traveller who already uses KAYAK to search fares, Trips adds flight tracking without another app or subscription.

byAir is the answer for Android users who want Flighty-style tracking. It covers your own flights with real-time status, terminal, gate and baggage information, plus a live airport flight board updated every minute, airport guides with security lane and food tips, transport options and destination weather and time zone details. It runs on iOS, Android, Apple Watch and Wear OS, and it can import flight history from other trackers.

A free basic tier covers core tracking, while byAir Pro costs around 47.99 dollars per year and adds live push notifications, unlimited flight history and advanced features. The app is completely ad-free, which sets it apart from most free trackers. byAir is newer and has a smaller community than Flighty, so its delay predictions have less public track record. For a cross-platform household or an Android user who wants a personal flight tracker, it is the strongest pick here.