Features, platforms and public product claims checked 25 September 2026. App availability, allowances and pricing can change.
The best aircraft collection app depends on what counts as a catch for you. Choose FlightCatcherPro for camera identification, saved photos, rarity tiers, and a long-term hangar; PlaneCollector or Only Planes for live-data collecting games; Plane Identifier for visual identification and mapping; AeroLog for structured fleet completion; or SpotBase for a searchable web logbook with export.
This comparison is published by FlightCatcherPro. Features below were checked against each product's public website or App Store listing on 25 September 2026. Verify current platform support, allowances, and pricing before choosing.
In short
- Choose by how a catch enters the collection.
- Check whether identity comes from images, live data, manual logging, or a mix.
- Keep registrations, photos, dates, locations, and verification notes.
- Use rarity and fleet gaps to choose the next aircraft to catch.
How we selected these aircraft collection apps
We included tools that let a spotter build a persistent collection of real aircraft, registrations, types, airlines, or sightings. We compared six practical criteria:
How a catch enters the collection
Camera capture, photo analysis, live flight data, manual logging, or a combination.
What the collection records
Aircraft type, registration, airline, location, date, photo, livery, or fleet progress.
How identity is checked
Visual analysis, ADS-B or live flight matching, user confirmation, or manual entry.
How collection goals work
Rarity, achievements, fleet completion, maps, streaks, statistics, or open-ended logging.
Where the app works
iPhone, Android, web, airport, overhead, museum, or saved-photo workflows.
Whether you can revisit your data
Search, gallery, map, hangar, statistics, or export.
No app is best for every spotter. A live-data game may reject a museum aircraft, while a manual logbook can record it accurately. A visual identifier may work from a saved photo but still need user confirmation.
FlightCatcherPro is available on iOS. Check current in-app allowances and subscription options for the features you want to use.
Best aircraft collection apps compared
| App | Best for | Collection method | Platform |
|---|---|---|---|
| FlightCatcherPro | Camera catches, photos, rarity and a personal hangar | Camera or photo → review → confirmed catch | iOS |
| PlaneCollector | Live-data collecting game, map and rankings | Camera, on-device AI and live flight data | iPhone |
| Plane Identifier | Visual identification, mapped records and achievements | Live camera or photo-library analysis | iPhone |
| Only Planes | ADS-B-verified catches and detailed sets | Camera plus active transponder match | iOS and Android |
| AeroLog | Registration logging and airline fleet completion | Manual log or live airport board | iOS |
| SpotBase | Photo archive, statistics and export | Photo upload and metadata tagging | Web |
FlightCatcherPro: best for camera catches, rarity, and a personal hangar
FlightCatcherPro turns an aircraft you see into a reviewed catch. Use the camera or a photo from your library, confirm the proposed aircraft details, and save the sighting with your image. The hangar then becomes both a visual collection and a digital spotting record.
Useful collection features described on the FlightCatcherPro site include:
- aircraft type, airline, registration, and flight details where available
- your own catch photographs and registration galleries
- Common, Rare, Epic, and Legendary rarity tiers
- achievements, medals, and leaderboards
- offline catch drafts that can finish identification after reconnecting
- community aircraft photographs on the companion website
Choose it when the act of seeing and photographing the aircraft matters as much as filling the collection. It is less suitable if your main requirement is an Android app or a traditional spreadsheet-style export workflow.
PlaneCollector: best for a live-map collection game
PlaneCollector's App Store listing describes an iPhone game built around photographing real aircraft, matching them with on-device AI and live flight data, and adding successful captures to a hangar. It also advertises a nearby-aircraft map, rarity, points, leaderboards, and weekly rankings.
Choose it when you want a game loop closely tied to live aircraft around you. Check how its matching behaves at your usual spotting locations, especially when aircraft are parked, distant, missing from the live feed, or difficult to photograph.
Feature claims checked against PlaneCollector's public App Store listing on 25 September 2026.
Plane Identifier: best for visual identification and mapped records
Plane Identifier focuses on visual analysis from the live camera or photo library. Its public site says saved sightings can include the image, aircraft family, airline, registration, confidence, date, and location, with a personal hangar, collection index, world map, achievements, and XP.
Choose it when a photo-first identification record and map are more important than live ADS-B verification. The provider currently advertises a limited free allowance and paid upgrades, so check the localized App Store terms before committing to a large collection.
Feature claims checked against Plane Identifier's public product page on 25 September 2026.
Only Planes: best for strict live ADS-B catches
Only Planes describes a clear rule: photograph a real aircraft while it is operating and transmitting, then use live ADS-B data to verify its type, airline, and tail number. Collections can be tracked by type, registration, airline, livery, and combinations such as an airline's aircraft of one type.
That strict live requirement is useful if you want every catch tied to an active transmission. It also means museum pieces, static displays, and aircraft without a usable signal do not qualify. The provider states support for iOS and Android.
Feature claims checked against Only Planes' public product page on 25 September 2026.
AeroLog: best for airline fleet completion
AeroLog is a structured iOS logbook rather than a camera-catching game. Its site describes logging registrations, airlines, airports, and dates, plus fleet completion across supported airlines, spotting streaks, maps, statistics, and live airport boards with one-tap logging.
Choose it when your goal is to work through airline fleets and maintain an orderly registration log. It fits spotters who already know what they saw or prefer a live-board logging workflow. Check its current supported-airline coverage and iOS requirement against the fleets you follow.
Feature claims checked against AeroLog's public product page on 25 September 2026.
SpotBase: best for a searchable photo archive and export
SpotBase presents itself as a web platform for uploading high-resolution spotting photographs, tagging registrations, airlines, aircraft types, airport codes, and EXIF metadata, then browsing a table or gallery. Its site also advertises spotting analytics plus JSON and CSV export.
Choose it when archive control, desktop-friendly review, and data export matter more than pointing a phone at an aircraft for immediate identification. It is closer to a cloud spotting database than a capture game.
Feature claims checked against SpotBase's public product page on 25 September 2026.
Which aircraft collection workflow fits you?
What should every aircraft collection record include?
A useful collection survives beyond the moment of capture. Keep as many of these fields as the evidence supports:
- original photograph
- aircraft type and variant
- registration or military serial
- airline or operator
- date and local time
- airport or location
- confidence or verification notes
- livery or special markings
- rarity or collection category
- source used to confirm the identity
Registration is especially valuable because it separates individual airframes of the same type. Use our guide to reading aircraft registrations when the marking is visible.
How rarity makes a collection more useful
Rarity gives you a reason to look beyond raw totals. It can help you set goals around unusual types, limited operators, special liveries, retiring aircraft, or registrations missing from your hangar.
Keep the definition clear. Worldwide type rarity, local rarity, one notable airframe, and a personal collection gap are different ideas. An app's rarity score is part of that product's collection system, not a universal aviation standard.
FlightCatcherPro explains its own tiers in what rarity means in plane spotting.
Start a plane collection in five sessions
First catch: learn the workflow
Choose a clear, nearby aircraft. Capture it, review the identity, and save it with the original photo.
Second session: add a new airline
Use livery and registration clues to confirm an operator you have not collected.
Third session: target a new aircraft family
Learn one visual difference, such as a distinctive cockpit mask, wingtip, or engine layout.
Fourth session: verify registrations
Record individual airframes rather than only broad types. Use an official register when the tail number needs confirmation.
Fifth session: chase a meaningful gap
Look for a new rarity tier, special livery, airport, operator, or aircraft family rather than collecting only a larger total.
This plan turns the app into a learning loop: identify, confirm, catch, compare, and choose the next target.
Start with one aircraft you can verify. Download FlightCatcherPro, make a camera catch, review the registration and open your hangar.
FAQ: aircraft collection apps
What is the best aircraft collection app?
FlightCatcherPro is a strong choice for camera identification, personal photographs, rarity, and a digital hangar. PlaneCollector and Only Planes emphasize live-data game loops; Plane Identifier emphasizes visual analysis and mapping; AeroLog emphasizes fleet completion; SpotBase emphasizes archive and export. Choose by the evidence and collection structure you want.
Can I collect aircraft from home?
Yes, if you have a clear view of passing aircraft and the app supports overhead captures. Results depend on distance, camera clarity, live-data coverage, and the product's catch rules.
Can aircraft collection apps identify registrations?
Some apps combine camera analysis or live flight data with aircraft records, but registration availability varies. Review the result and use an official national register when the individual airframe matters.
Which app works for aircraft museums?
Choose a tool that accepts visual identification, photo-library input, or manual logging without requiring an active ADS-B transmission. Live-only catch systems may reject static aircraft.
Are aircraft collection apps the same as flight trackers?
No. A flight tracker focuses on live positions, routes, and flight details. A collection app preserves aircraft you personally identify, photograph, or log. Some products combine both approaches.
Should I collect aircraft types or registrations?
Both are useful. Types show the breadth of aircraft families you have seen; registrations track individual airframes. Airlines, liveries, airports, rarity, and dates add further collection goals.
Ready to start a camera-to-hangar collection? Identify a real aircraft with FlightCatcherPro, review the result and save your first catch.