Alternatives

Flightradar24 Alternatives: Free and Paid Options

Flightradar24 is the best-known flight tracker, but it is not the only good one. Here is what each alternative does better, what it costs as of October 2026, and which one fits your use.

GodsView AI Layers panel with only Aircraft (ADS-B) turned on over the North Atlantic

Key takeaways

  • FlightAware is the closest like-for-like alternative, with strong flight status and alerts; paid plans start at $44.95 per month as of October 2026.
  • ADS-B Exchange, airplanes.live, adsb.fi and adsb.lol are community networks that publish unfiltered data, including many military aircraft.
  • Plane Finder and AirNav Radar (formerly RadarBox) are polished consumer apps with free tiers and paid upgrades.
  • GodsView shows flights alongside ships, satellites and hazards on one free map, with military aircraft and alerts on Pro.
  • No tracker sees every aircraft: coverage depends on receivers, and some operators are filtered or do not broadcast ADS-B.

The best Flightradar24 alternatives are FlightAware for flight status and alerts, ADS-B Exchange or airplanes.live for unfiltered data, and Plane Finder or AirNav Radar for a polished mobile app. If you want flights in context with ships, satellites and natural hazards on one map, GodsView AI is a free browser option. For a no-cost, open-data feed, adsb.lol and adsb.fi publish community data with open APIs.

Flightradar24 is popular for good reason, but its free tier shows ads, keeps only 7 days of flight history and times out on the website after 30 minutes, according to its subscription page. Those limits push many users to look around.

This guide compares the main options in a single table, explains where each one is stronger, lists prices checked on October 20, 2026, and ends with the limits every tracker shares.

Open the GodsView live flight map

Flightradar24 alternatives at a glance

TrackerFree tierPaid from (Oct 2026)Unfiltered militaryBest for
FlightAwareBasic, freePremium + $44.95/monthNoFlight status, alerts, airline ops
ADS-B ExchangeFree live mapEnterprise data productsYes, unfilteredMilitary and special-interest traffic
airplanes.liveFree, community-runNot requiredYes, unfilteredUnfiltered map, feeder community
adsb.fiFree, community-runCommercial on requestYes, unfilteredOpen data API
adsb.lolFree, community-runNot requiredYes, unfilteredOpen data, open-source API
Plane FinderFree app with adsPremium $3.49/month or $19.99/year (US App Store)NoMobile, 3D and AR
AirNav RadarBasic, freeSpotter, Pilot, Business plansNoPlayback and history on mobile
GodsViewFree mapPro $10.99/monthPro layerFlights plus ships, satellites, hazards

"Unfiltered" here means the network says it does not remove aircraft at an operator's request. It does not mean every aircraft appears, because many military flights never broadcast ADS-B. Our explainer on military aircraft tracking covers why.

FlightAware: the closest like-for-like alternative

FlightAware is the strongest choice if you mostly care about flight status: delays, gates, arrival estimates and alerts for a specific flight number. Its Basic account is free, and paid plans are billed monthly: Premium + at $44.95, Enterprise at $99.95 and Enterprise WX at $149.95, per its premium page as of October 2026.

Paid tiers raise alert counts and extend historical flight data to as much as 8 months back. FlightAware also sells products aimed at general aviation and business jet operators. Where it is weaker is special-interest traffic: it does not market itself as unfiltered, so the community networks below are the better tools for military aircraft.

ADS-B Exchange: unfiltered flight tracking

ADS-B Exchange describes its map as live, unfiltered flight tracking from a global network of volunteer feeders. That makes it the usual reference for military, government and other special-interest aircraft that mainstream trackers hide.

The live map at globe.adsbexchange.com opens in any browser. For data access, the site offers a Community API for personal and non-commercial use and paid Enterprise Data products for businesses. JETNET, an aviation data company, announced its acquisition of ADS-B Exchange in January 2023. For a head-to-head, see ADS-B Exchange vs Flightradar24.

Community networks: airplanes.live, adsb.fi and adsb.lol

Several volunteer-run networks grew up as open, unfiltered aggregators. They all rely on hobbyists who run a receiver, usually a Raspberry Pi with a software-defined radio and a 1090 MHz antenna. If you are new to how that works, read how ADS-B flight tracking works.

airplanes.live

airplanes.live is a community-run aggregator that says it will never filter or obfuscate aircraft data, including military traffic. The map is free, and feeders get unfiltered MLAT results back.

adsb.fi

adsb.fi reports more than 6,700 feeders and publishes an open data API whose endpoints are compatible with the ADS-B Exchange v2 format, including lookups by hex, callsign, registration, squawk and a military list.

adsb.lol

adsb.lol runs an open-source API, BSD-3-Clause licensed on GitHub, designed as a drop-in replacement for the ADS-B Exchange Rapid API. It also publishes historical traces under the Open Database License (ODbL), which makes it popular with researchers and developers.

The trade-off with all three: interfaces are functional rather than polished, and there is little airline schedule data such as gates and delays.

GodsView AI Layers panel with only Aircraft (ADS-B) turned on over the North Atlantic
Live aircraft over Europe on the GodsView flight layer, sourced from open ADS-B networks

Plane Finder and AirNav Radar: polished consumer apps

Plane Finder

Plane Finder is a long-running mobile and web tracker with 3D view, an augmented reality mode that identifies aircraft when you point your phone at the sky, live airport boards and playback back to 2011. On the US App Store it is free with in-app purchases, and Plane Finder Premium is listed at $3.49 per month or $19.99 per year as of October 2026. App store prices vary by country.

AirNav Radar (formerly RadarBox)

RadarBox now operates as AirNav Radar, and radarbox.com redirects to airnavradar.com. Its subscription page lists four plans: Basic, Spotter, Pilot and Business. Flight history grows from 7 days on Basic to 30 days, 90 days and 365 days on the paid tiers, and playback extends from 15 days to 12 months. Higher tiers also add map layers and flight track downloads in CSV, GeoJSON and KML.

GodsView: flights in a wider live picture

GodsView is a hosted web map that puts aircraft next to ships, satellites, earthquakes, fires and weather. Aircraft positions come from the OpenSky Network first, falling back to adsb.lol and adsb.fi, and refresh about every 10 seconds. The methodology page lists all sources.

The free tier needs no sign-in and includes flights, ships, satellites, quakes, fires and weather, with ads and a 30-minute viewing pause. Pro ($10.99 per month, $99.99 per year or $199.99 lifetime, as of October 2026) adds the military flight tracker layer, takeoff and landing alerts, emergency squawk alerts for 7500, 7600 and 7700, NOTAM layers, airport timetables, an ATC-style radar scope and following an aircraft in 3D. Flight replay runs from 1x to 40x speed.

GodsView is not a dedicated airline-status service. There is no mobile app and no public developer API, so FlightAware remains better for gate and delay details.

Track a flight on GodsView

Where Flightradar24 is still better

Flightradar24 has mature iOS and Android apps, airport boards, a 3D view and long history on paid plans: 90 days on Silver, 365 days on Gold and 3 years on Business. Its Silver plan is $14.99 per year as of October 2026, which is hard to beat for a polished ad-free tracker. Our guide is Flightradar24 free? breaks down every tier.

Which Flightradar24 alternative should you pick?

  • You track one flight for a pickup: FlightAware or Flightradar24 free. Our guide on how to track a flight explains flight numbers, callsigns and hex codes.
  • You follow military or government aircraft: ADS-B Exchange, airplanes.live, or the GodsView military layer.
  • You build an app or research project: adsb.lol or adsb.fi open data, or the OpenSky Network API for non-commercial use.
  • You want an ad-free phone app cheaply: Plane Finder Premium or Flightradar24 Silver.
  • You watch flights alongside shipping and events: GodsView, for example around a busy airport like JFK.

What no flight tracker can show

Every tracker in this list depends on aircraft transmitting ADS-B or Mode S and on a receiver being in range. Over oceans and sparsely populated regions, coverage thins out unless a provider adds satellite data. Many military aircraft do not broadcast their position at all. Interference also matters: in some regions, GPS jamming and spoofing can make reported positions wrong.

The OpenSky Network notes in its FAQ that it cannot give scheduled flight, delay or passenger information, which is typical of pure ADS-B networks. Positions are also delayed by seconds to a minute. These maps are for awareness and hobby use, and they are not navigation or safety tools. Tracking public broadcasts is generally lawful, but the rules on flight and ship tracking vary by country.

GodsView AI Layers panel with Aircraft and Military Aircraft filters on over Europe
Military aircraft that broadcast ADS-B, shown on the GodsView Pro military layer

The short version

For flight status, use FlightAware. For unfiltered data, use ADS-B Exchange or airplanes.live. For open data, use adsb.lol or adsb.fi. For a cheap ad-free app, Plane Finder Premium or Flightradar24 Silver. For flights in context with ships, satellites and hazards in one browser tab, try GodsView's free map.

Open the GodsView live world map

Frequently asked questions

What is the best free alternative to Flightradar24?

For general use, FlightAware Basic is the closest free alternative, with strong flight status and alerts. For unfiltered data including many military aircraft, airplanes.live and ADS-B Exchange are free to view. GodsView offers a free map with flights, ships and satellites together. Each has different limits, so try two and keep the one that fits.

Which flight tracker shows military aircraft?

Community networks that do not filter data, such as ADS-B Exchange, airplanes.live, adsb.fi and adsb.lol, show military aircraft that broadcast ADS-B or are located by MLAT. GodsView shows them on its Pro military flight tracker using the adsb.lol military feed. Aircraft that do not broadcast position will not appear on any of these maps.

Is ADS-B Exchange better than Flightradar24?

It depends on the job. ADS-B Exchange is better for unfiltered data and special-interest aircraft. Flightradar24 is better for airline schedules, polished mobile apps and long history on paid plans. Read our full ADS-B Exchange vs Flightradar24 comparison for the details.

How much does FlightAware cost?

As of October 2026, FlightAware Basic is free. Paid plans are billed monthly: Premium + costs $44.95, Enterprise $99.95 and Enterprise WX $149.95 per month, according to FlightAware's premium page. Paid tiers add more alerts and extend historical flight data up to 8 months. Check the page before buying, since prices can change.

Is there a flight tracker with an open API?

Yes. adsb.lol publishes an open-source API compatible with the ADS-B Exchange Rapid API, and adsb.fi runs an open data API with lookups by hex, callsign, registration and squawk. The OpenSky Network API is free for personal and non-profit use, while commercial use needs its consent.

Sources

  1. Flightradar24 — subscription plans
  2. FlightAware — premium subscriptions
  3. ADS-B Exchange — homepage and data products
  4. JETNET — JETNET acquires ADS-B Exchange (January 2023)
  5. airplanes.live — about the network
  6. adsb.fi — open data API (GitHub)
  7. adsb.lol — API source (GitHub)
  8. Plane Finder — App Store listing (US)
  9. AirNav Radar — subscription plans
  10. OpenSky Network — FAQ

Facts checked on against each provider's own site.

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