Flights get disrupted for all kinds of reasons: weather, technical issues, political tensions, air traffic congestion. And often, the airline is the last one to tell you about it.
A good flight tracker app gives you a real-time picture of what's happening with your flight before any official announcement goes out, so your spring break can start on time. I tested six of the most popular flight tracking apps on iPhone and Android to find out which ones are actually worth having on your phone and which ones you can skip.
Whether you want to track your own flight, keep tabs on a family member's, or just want to know the moment something changes, there's an app for you.
Here are the best flight tracking apps for your next trip.
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How I tested the top flight tracker apps
I tested six flight tracking apps to compare how they performed. More specifically, I checked:
- Delay and gate change alert details
- Real-time map tracking and visual interface
- Depth of flight information (aircraft type, origin, route history)
- Ease of setting up flight alerts and adding trips
- Free and premium features
- Cross-platform availability (iOS and Android)
After testing, I found Flightradar24 was superior for both Android and iPhone users, but Flighty was a close second. Read on to find out why.
Flight tracker app comparison
Best flight tracker apps for Spring Break
| App | Available for | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Flighty Free and Pro available |
iOS (Android waitlist) | Accurate delay alerts for iPhone users |
| Flightradar24 Free and Pro available |
iOS and Android | Real-time visual tracking and plane spotting |
| byAir Free and Pro available |
iOS and Android | Trip-focused tracking with free notifications |
| FlightAware Free and Premium available |
iOS and Android | Data history |
| Plane Finder Free |
iOS and Android | General aviation enthusiasts |
| AirHelp Free (commission-based) |
iOS and Android | Flight compensation claims |
Flighty: Best flight tracker app for iPhone
Android waitlist available.
If you're the type of traveler who wants to know about a delay before your gate agent does, this one's for you. Flighty uses live Air Traffic Control data to predict delays before airlines make any official announcements, and in a lot of cases, that gap can be significant.
WhistleOut writer, Max McCaskill, has been using Flighty since 2024 across trips to Aruba, Peru, and beyond. He puts it plainly: "I find out about potential problems from Flighty well before any airline notification ever shows up."
Beyond preventive alerts, Flighty's airport notifications help you navigate the airport too. It tells you which gate to head to, which baggage carousel to wait at, and whether your connection is at risk of being delayed. Honestly, it's worth the download if you're flying with a tight layover this Spring Break.
Image: Max McCaskill | WhistleOut
Flighty's free version includes all the main features you need to travel, but Flighty Pro ups the ante with more data. It unlocks weather forecasts, live aircraft location (so you can see where your plane is coming from before it even lands), and a full flight history called the "All-Time Flighty Passport."
Max has logged every flight back to 2018: 34,167 miles, 11 airlines, 22 airports. You can even see which seats you occupied, which days you flew, and what aircraft types you've been on most. Without Pro, you only get the last 12 months of history.
But is Pro worth paying for? If you fly more than a handful of times a year and like having that data, yes. Max is maintaining his subscription and points out that the annual cost works out to around $5/month, which is fair for what the app delivers. If you just need something to monitor one trip and then delete, the free version is plenty.
There is a downside, though: Flighty is iOS-only for now. Android users are on a waitlist. If that's you, skip ahead to Flightradar24.
What does Reddit think about Flighty?
Reddit's frequent flyers rave about how soon Flighty flight alerts arrive, beating top airlines even. u/Civil_Delay1573 on r/unitedairlines commented, "Flighty's alerts consistently beat United alerts by 5-10 minutes, which gives you a major headstart on finding options for cancelled or delayed flights."
Traveling internationally this spring? Make sure your data plan can keep up.
Flight tracker apps are only as useful as your connection allows. Before your trip, make sure you have an international plan or eSIM that keeps you online from wheels up to touchdown.
Check out our guide to the best travel apps to plan the full picture.
|
Visible
$25 Visible Plan
$25.00/mo
Taxes & Fees included
|
|
Mint Mobile
Unlimited Data Plan
$25.00/mo
$75.00 upfront payment for 3 months (equals to $25.00/month). Intro pricing for new customers only.
|
|
XFINITY Mobile
Mobile Select Plan
$0.00/mo
(for the first year of service) <br>Regular rate of $30/mo. thereafter
|
Flightradar24: Best app for plane spotting
Pro subscription available.
I downloaded Flightradar24 to review it and ended up spending an entire hour watching planes take off from LAX. This app is a live map of every aircraft in the sky: planes, helicopters, private charters, air ambulances, navy choppers, sheriff department helicopters—you name it. Every air vehicle, moving in real time across a map you can customize with nine different views.
Tap any plane icon and you instantly get its flight number, route, altitude, speed, and aircraft type. You can filter by airline, zoom out to see airbase activity in the Mediterranean, or scan entire regions to watch how flight patterns shift throughout the day. For tracking your own flight, you can add a specific flight number and monitor its progress along the scheduled route.
Flightradar24 feels like SimCity but real life, and once you start, it's hard to stop.
Image: Jessica Santero | WhistleOut
The AR (augmented reality) feature lets you point your phone at the sky and identify whatever plane is flying overhead, including its airline, aircraft type, altitude, and destination. It's a little glitchy if your phone's calibration is off, but when it works, it's impressive.
Image: Jessica Santero | WhistleOut
The free version is great, and I don't have any complaints. The ads aren't abusive either. Pro adds current weather conditions and a 3D cockpit-style view of whatever plane you're tracking, which are nice upgrades but not essential for most travelers. For anyone flying this Spring Break, this is an essential free download.
What does Reddit think about Flightradar24?
Redditors think Flightradar24 is unbeatable for live aerial awareness and has lots of nifty features. u/TechTraveler_Gizmo really appreciates the augmented reality feature, "The AR feature is still the coolest party trick in tech. Was at a BBQ yesterday and identified a Lufthansa A380 at 30,000 feet just by pointing my phone."
byAir: Best flight app for Android users
Pro subscription available.
byAir is on the rise as Flighty's biggest competitor as the top cross-platform flight tracker. Unlike Flightradar24, which is great for watching all air traffic, byAir focuses specifically on your trip. Add your flight number and the app builds a full picture, including current weather at your destination, a delay index showing how likely your flight is to be affected, all departures and arrivals at your airport, and even directions to get there.
There's also a hidden gem feature I wasn't expecting: airport tips. byAir surfaces useful local knowledge, like the fact that JetBlue has a rooftop terrace at JFK that's accessible once you're past security. That kind of information doesn't show up in most trackers.
Image: Jessica Santero | WhistleOut
My only real gripe is that byAir doesn't tell you why a flight is delayed or cancelled. I checked it on a day with active tornado warnings and could see flights affected, but the app gave no reason. You'd need to cross-reference elsewhere for that context. Still, byAir gives you push notifications for free to keep you ready at all times.
What does Reddit think about byAir?
After the shutdown of App in the Air, users went looking for alternatives, and byAir kept coming up. u/BrokeDXBStudent on r/byair highlighted, "byAir has been such a blessing this year, especially as an Android user. It [has] filled the App in the Air gap perfectly and added so much more functionality."
Find a phone plan that works, wherever Spring Break takes you
Whether you're tracking flights from the beach or the airport, the right phone plan makes a difference.
Compare the most popular options below, including international and travel-friendly plans.
|
T-Mobile
Essentials Saver
$50.00/mo
with Auto-Pay - Taxes & Fees NOT included
|
|
Verizon
Unlimited Plus
$70.00/mo
+ Taxes & Fees. Price includes AutoPay & Paperless discount.
+ $40 Upfront
|
|
AT&T
Value 2.0℠
$50.00/mo
+ $35 Upfront
|
FlightAware: Best for flight history
Premium subscription available.
FlightAware is the original flight tracking app, and it certainly shows its age. The map icons don't move fluidly. It updates every 30 seconds with position data, but that static-then-jump feel is a long way from the smooth real-time movement you get in Flightradar24. Visually, it feels like a product from the early 2000s. I kept thinking of it as something you'd have open next to "Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?"
That said, FlightAware does a few things well. You can add your flight number to receive status alerts, and the airport delay data is genuinely useful. It shows delay percentages across U.S. airports along with the cause (like weather or volume), which helps you understand whether a disruption is localized to your flight or system-wide. The "Misery Map" that shows delay rates across all U.S. airports is a useful concept, though not the easiest thing to navigate.
Image: Jessica Santero | WhistleOut
Flightradar24 and Flighty have largely made FlightAware redundant for most travelers. Where it still earns a spot is for detailed flight path history or understanding systemic airport delays across the country. It's not the first app I'd reach for, but if you want that historical context, it's still a solid option.
What does Reddit think about FlightAware?
Long-time users keep FlightAware around explicitly for its flight history. u/woodworkingguy1 on r/aviation stated, "FlightAware is good for seeing flight details and history... [it] is better for info about the flight/flight path. I was able to spot a delay a few years ago before the gate agent knew about it and was able to get rebooked on a later connection."
Plane Finder: A decent tracker that's been left behind
Premium subscription available.
Plane Finder isn't a bad app, it just hasn't kept up with the times. The interface has a general travel information feel to it, and the flight detail view is styled like a digital boarding pass, which is a nice touch.
But up against Flightradar24, the map quality is noticeably lower and the ad experience is worse. There's a permanent banner at the bottom of the screen that's easy to tap by accident, and full-screen ads have no button to close them.
Image: Jessica Santero | WhistleOut
But the biggest problem is that light mode is only available with a premium subscription. That's an unusual and annoying problem, and for a lot of users it's a dealbreaker. 3D flight watch is similarly restricted. Given that other tracking apps deliver a better map, better data, and a far less intrusive ad experience completely free, it's hard to make a case for Plane Finder unless you're specifically interested in its ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast) receiver network. That makes it more interesting for aviation enthusiasts who want to contribute data.
What does Reddit think about Plane Finder?
Plane Finder tends to come up in pilot and aviation enthusiast communities more than general traveler ones. u/OutrageousExternal on r/ADSB mentioned,"Plane Finder uses a combination of radar reports and live ADS-B tracking... it also has the tools to be of value for general aviation pilots."
AirHelp: Claim filing made easy
Takes a percentage cut of any compensation recovered.
AirHelp isn't a flight tracker per se, but it tracks your claims and refund requests when your flights are delayed or canceled. If your flight was significantly delayed or cancelled and you're owed money, AirHelp handles the filing and follow-up on your behalf.
But word to the wise, AirHelp takes a percentage of whatever you recover. And once you've started a case with them, you can't take it back, even if you later resolve the situation directly with the airline. Reddit users are pretty adamant on that point. If you get compensated by the airline directly after submitting to AirHelp, they will still pursue their cut. That's not a small thing to agree to.
Image: Jessica Santero | WhistleOut
Before reaching for AirHelp, check what your credit card covers. Many travel cards include built-in flight protection that pays out without a middleman or a commission.
What does Reddit think about AirHelp?
The warnings on Reddit are hard to ignore. u/Fun-Title4224 cautioned on r/travel, "AirHelp [has] a clause which says that once a case is given to them, you still owe them regardless of who completes it. This stops people passing a case to multiple firms."
Already planning the rest of your Spring Break trip?
A flight tracker is just one piece of the puzzle. Check out our full roundup of the best travel apps to cover everything from expense splitting to offline maps before you leave.
Flight tracker apps: FAQ
Can you track any flight with a flight tracker app?
Most commercial flights are trackable, but private aircraft, military flights, and some government planes can't be tracked. For any standard commercial flight on a major carrier, Flightradar24 or Flighty will have it covered.
Do flight tracker apps work internationally?
Yes, all of the flight tracker apps listed here track international flights. Flightradar24 has particularly strong global coverage, and both Flighty and byAir handle international routes well for alerts and status updates.
Is there a free flight tracker app?
Yes, and some of the best ones are completely free. Flightradar24 offers an excellent free experience for real-time tracking, and byAir even includes free push notifications.
How do flight tracker apps get real-time data?
Most apps rely on ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast), a system where aircraft continuously broadcast their position, altitude, speed, and flight number to ground receivers worldwide.
Jessica Santero
Staff Writer
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