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Tracking & apps6 min read

Best Paragliding Apps in 2026: An Honest Comparison

No single app wins every job. An honest 2026 comparison of XCTrack, FlySkyHy, Wingman, Gaggle, Paragliding Map, Meteo-Parapente and OutDare.

Published · Updated · OutDare Team

Short answer: no single paragliding app wins every job, so most pilots run two or three. For the in-flight instrument, XCTrack (Android, free) and FlySkyHy (iPhone, $8.99) lead. For thermal forecasts in Europe, Meteo-Parapente (€36 a year) is the reference. For group flying, it is Gaggle. For finding a site and knowing whether it is flyable today, OutDare (free, 13,900+ sites) and Paragliding Map (free with ads) are the two to know. Here is the honest September 2026 picture — including where our own app, OutDare, does not win.

The paragliding apps compared at a glance

Prices and platforms as checked on the App Store and the makers' sites on 28 September 2026.

App Best at Platforms Price
XCTrack In-flight instrument, competition XC Android Free
FlySkyHy In-flight instrument on iPhone iOS $8.99 once + optional add-ons
Wingman Instrument and logbook on iPhone & Apple Watch iOS, watchOS Free; PRO $29.99/year
SeeYou Navigator Instrument + planning ecosystem iOS, Android Subscription
Meteo-Parapente Thermal forecasting (Europe) Web, iOS, Android €36/year
Windy Big-picture weather, model comparison Web, iOS, Android Free + paid tier
Gaggle Flight recording, group flying, live tracking iOS, Android Free tier; premium from $59/year
Paragliding Map Site database, webcams, flyability alerts iOS, Android, Web Free with ads; paid upgrades
OutDare Flyable-or-not verdict per site, alerts, tracking & SOS iOS, Android, Web, Apple Watch Free, no ads, no account

Which app is best as a flight instrument in the air?

XCTrack is the best in-flight instrument on Android, and FlySkyHy the long-standing choice on iPhone; Wingman is the newer iPhone and Apple Watch option. XCTrack is free and endlessly configurable — vario, airspace, task navigation, live competition scoring — which is why competition pilots standardize on it. Its weakness is the flip side: the first evening goes on building screens instead of flying.

FlySkyHy ($8.99 on the App Store, with in-app add-ons for airspace and waypoints) has long answered "what do iPhone pilots use?" — polished, stable and deep, with thermal assistance and live tracking. Wingman is the modern alternative on iPhone and Apple Watch: a sensor-fusion vario, automatic take-off and landing detection, a logbook with signed IGC export and a live link for family — free, with a PRO subscription at $29.99 a year. SeeYou Navigator plugs into the wider SeeYou planning and analysis ecosystem and runs on a subscription.

OutDare includes a vario flight recorder with a thermal assistant, and for everyday recreational flights it does the instrument job fine — but we will say it plainly: if your flying is competitions or long XC lines, XCTrack or FlySkyHy is the stronger cockpit. That is their home turf.

Which app tells you whether tomorrow is flyable?

OutDare is the app built to answer "is my site flyable?" directly: it gives every site a flyable-or-not verdict for your own wind range and wing, and alerts you when a saved site turns on. The weather specialists answer a different question — what the air will do — and leave the judgement to you. Most pilots use one of each.

Meteo-Parapente is the thermal-forecasting reference in Europe, built by a paraglider pilot on a dedicated weather model, at €36 a year. If you fly cross-country in the Alps or Pyrenees, it is worth every cent. Windy is the generalist: fast, beautiful and free for most of what pilots need, with several forecast models to flip between. It will not judge a launch for you, but for the synoptic picture it is the tool everyone ends up with anyway.

OutDare turns the forecast into a decision. Every site carries a 7-day forecast from high-resolution regional models (AROME, ICON-D2, UKV, HRRR…) with a model-agreement confidence signal, plus a 12-month record of how often that launch actually worked. It is decision support, not a replacement for reading the sky — our guide to reading a paragliding forecast insists on that — but it is the fastest honest answer to "do I drive or not?", and it is free.

Which app is best for finding paragliding sites?

Paragliding Map and OutDare are the two biggest flying-site maps in an app, and they differ in what they do with a site. Paragliding Map lists 15,000+ launches, 7,500 landings and 39,000 webcams, sends an evening-before alert for launches you pick, and is free with ads, with paid upgrades. OutDare maps 13,900+ launches and 6,900 landings in 135 countries and territories — including 1,200+ DHV-verified German sites — and attaches a flyable-or-not verdict tuned to your wind range to every one of them, free and without ads.

Paragliding Map is the long-standing reference, and many pilots keep it for its webcams alone.

OutDare's site data ships inside the app, so the map works offline and without an account; each site carries wind directions, altitude, access notes, community photos and ratings. If your question is "where can I fly near me" or "where do I fly on this trip?", a verdict for every site is what OutDare was built for. The same sites can be browsed on the web in our flying-site guides, and the trip planner ranks places by how many days each month were flyable over three years of hourly weather.

Which app is best for live tracking and safety?

Gaggle is the best app for flying socially, and OutDare focuses the same job on the people waiting on the ground. Gaggle's group features — friends live in the air, leaderboards, club culture — are the strongest in the sport, and its free tier covers recording and live tracking; premium plans start at $59 a year.

OutDare gives every flight a shareable live link: your family sees where you are and gets an automatic "landed safely" signal, and if the phone detects a hard landing with no movement afterwards, the app alerts your emergency contacts and pilots within 40 km — plus an ICE QR helmet sticker for first responders. All free. For what phone tracking can and cannot do, see our live-tracking guide.

Which paragliding apps are completely free?

XCTrack and OutDare are free with no paid tier at all; Windy, Gaggle and Paragliding Map are free with paid upgrades. Meteo-Parapente (€36 a year), FlySkyHy ($8.99 once), Wingman PRO ($29.99 a year), Gaggle premium (from $59 a year) and SeeYou Navigator (subscription) make up the paid layer pilots add when they need it. A pilot on Android can cover all four jobs — instrument, weather, sites, tracking — without paying anything.

So which paragliding apps should you install?

  • Android weekend pilot: XCTrack + Windy + OutDare. Total cost: zero.
  • iPhone pilot: FlySkyHy ($8.99) or Wingman + OutDare; add Meteo-Parapente when XC ambitions arrive.
  • Alpine XC hound: XCTrack or FlySkyHy + Meteo-Parapente + OutDare for the site knowledge and the live link your family will ask for.
  • Social flyer: Gaggle + OutDare + Windy.
  • Travelling pilot: OutDare for where and whether to fly, Paragliding Map for the webcams.

The honest summary: specialists win their specialties — XCTrack and FlySkyHy in the cockpit, Meteo-Parapente on thermals, Gaggle on community, Paragliding Map on webcams. OutDare's case is different: it does the jobs around the flight — where to fly, whether to fly, and staying found — for free. Run it alongside whichever instrument suits your phone, and you have covered all four jobs for at most the cost of one paid app.

Frequently asked questions

Which app is best for paragliding?
It depends on the job, so most pilots run two or three apps. As a cockpit instrument in the air, XCTrack (Android, free) and FlySkyHy (iPhone, $8.99) lead, with Wingman as the newer iPhone and Apple Watch option. For thermal forecasting, Meteo-Parapente is the reference in Europe. For social flying and live tracking, Gaggle's community features are strong. For finding a site and knowing whether it is flyable today, OutDare (free, 13,900+ sites, a flyable-or-not verdict per site) and Paragliding Map (free with ads, strong on webcams) are the two to know.
Is there an app that tells me when my paragliding site is flyable?
Yes. OutDare gives every site a green, yellow or red verdict for today and the coming days, tuned to your own wind range, gust tolerance and wing, and sends a push alert when a saved site turns flyable — free, on iOS, Android and the web. Paragliding Map sends an evening-before alert for launches you select, and Gaggle shows flyable days per site. Treat any verdict as decision support and confirm the wind on launch.
Is there a completely free paragliding app?
Yes. XCTrack's flight instrument is free on Android, and OutDare is entirely free — sites database, 7-day forecasts with a flyable-or-not verdict, flight recorder with 3D replay, live tracking link and SOS, with no ads, no subscription and no account required. Gaggle, Windy and Paragliding Map are free with paid upgrades, while Meteo-Parapente (€36 a year), FlySkyHy ($8.99) and SeeYou Navigator (subscription) are the paid layer many pilots add.
Can I use my phone as a vario?
Yes, within limits. Phone barometers are good enough for learning what lift feels like, and apps like XCTrack, FlySkyHy, Wingman, Gaggle and OutDare all beep usefully. A dedicated vario still reacts faster, survives cold and glare better, and never takes a phone call mid-thermal — which is why many cross-country pilots fly with both.
Do I still need a paper map or a second weather source?
For weather, yes — no app replaces cross-checking. Serious pilots read one thermal-forecast specialist and one general model source before committing to a drive, and confirm wind on launch. For airspace, a current in-app airspace layer (XCTrack, FlySkyHy, SeeYou Navigator or OutDare) has effectively replaced paper for recreational flying, but the legal responsibility to know the airspace remains yours.

Sources & further reading

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