Choosing Your First Digital Pilot Logbook

Start with your devices and your exit plan

A first digital logbook should fit how you record a flight now and how you will retrieve that record later. Before comparing advanced charts or airline imports, check device support, the free limit, the cost after that limit, and the exports you need.

If avoiding a recurring payment is your main priority, MyFlightbook’s free core offering is a useful place to investigate. If you are comparing Apple-focused apps, note that LogTen’s free allowance is measured in hours while Logger’s is measured in flights. A desktop-first pilot should check currently released operating systems, especially when a vendor advertises future platforms.

Sources: MyFlightbook: official product overview; LogTen: official plans and pricing; Logger: official pricing page, including conflicting annual figures; Aviator Archive: official availability, free limit and price.

Six options and their limits

These limits are from public vendor pages. A quota-limited free plan can be useful without being an unlimited logbook. Listed prices use the vendor’s stated currency; store pricing and taxes may differ.

Sources: MyFlightbook: official product overview; LogTen: official plans and pricing; Wingman: official free and Pro plans; Wingman: official iOS, Android and Web support; Logger: official pricing page, including conflicting annual figures; CrewLounge PILOTLOG: official editions and pricing; CrewLounge PILOTLOG: official product and device overview; Aviator Archive: official availability, free limit and price.

Use four questions to narrow the list

The last two questions need your own small trial or a precise answer from the vendor. A feature name such as “export” or “backup” does not establish that it preserves every field or signature in your particular records.

• Devices: Can you enter a flight on your own phone and review it on the computer you actually use? A planned platform does not meet that need today.
• Limit and cost: Is the free allowance measured in hours, flights, sectors or days? Check what happens at the limit and the total annual charge for the features you need.
• Records and people: Can your instructor use the required signature workflow, and can you produce the format your school or next employer needs?
• Portability: Can you export both readable reports and reusable data, and restore a backup? Check what happens to access when you cancel a paid plan.

Three details that deserve a closer look

LogTen lists Mac access among Pro’s additions. Compare the plan you would actually need, rather than budgeting from Basic and assuming every desktop feature is included.

Logger’s public pricing page contains two different annual figures. The conflict is visible in the source and is retained here. Obtain the applicable price before relying on a cost comparison.

Aviator Archive’s public desktop availability is Windows and Linux. Its announced mobile and Mac work should not be counted as a released option for a device you need now.

Sources: LogTen: official plans and pricing; Logger: official pricing page, including conflicting annual figures; Aviator Archive: official availability, free limit and price.

Check a small sample before a full migration

This checklist is a proposed evaluation workflow. Pilot AI Tools has not performed these migration or restore tests for the six products. A published feature list alone does not prove record portability.

• Keep an unchanged copy of your original records. Choose a few representative flights, including one with an instructor signature and any fields you rely on.
• Enter or import the sample, then compare dates, aircraft identifiers, flight-time columns, remarks and totals against the originals.
• Generate the report and data export you expect to use. Open them outside the app and check what is included.
• Confirm the backup/restore process and ask the vendor what remains accessible after a free limit or subscription cancellation. Expand the migration only after the sample meets your needs.

How this comparison was made

This is a comparison of public product documentation, not a ranking of app quality or a claim of regulatory approval. Prices, free limits and platform availability can change; the linked directory entries and original sources provide a place to recheck them.

Nick Rae runs Pilot AI Tools and sells aviation study workbooks that compete with some study products in the directory. No personal use, successful import or superior support experience is claimed for these logbooks.

Sources

1. MyFlightbook: official product overview
2. LogTen: official plans and pricing
3. Wingman: official free and Pro plans
4. Wingman: official iOS, Android and Web support
5. Logger: official pricing page, including conflicting annual figures
6. CrewLounge PILOTLOG: official editions and pricing
7. CrewLounge PILOTLOG: official product and device overview
8. Aviator Archive: official availability, free limit and price

Tools in this guide

• MyFlightbook — pricing, access notes and vendor sources
• LogTen — pricing, access notes and vendor sources
• Wingman — pricing, access notes and vendor sources
• Logger — pricing, access notes and vendor sources
• CrewLounge PILOTLOG — pricing, access notes and vendor sources
• Aviator Archive — pricing, access notes and vendor sources

Browse related categories

• Logbooks