Flymap vs SkyDot: two offline flight maps compared

Both are phone-GPS apps

Flymap and SkyDot belong to the same category. Neither fetches positions from a server. Both read the GPS receiver in your phone, which keeps working with Airplane Mode on and Location left on, and both draw your position over maps stored on the device.

That puts them apart from Flightradar24 or FlightAware, which stop in the air without wifi, and from Flighty, which estimates times from airline data when it goes offline. It also means both share the same limit: no other aircraft, no delays and no gate information.

Accuracy is the same for both, because it comes from the phone rather than the app. Under open sky a smartphone is typically accurate to a few metres, and inside a cabin it is a little worse. Without mobile data the first fix is slower, so open the app and let it find you before takeoff rather than halfway across the sea.

What we could verify about Flymap

Flymap is on iOS and Android. Before you fly, you download the corridor your flight will follow. In the air it shows your live GPS position, altitude and speed, with points of interest along the route. It also offers offline Wikipedia packs, so there is something to read about the places you pass.

That is what we could confirm from Flymap’s own description in September 2026. We have not listed anything beyond it, so check the app’s store page for its current features and pricing model.

What SkyDot does

You set a route by looking up your flight number at the gate, which fills in the departure and arrival airports, or by picking airports by hand. Up to three stops are supported. Then you tap Start tracking.

The instrument panel shows altitude, ground speed, heading, time remaining, an approximate local arrival time, distance flown and remaining, coordinates and GPS accuracy. The arrival time is distance left along the route divided by your current ground speed, not the airline schedule.

A currently over line names the nearest town, country and continent from an offline list of 69,305 towns and 4,045 airports. Over water it names the sea or ocean and the distance to the nearest city.

When the aircraft lands SkyDot detects it and saves the flight, with distance actually flown, duration, maximum altitude, top speed and countries crossed. If GPS drops out for 15 minutes it pauses and asks whether to resume or save, and progress is saved about every 15 seconds so a closed app does not lose the flight.

Side by side

Flymap entries are limited to what could be verified. A dash means we could not confirm it either way, not that the feature is missing.

Maps and the travel log

SkyDot’s maps are offline vector packs. The world basemap, around 60 MB, is free and can download itself on wifi. Regional packs such as Europe, North America or East and Southeast Asia add more detail at roughly 90 to 140 MB each; they come with Premium, or you can unlock one region by watching an ad. With no map at all, SkyDot still draws your position and route on a plain background.

Every saved flight builds your totals: flights, countries, airports, distance and time in the air, with a world map that fills in as you fly over new countries. The free tier keeps five flights unlocked, with up to ten more earned by watching ads; later flights are kept and unlock with Premium. The log stays on your device and needs no account. SkyDot does not export the log or let you edit flights.

Preparing for a flight with SkyDot

Most of the work happens on the ground. At home or at the gate on wifi, check that the world basemap has downloaded and add the regional pack for where you are going if you have one. Then look up your flight number so the departure and arrival airports fill in. That lookup needs internet, so it will not work once you are in the air.

If your trip has a connection, add the stops. SkyDot draws a great-circle route line for each leg, and time remaining and distance left follow the route rather than a straight line to the final airport.

On board, tap Start tracking, switch on Airplane Mode and leave Location on. If you only want to see where you are without setting a route, Just show me where I am does that.

In the 45 minutes before sunrise or sunset, SkyDot tells you whether to look left or right using your live heading, with times adjusted for altitude. The Horizon screen also shows moonrise, moonset and the moon phase.

How to choose

Choose Flymap if points of interest and Wikipedia reading along your corridor are what you want from the window seat.

Choose SkyDot if you want instrument readouts, a plain answer to what is below, and every flight recorded without doing anything after landing.

Whichever you pick, download maps before you get to the airport, keep Location on in Airplane Mode and sit by a window if you can. And keep a network tracker such as Flighty or FlightAware for delays and gates, because neither of these apps does that.