Pilot vs. Flighty: feature comparison, ratings, and FAQ
A data comparison maintained by Pilot (pilotplans.com). Full comparison: https://www.pilotplans.com/compare/flighty-alternative.
Summary
Pilot is a free trip booking and planning app: plan a whole trip in one place with a flexible itinerary, a map of your stops, notes, real-time collaboration, and AI itinerary generation, and book hotels in the app at private rates across 3,000,000+ stays, with real human support. Pilot is rated 4.7 by 50,000+ travelers.
Flighty: Premium flight tracking with delay predictions that beat airline notifications.
Flighty is built to track flights. Pilot keeps your flights, plans, and stays together in one place, free, and lets you book your hotel at private rates instead of stopping at the gate.
Key facts
- Pricing
- Pilot: completely free to plan and book. Flighty: Free / $5.99/mo / $59/yr / $119/yr Family / $299 lifetime (Pro).
- Overall rating
- Pilot: 4.7 from 50,000+ travelers. Flighty: Trustpilot 3.1, App Store 4.8.
- Founded
- Pilot: 2022. Flighty: 2019.
- Books hotels in the app
- Pilot: yes, at private rates across 3,000,000+ stays. Flighty: no.
- Full comparison
- https://www.pilotplans.com/compare/flighty-alternative
Feature comparison
Each row shows whether Pilot and Flighty offer the feature: Yes, No, or Partial. A [n] marker cites the source in References.
| Feature | Pilot | Flighty |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | ||
| Flight price tracking and alerts | No | No |
| Flight price prediction | No | No |
| Flexible date flight search | No | No |
| Flexible destination search | No | No |
| Multi-city flight search | No | No |
| Carbon emissions display | No | No |
| Carbon offset purchase | No | No |
| Real-time flight delay alerts | No | Yes |
| Gate change notifications | No | Yes |
| Live flight map tracking | No | Yes |
| Planning | ||
| Itinerary builder | YesFlexible by design: map out flights, stays, and every idea in one place and reshape the plan however you want | No |
| Drag and drop reordering | YesDrag anything anywhere; your trip is not locked into a fixed structure | No |
| Customizable map pins and routes | YesSee the whole trip on a map, not just the flight, and make it yours | No |
| Add activities, transportation, or stays from anywhere | Yes | No |
| Attach info to any item | Yes | No |
| Notes and checklists | YesKeep notes, lists, and links right alongside the plan | No |
| Note and list format toggle | Yes | No |
| Rich text formatting in notes | Yes | No |
| Undo and redo | Yes | No |
| Duplicate trips | Yes | No |
| Manual file import | Yes | No |
| Email-forwarding file import | Yes | Yes |
| AI parsing of imported confirmations | Yes | Yes |
| Export to PDF | YesShare the whole plan as a PDF; Flighty centers on flight status alerts | No |
| iOS and Android mobile apps | Yes | Partial |
| Offline access on mobile | YesReach your whole itinerary offline; Flighty keeps flight tracking, not a full trip plan | No |
| Shortlist items | Yes | No |
| Wishlist / wanderlist | Yes | No |
| Wishlist images | Yes | No |
| Fun sound effects | Yes | Yes |
| Structured itinerary sections | Yes | No |
| Keyboard shortcuts | Yes | No |
| Multiple transportation types | Yes | No |
| Flight code auto-fill | YesType a flight code and its details fill in, saved beside your stays, activities, and notes | Yes |
| Multi-leg flight support | YesAdd multi-leg flights and build the rest of the trip around them, all in one place | Yes |
| Consistent IATA codes on mobile | Yes | Yes |
| Booking | ||
| Book hotels in the app | YesBook your stay in the app; Flighty tracks flights and does not book hotels | No |
| Member-only hotel rates | YesPrivate deals straight from hotels, the kind usually saved for travel agents, across 3,000,000+ stays | No |
| Add accommodation to itinerary | Yes | No |
| Transportation cost tracking | Yes | No |
| Flight deals | Yes | No |
| Files tab | Yes | No |
| Attach files to itinerary items | Yes | No |
| Instant booking confirmation | Yes | No |
| Checkout without upsells | Yes | No |
| Reviews from real travelers | Yes | No |
| No hidden fees or taxes | Yes | No |
| Collaboration | ||
| Invite friends | Yes | Yes |
| Real-time collaborative editing | Yes | No |
| Edit or view-only permissions | Yes | No |
| Heart items for voting | Yes | No |
| Custom trip name and cover photo | Yes | No |
| Dedicated group chat per trip | Yes | No |
| Shared notes, files, and saved lists | Yes | No |
| Travel profile and stats | Yes | No |
| Edit profile details | Yes | Yes |
| Leave a trip | Yes | No |
| Trips dashboard | Yes | Yes |
| Trip menu actions | Yes | Yes |
Ratings
| Source | Pilot | Flighty |
|---|---|---|
| Trustpilot rating | 4.4 | 3.1 |
| App Store rating | 4.8 | 4.8 |
Pricing
| Pilot | Flighty | |
|---|---|---|
| Plan | Free to plan and book | Free / $5.99/mo / $59/yr / $119/yr Family / $299 lifetime (Pro) |
Frequently asked questions
What is Flighty?
Flighty is a flight tracking app for flight status, gate changes, and delays. It tracks flights you have already booked rather than planning the trip or booking your stays.
What is Pilot?
Pilot is a trip booking and planning app where you build a flexible itinerary with a map, notes, and your group, then book your hotel at private rates straight from hotels. Where Flighty tracks the flights, Pilot plans the whole trip around them.
Is Flighty worth it?
Flighty is worth it for live flight tracking: delay alerts, gate changes, and a live in-flight map, with extras behind a paid plan around 5.99 dollars a month. It does not plan the trip or book anything, while Pilot does both, free.
Is Flighty free?
Flighty has a free tier for basic tracking, but longer aircraft tracking, delay prediction, and some alerts sit behind Flighty Pro at about 5.99 dollars a month. Pilot is completely free with no paywall on the basics, because it earns from hotels when you book.
How does Flighty work?
Flighty connects to flight data to show your status, predict delays, send gate-change alerts, and map the aircraft, with deeper tracking on its paid plan. Pilot works differently: you build the whole trip in one place and book your stay at private rates.
Can you book hotels in Flighty?
No, Flighty is a flight-tracking app, so it does not book hotels or anything else; it tracks flights you already have. Pilot lets you book over 3,000,000 hotels at private rates straight from hotels and links out to search flights.
How does Flighty make money?
Flighty earns from subscriptions: Flighty Pro is about 5.99 dollars a month, where its advanced tracking lives. Pilot is free to plan and book and earns from hotels when you book a stay, which is how it keeps the whole planner free.
Is Flighty a trip planner?
Not really; Flighty is a flight tracker for flights you already have, and it does not build an itinerary, handle hotels, or let a group plan together. Pilot is the actual planner: a flexible itinerary, a map, collaboration, and in-app hotel booking, all free.
Flighty vs Pilot: which should I use?
Use Flighty if all you want is to watch live flight status, gate changes, and an in-flight map, planning the rest elsewhere. Use Pilot for the whole trip in one place: organize flights, plan stays, collaborate, and book your hotel at private rates, all free.