The 4 Best Flight Tracker Apps in 2026
Watching every plane currently in the air move across a map is oddly addictive, but these apps have a far more practical use: finding out whether the flight you are picking up at the airport is running late before you leave the house. In this guide we compare the 4 best apps for tracking flights in real time in 2026.
Apps for tracking planes and flights live
Real-time flight tracking apps with an air traffic map, altitude and speed data, status and delays for specific flights, and camera-based aircraft identification.
Top pick
Flightradar24: Rastreo de Vuelos
Flightradar24 AB · Free (with purchases) · 100M+
Best overall
4.7
652K reviews
TopApps analysis
Flightradar24 covers more flights than any rival and lets you identify the plane passing overhead by pointing your camera at the sky.
Flightradar24 is the best known flight tracker and the most complete: it maps every aircraft in the air in real time, with altitude, speed, route and model. Point your camera at the sky and it identifies the plane passing overhead, and it works just as well for following someone's flight.
Pros
- The largest number of flights covered in real time
- Identifies planes by pointing the camera at the sky
- Altitude, speed, route and aircraft model data
Cons
- The advanced features require a subscription
- Ads in the free version
- Drains a fair amount of battery with the map open
FlightAware: Seguimiento de Vuelos
Free (with purchases) · 10M+
Best for delays
3.8
45K reviews
TopApps analysis
FlightAware is built around operational data: it predicts delays, shows boarding gates and is the app many industry professionals rely on.
FlightAware cares more about the data than the pretty map: it's the reference for operational flight information, with delay predictions, boarding gates and air traffic maps by airport. It's what plenty of industry professionals check when they need to know whether a flight will land late.
Pros
- Very reliable operational data on delays
- Gate and terminal information
- Alerts when a flight's status changes
Cons
- Less attractive interface than Flightradar24
- Uneven user ratings
- Thinner radar coverage in some areas
Last updated: 2026-07-13
Plane Finder: Rastreador de Vuelos
pinkfroot limited · Free (with purchases) · 1M+
The lightest
4.3
16K reviews
TopApps analysis
Plane Finder pans the map smoothly even on modest phones and adds an eye-catching simulated cockpit view.
Plane Finder is the lighter alternative to Flightradar24: the map stays smooth even on modest phones, and the cockpit view simulates what the pilot would be seeing. It tracks fewer flights than its main rival, but for identifying the plane passing over your city it does the job easily.
Pros
- Very smooth map, even on older phones
- Eye-catching simulated cockpit view
- Filters by airline, altitude and aircraft type
Cons
- Covers fewer flights than Flightradar24
- Smaller network of receivers
- Less operational data on delays
AirNav Radar: Rastreo de Vuelos
AirNav Systems · Free (with purchases) · 1M+
The most curious
4.3
7K reviews
TopApps analysis
AirNav Radar includes flights others leave out, such as military and government aircraft, and overlays weather on top of the air traffic.
AirNav Radar, formerly RadarBox, stands out for its own receiver network and for showing data others don't, such as military and government aircraft tracking. Its three-dimensional view and the weather overlay make it an interesting pick for aviation enthusiasts.
Pros
- Own receiver network with good coverage
- Three-dimensional view of air traffic
- Includes unusual and government flights
Cons
- Smaller community than Flightradar24
- Many features locked behind the subscription
- Less intuitive interface
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if a flight is delayed?
Any of these apps lets you search a flight by its number, for example BA246, and see its live status: whether it has departed, where it is and the updated estimated arrival time. FlightAware is the most reliable for delay predictions because it combines historical data with congestion at the destination airport.
How does flight tracking work?
Most aircraft broadcast their position through a system called ADS-B, which anyone can pick up with an antenna. These companies run networks of thousands of receivers around the world, many of them installed by hobbyists, and combine that data with official information. That is why coverage is weaker over oceans and sparsely populated areas.
Why are some planes missing from the map?
Three common reasons: they are over an area with no nearby receivers, such as the middle of the Atlantic; they are military or government aircraft that hide their signal; or the owner has asked not to appear on public platforms, which certain privacy programmes for private aviation allow.
Are these apps free?
All of them have a free version that is enough to follow a specific flight and see the traffic map. Subscriptions add longer history, advanced weather data, a 3D view and no ads. For the normal use case of checking whether a flight is running late, the free version is more than enough.
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