If you knew it as RadarBox, it is now AirNav Radar. The American-run flight tracker dropped its old name in December 2024, but the product is the same: a live map fed by more than 50,000 ADS-B stations, flight replays, airport boards and, for paying users, aviation charts and weather layers that appeal to pilots as much as plane spotters.
It is a serious alternative to Flightradar24, with a cheaper route to pro-style map layers. The trade-offs are a smaller user base, mixed reviews of its support and full-screen adverts that some users find alarming. Here is our AirNav RadarBox review: what is free, what each plan costs and who should pay.
AirNav Radar Promo Code: None needed
Best deal: 7-day free trial on Spotter, Pilot or Business, then Pilot from £34.99 a year
| Offer detail | What you get |
|---|---|
| Promo Code | None needed. AirNav Radar does not publish promo codes; it runs occasional seasonal sales |
| Welcome offer | 7-day free trial on each plan, for new subscriptions only |
| Who qualifies | New subscribers on the website or in the app |
| Key terms | Renews automatically; Pilot is £34.99 a year on the UK App Store; the card on file is charged when the trial ends |
| How to claim | Pick a plan in the app or on the website and start the trial |
AirNav Radar at a glance
- Owner: AirNav Systems LLC, Naples, Florida, with research and development in Europe
- Founded: 2001 by André Brandão, a computer engineer and airline pilot; RadarBox renamed AirNav Radar in December 2024
- Platforms: web, iPhone, iPad, Android, Apple silicon Macs and Apple Vision Pro
- Free plan: yes; live map, flight pages, airport boards and 7 days of replays, with ads
- Paid from: £2.99 a month for Spotter or Ads-Free (UK App Store)
- Offline use: no; it needs a data connection
- Ratings: App Store (UK) 4.7/5 from 646 ratings
Our verdict
AirNav Radar is a strong tracker for enthusiasts and pilots: its Pilot plan brings terrain, satellite and aviation chart layers plus weather for £34.99 a year, and anyone who feeds data gets the top Business tier free. For casual users, the free app is fine but no better than Flightradar24’s, the plan line-up is confusing, and complaints about intrusive adverts and slow support hold it back.
Pros
- Free tier includes 7 days of flight replays and airport arrivals and departures
- Pilot plan adds aviation, terrain and satellite map layers and weather
- Live airport tower radio on paid plans
- Free Business account for anyone feeding ADS-B data
- Runs on Apple silicon Macs as well as phones and tablets
Cons
- Full-screen adverts in the free app, criticised by reviewers
- The App Store sells overlapping “Ads-Free”, “Spotter” and promo variants, which is confusing
- Far fewer App Store ratings than its big rivals
- Support response is a recurring complaint
- No offline mode and no Apple Watch app listed
What AirNav Radar does and who should use it
AirNav Radar combines ground and satellite ADS-B, multilateration (MLAT), ADS-C and official feeds such as FAA SWIM and EUROCONTROL, 14 data sources in all according to the company. The result is plotted on a live map with flight pages, aircraft photos, airline details and airport boards.
The company behind it, AirNav Systems, sells to airlines, airports, media and government users through its FlightWatch professional service, and makes its own XRange ADS-B receivers.
Where it fits:
- You fly light aircraft and want aviation charts, terrain and weather on one map before a weekend trip.
- You like listening to air traffic control while watching arrivals at Heathrow or Dublin.
- You already run a Raspberry Pi receiver and want a top-tier account in return.
Is AirNav Radar free? Free vs paid tiers
Yes. The free app covers live tracking with status-change notifications, the radar map (including aircraft squawking emergencies), flight pages with photos, airport arrivals and departures and flight replays of up to 7 days. It shows adverts.
According to the UK App Store listing:
- Ads-Free removes adverts and adds unlimited tower radio, altitude and speed graphs and up to 30 days of history. On the website, the entry plan is called Spotter and is described simply as ad-free tracking.
- Pilot adds terrain, satellite and aviation map layers, weather layers and advanced filtering.
- Business adds up to 365 days of history, fleet tracking, airport overviews and bigger raw data downloads.
AirNav Radar price: Spotter, Pilot and Business
These are the main prices on the UK App Store and the website.
| Plan | UK App Store | Website (US$) |
|---|---|---|
| Free | £0 | $0 |
| Ads-Free, monthly / yearly | £2.99 / £15.99 | Not sold separately |
| Spotter, monthly / yearly | £2.99 / £13.99 | $17.99 a year |
| Pilot, monthly / yearly | £5.99 / £34.99 | $34.99 a year |
| Business, monthly | £49.99 | $599.99 a year |
The App Store also lists promotional Spotter and Pilot prices, from £14.99 to £24.99 and £17.99 a year respectively, which appear during sales. The website accepts cards through Stripe and PayPal; downgrade refunds are only offered on card payments.
The cheapest way to pay: Spotter yearly at £13.99 on the App Store is the cheapest ad-free option, about £1.17 a month. Note that the “Ads-Free” yearly item costs more, at £15.99, so check which one you are buying.
The free route: feed ADS-B data to AirNav Radar and you should be upgraded to a free Business account automatically. If it does not appear within 24 hours, the company asks you to contact support.
AirNav Radar features that stand out
Coverage. Over 50,000 stations in its ADS-B network, the company says, plus satellite ADS-B and official feeds.
Tower radio. Listen to live air traffic control audio, unlimited on paid plans.
Pilot layers. Aviation charts, terrain and satellite maps, plus weather layers for cloud cover, precipitation and volcanic activity.
Downloads. Paid tiers export flight tracks as CSV, GeoJSON or KML.
Platforms. iPhone, iPad, Android, web, Apple silicon Macs and Vision Pro. There is no offline mode.
Is AirNav Radar safe and accurate?
ADS-B and MLAT positions are close to real time, and one App Store reviewer, User87235, praised its MLAT coverage of military and smaller aircraft: “This is much better than Flightradar24 for one reason.”
The UK App Store privacy label lists identifiers as data used to track you, with purchases, contact info, user content, identifiers and diagnostics linked to you.
The adverts are the bigger worry. One App Store reviewer, moody boy, warned: “Be cautious as the advertising goes fullscreen and is the definition of scare-ware”, describing fake security warnings. Whatever the source, it is a good reason to pay for an ad-free plan or at least avoid tapping adverts. When DailyStoke checked, we found no published regulator action against AirNav Systems.
What users say about AirNav Radar
At 4.7 from 646 ratings, the UK App Store score is high but based on a small sample. Complaints focus on reliability and support. Kaminokiller wrote that “this app is far to unreliable anymore to keep using”, citing ground vehicles hiding planes, while Kevin Patterson said of a support query: “I got one response back from them and then…nothing, despite a number of chase ups.”
To cancel: on iPhone, open Settings, tap your name, then Subscriptions. On Android, use Google Play, Payments and subscriptions. If you paid on the website, cancel in your AirNav Radar account; access continues to the end of the paid period.
AirNav Radar vs Flightradar24 vs Plane Finder
| AirNav Radar | Flightradar24 | Plane Finder | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free history | 7 days | 7 days | Playback archive from 2011 |
| Cheapest ad-free (yearly, UK) | £13.99 (Spotter) | £13.99 (Silver) | £19.99 (Premium) |
| Pilot-style layers | £34.99 a year (Pilot) | £33.99 a year (Gold) | Not offered |
| Free plan for feeders | Business | Contributor | Free apps, ad-free web |
| App Store rating (UK) | 4.7 (646) | 4.8 (378k) | 4.7 (96k) |
Pick AirNav Radar for aviation charts, tower radio and the most generous feeder reward.
Pick Flightradar24 for the best free app and the largest community.
Pick Plane Finder for a single simple plan and an Apple Watch app.
For US delays and airline data, see our FlightAware review.
Who should pay for AirNav Radar?
Pilots and serious spotters will get most from the Pilot plan. Casual users who meet the occasional flight should stick to a free app. Receiver owners should feed it regardless.
AirNav Radar FAQs
Is RadarBox the same as AirNav Radar?
Yes. RadarBox was renamed AirNav Radar in December 2024. The company, AirNav Systems, and the features stayed the same.
Is AirNav Radar free?
Yes, with ads. The free app includes the live map, flight pages, airport boards and 7 days of replays.
How much is AirNav Radar Pilot?
£5.99 a month or £34.99 a year on the UK App Store, after a 7-day free trial.
How do I get a free AirNav Radar Business account?
Share data from an ADS-B receiver. Feeders are upgraded to Business automatically.
Who owns AirNav Radar?
AirNav Systems LLC, based in Naples, Florida, founded in 2001.
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