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Honest comparison.
No mudslinging.

We stack up against Logger, ForeFlight Logbook, LogTen, MyFlightbook, and Logbook Pro, axis by axis. Where we lose today, we say so — and we tell you what we're shipping next.

Axis
Aviator Archive
Subscription incumbents
Pricing model
One-time $199 USD
Subscription is the norm. LogTen Pro is $129.99/yr — about 18 months to our one-time price. APDL is $199.99/yr, i.e. one year. Logger sits at the cheap end ($29.99/yr), where the payback runs closer to seven. Prices verified 2026-08-03.
Data ownership
Local file on your device
Cloud-stored by default. Logger uses iCloud (so: yours within Apple's walled garden). Export usually possible but not always frictionless.
Sync
Peer-to-peer mTLS, no data relay
Cloud-relayed by default. Logger leans on iCloud — works well inside Apple, doesn't cross to anything else. ForeFlight and LogTen run their own clouds.
Platform reach
iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, Linux (active dev on all)
Logger and LogTen are Apple-only (iPhone, iPad, Mac). Logbook Pro is Windows + iOS. ForeFlight Logbook is Apple-led. None ship Linux.
Airport / aircraft database depth
84,000+ airports, 10,000+ aircraft types, 1,500+ manufacturers — bundled, no download
Logger ships 40,000+ airports — also strong, also bundled. ForeFlight wins on richer airport detail (taxi diagrams, FBO, fuel pricing) — that depth is on our roadmap, not in the row count.
ACARS / ADS-B / flight-deck screen capture
Yes — on-device OCR of ACARS OOOI & FMC/MCDU pages, iOS & Android, part of Pro (ADS-B import not in scope)
Logger does the camera-scan-the-ACARS-screen trick well, and we now match it. ForeFlight adds ADS-B import via Sentry/Stratus hardware — that piece we don't do.
EFB integration (charts, weather, planning)
Not in scope — we log what you flew
ForeFlight, Garmin Pilot, FltPlan Go each ship full EFB suites. Different tool, different problem.
Roster / airline import
Generic CSV / XLS smart importer
Some apps ship named connectors. Logger lists 'automated airline importers.' On our roadmap; not yet shipping.
Visual polish
Glass cockpit noir; Cormorant + cyan; brand-locked dark
Logger is the prettiest in the market — that's real and worth saying. LogTen is dense and powerful. The rest range from 'fine' to 'Windows 7.'
Maturity
New (2025+); shipping fast
LogTen and Logbook Pro have 15+ year head starts. Logger has been in market for several years and has a polished cohort of features.
Support
Real human, < 24 h, founder-replied
Logger is also founder-led and well-reviewed for support. Bigger vendors run ticket queues.

Where we lose today

  • ·Airport detail (not breadth). We ship 84,000+ airports out of the box — more than Logger's 40k and competitive with anyone — but ForeFlight has years of hand-curated per-airport detail: taxi diagrams, FBO data, fuel pricing. Row count we have. Detail behind each row is on our roadmap. See credits for sources.
  • ·Named airline-roster connectors. Some logbooks integrate directly with operator systems. We deliberately ship a generic CSV/XLS importer first — named connectors come later, scoped per request.
  • ·EFB features. Charts, weather, route planning, briefing — not on our roadmap. Use a real EFB for that. We log what you flew; we're not trying to fly it for you.
  • ·Years of polish. Logger and the older apps have had years to refine every screen. We're newer. We're closing the gap fast, but we won't pretend we've already done it.

See something missing? Tell us . The roadmap is shaped by what working pilots ask for.

Head to head

A note on Logger

Logger is the closest spiritual cousin we have in the market — also founder-led, also pilot-built, also genuinely good design. If you fly an iPhone-and-Mac flight deck and the only thing that matters is "best-looking iOS logbook today," Logger is a fair answer and we won't pretend otherwise.

We solve a different problem in three concrete ways:

  • Pricing math. The category bills by the year. LogTen Pro — the closest thing to a like-for-like professional logbook — is $129.99/yr; at $199 once, you're ahead of it in about 18 months — and we never bill you again. APDL is $199.99/yr, so: one year. LogTen's Basic tier is $79.99/yr, about thirty months. ForeFlight's logbook rides inside an EFB subscription at $130 / $260 / $390 a year by plan — not a like-for-like comparison, because you're buying charts and briefing with it. And the candid worst case is Logger, the cheapest product in the category at $29.99/yr: against that you're the best part of seven years in before you come out ahead. If you know you'll stop flying before then, Logger is the cheaper answer — we'd rather you heard that from us than worked it out after paying us.
  • Platform freedom. Logger is iPhone, iPad, Mac. We add Android, Windows, and Linux to that list. If you ever need to switch hardware ecosystems, your logbook comes with you instead of being trapped in iCloud.
  • Sync architecture. Logger relies on iCloud. We sync device-to-device over your local network with mTLS — no relay, no cloud round-trip, works in airplane mode on the hotel Wi‑Fi.

None of this makes Logger bad. It makes us different. Pick the tool whose tradeoffs match how you actually fly.

On these figures. Competitor prices verified 2026-08-03 and quoted in USD — as is our $199, because the payback periods above are arithmetic that only holds in a single currency. Buying from the EU, the UK, or Canada? Your local price is on the purchase page. We're also not the only one-time option in the market: Safelog sells a $999.99 lifetime licence, and Logbook Pro Desktop is a $99.95–$199.95 perpetual licence — cheaper than us, but Windows-only with no mobile app. Third-party pricing moves without notice; if any number here has gone stale, tell us and we'll correct it.

Where we win

  • You stop paying every month. $199 once, no subscription — no clock running in the background while you sleep.
  • Your data stays on your device. The whole logbook is one file you can copy, encrypt, hand to your spouse, or open with sqlite3.
  • Sync that works without a server. Phone-to-tablet over your hotel Wi-Fi when their cloud is having a Tuesday.
  • Every platform. One license unlocks iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, Linux as each one ships.
  • Honest support. A founder reads your email. Usually before lunch.
  • Capture from the flight deck. Photograph an ACARS OOOI page or the FMC/MCDU screen and your block times — with date and flight number — read straight into the flight, on-device (iOS and Android; part of Pro).

Try it once. Own it forever.

No subscription. No contract. No "introductory pricing" trick.

Buy Logbook — $199 USD