Pilot EFB is a free download with an optional subscription, Pilot EFB Pro. This chapter is the one reference page for where the line runs. Every other chapter marks Pro-gated steps with a small Pro chip and ends with its own Free vs Pro table, so nothing in the guide leads you into a paywall unannounced.
What free includes
The free tier is a working app, not a demo:
- Weather and NOTAMs - fetch, decode and read them for any airport or FIR, with the raw text always kept.
- Logbook - log flights with every logbook tool, including rolling windows, the full currency grid, PDF and reports and Insights, until you have logged 300 hours in the app while signed in. Your entries, all-time totals, search and CSV import and export stay free after that.
- Duty records and the live limits engine - log duties, read the Dashboard, Calendar, Reserve and What-if segments, up to 20 logged duties while signed in. The History and Roster segments stay open at every tier.
- Flight folders - up to 3 folders to organise trips (archived days do not count).
- Alert monitoring for 1 watched location.
- Airports, Tools, Learn & Reference and Community - no subscription needed.
The hours and duties caps need a free account: they count what you log by hand on that account, and a guest who tries to add an entry or a duty is asked to sign in or create a free account first. Imported history never counts toward either cap. A free account also opens two one-time previews: the aviation chart for 3 days, and the full 30-day weather history for 14 days from first open, after which free keeps the last 5 days.
The caps exist so the free app stays usable: anything you logged stays viewable, editable and exportable if a subscription lapses.
What Pro unlocks
Pilot EFB Pro is one subscription covering the full toolkit:
- Roster import - PDF, CSV and calendar files - with batch review and undo, plus unlimited logged duties and the engine past the free cap (Duty & FTL).
- The logbook past 300 logged hours: new entries, rolling windows, the full currency grid, PDF export, reports and Insights (Logbook).
- Unlimited flight folders, each with its sealed weather and NOTAM snapshots; snapshots have no limit of their own (Flights).
- The aviation chart, winds aloft and the ruler on the map (Aviation Map).
- The full 30-day weather history for every station (Weather).
- Alerts on every watched location and per-location alert levels (Weather, NOTAMs).
- Auto-sync in the background across your devices, and more photo and PDF storage, backed up with your account (Settings, Backup & Sync).
- The rest of the Pro surface each chapter marks with the Pro chip.
Free vs Pro by module
Each row links to the module chapter's own table, which lists every gated item for that screen.
| Module | Free | Pro | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home | Every card, including 30 and 90 day hours; active duty figures and cumulative gauges for your first 20 logged duties while signed in | Active duty figures and cumulative gauges past the 20-duty allowance | Free vs Pro on Home |
| Duty & FTL | Engine and duty log up to 20 duties; History and Roster always | Unlimited duties, roster import | Free vs Pro in Duty & FTL |
| Logbook | Every logbook tool up to 300 logged hours while signed in; after that, your entries, all-time totals and CSV in and out | Logging past 300 hours, with rolling windows, the full currency grid, PDF and reports, Insights | Free vs Pro in the Logbook |
| Weather | Stations, METAR and TAF, winds aloft, hazards map, one alert location, 5-day history after a 14-day full preview | SIGWX and Upper Air charts, 30-day history, alerts everywhere | Free vs Pro in Weather |
| NOTAMs | Reading, search, map, decode, history; one alert location | Alerts and alert levels on every watched location | Free vs Pro in NOTAMs |
| Aviation Map | Basemap, navaids, most region packs, a 3-day chart preview with a free account | The chart, US airspace and obstacles, winds aloft, ruler | Free vs Pro in the Aviation Map |
| Flights | 3 flight folders and their snapshots | Unlimited folders and their snapshots | Free vs Pro in Flights |
| Brief | Every pane, within the folder and duty caps | The Weather charts row, Passenger announcement deck | Free vs Pro in Brief |
| Tools | Every calculator, checklist, decoder and report | Per-diem | Free vs Pro in Tools |
| Notifications & Widgets | Feed, reminders, widget, Live Activity, Watch; one alert location | Location alerts on every watched location | Free vs Pro in Notifications & Widgets |
| Settings, Backup & Sync | Every preference, backup and restore, devices | Auto-sync, cloud storage meter | Free vs Pro in Settings, Backup & Sync |
Airports, Learn & Reference, Community and Quick start have no gate and no table.
Pricing
- iOS (iPhone and iPad): 39.99 US dollars per year, or 4.99 per month, as an App Store subscription. There is no free trial.
- Web: the web edition, Pilot EFB Desk, is a separate plan - 199.99 US dollars per year or 19.99 US dollars per month - bought on the web, for signed-in accounts, with a 3-day free trial for new subscribers (card up front, nothing charged if you cancel before it ends, one per person and per payment card).
Pricing carries the current table and the fine print; prices in other currencies follow your App Store region.
How to buy or manage Pilot EFB Pro
- Open Settings and tap the Pilot EFB Pro row at the top. It reads Free or Active. The screen behind it shows the plan card, the full list of what Pro adds, how much of your free allowance you have used, and your photo storage.
- Tap Subscribe to Pro. As a guest, the button on the paywall reads Sign in to subscribe: Pro is tied to your account, so sign in or tap Create a free account first.
- Pick yearly or monthly and follow the App Store purchase sheet.
- To change plan or cancel, tap Manage subscription on the same screen, or open your App Store account settings on the device; the subscription is bought and managed through Apple. Restore purchases re-links a subscription you bought earlier with your Apple ID.
What the paywall shows
When a Pro feature sends you to the paywall - a PDF export, roster import, a fourth flight folder, Per-diem - the paywall opens on that feature. The first card is headed Included in Pilot EFB Pro, names the feature, says in one line what Pro does for it, and says what stays free, for example "Viewing, editing and CSV export of your logbook stay free." The price, the plan choice and the full free and Pro comparison follow below it.
Signed in on the free tier, Home can also show one Pro card at a time when it is relevant: your chart or weather history preview has just ended, you are close to the hours or duties cap, all 3 free folders are in use, or your logbook or duty record has started to grow. See what Pro adds opens the paywall, and Not now dismisses the card for good. If you have already allowed notifications, the app also tells you once when the chart preview or the weather history preview ends.