Flighty Alternatives: Top 5 in 2026
The best alternatives to Flighty for visa compliance are Nomad, TripIt, Polarsteps, and Been. Nomad leads for digital nomads who need automated day-counting across Schengen's 90/180 rule, 183-day tax residency tracking, and visa-free limits in 195+ countries, with passport details stored privately on-device. TripIt is strongest for organizing itineraries from confirmation emails. Polarsteps works best for logging and sharing trips with friends. Been is optimized for mapping every country you have visited. Flighty itself remains the top choice for real-time flight delay alerts. Unlike flight and travel-history apps, Nomad is purpose-built for compliance tracking and includes an AI chat assistant for visa questions. Nomad is currently iOS only.
Why look for Flighty alternatives?
Flighty is a flight tracking app that delivers fast delay alerts, gate changes, and machine-learning delay predictions for iOS users. Its Passport feature also records a lifetime of flying stats: hours in the air, distance flown, and destinations. But Flighty does not track visa compliance, and travelers who need to manage days in countries will hit its limits quickly.
- No visa compliance tracking: Flighty logs flights and flying stats, but it does not monitor Schengen 90/180 limits, 183-day tax residency thresholds, or overstay deadlines.
- Flight-centric, not country-centric: Flighty's Passport counts flights, aircraft, and seats. It does not count the days you spend inside each country, which is what visa rules measure.
- No country visa database: There is no built-in reference for how long your passport lets you stay visa-free across 195+ countries.
- No AI assistant for visa questions: Flighty has no built-in way to ask plain-language questions about entry rules or compliance.
- iOS only: Flighty has been iOS-exclusive since 2016 and is not available on Android.
For frequent flyers, Flighty is excellent. For travelers whose main worry is staying within legal stay limits, a compliance-focused tool fits the job better.
Alternative #1: Nomad - Best for automated visa compliance
Nomad (the visa compliance app for digital nomads) tracks your days across every country automatically, alerts you before overstays, and keeps passport details on your device for privacy. Built by nomads for nomads, it covers visa-free stay limits across 195+ countries, Schengen 90/180 rolling-window calculations, and 183-day tax residency tracking. Where Flighty answers "where is my plane," Nomad answers "how many days can I legally stay." The visa database is verified and updated weekly, so the limits you see reflect current rules for your passport rather than a static reference you have to double-check yourself.
Why choose Nomad over Flighty?
- Compliance logic, not just history: Nomad calculates Schengen 90/180 rolling windows and 183-day residency thresholds. Flighty's Passport tracks flights and flying stats, not days inside a country.
- Automated compliance alerts: Nomad warns you 7, 3, and 1 day before any stay limit expires. Flighty's alerts are about flight delays, not visa deadlines.
- AI assistant for visa questions: Ask "how many days can I stay in Thailand?" in plain English and get an answer. Flighty has no visa guidance feature.
- Privacy-first architecture: Passport numbers and photos never leave your device. Only travel dates and countries sync to the cloud.
Key features
- Automatic day tracking across 195+ countries with timezone-aware calculations
- Schengen 90/180 rolling-window calculator built into the app
- 183-day tax residency tracking for multiple countries simultaneously
- AI compliance chat with travel-domain guardrails
- Overstay alerts at 7, 3, and 1 day intervals
- Passport expiry reminders for dual and triple citizenship holders
- Export travel records to PDF or CSV for visa applications
- Privacy-first storage so sensitive data stays on your device
If you are trying to avoid overstaying in Europe, our guide on the Schengen 90/180 rule walks through the calculation in detail, and Nomad runs that math for you automatically.
Pricing
Free trial, then annual subscription. See the App Store for current pricing.
When to choose Nomad
- You travel to multiple countries per year and need automated compliance tracking
- You are subject to Schengen 90/180 rules or 183-day tax residency thresholds
- Privacy matters and you do not want passport numbers in cloud storage
- You want an AI assistant for visa questions instead of researching every country manually
- You hold multiple passports and need to track visa-free limits for each
When not to choose Nomad
- You are on Android: Nomad is currently iOS only. Android is on the roadmap but not available today.
- You mainly want flight delay alerts: Nomad does not track real-time flights or predict delays. Flighty is the better tool for that job.
- You want a free tool: Nomad has a free trial but requires a subscription afterward. If budget is the main concern, Been or Polarsteps offer free tiers for travel tracking.
- You travel to only one or two countries per year: At low travel frequency, manual tracking works fine and a subscription may not be worth it.
Alternative #2: Flighty - Best for real-time flight tracking
Flighty is a flight tracking app for the Apple ecosystem. It delivers delay and cancellation alerts that often arrive before the airline notifies you, tracks the inbound aircraft up to 25 hours ahead, and uses machine learning to predict delays and explain their causes. Its Passport feature stores a lifetime record of flights, distance, and destinations.
Key features
- Fast delay and cancellation alerts, often ahead of the airline
- "Where's My Plane" inbound aircraft tracking up to 25 hours before departure
- Machine-learning delay predictions with stated causes
- Passport feature for lifetime flying stats and history
- Import from calendar, email, and TripIt
Pricing
As of June 2026, Flighty offers a free tier with limited flight history, a Pro plan at $4.99 per month or $59.99 per year, and a lifetime option at $299 (verified against Flighty's pricing page on June 2026). A pay-as-you-go weekly option is also listed.
When to choose Flighty
Choose Flighty if your priority is real-time flight information: delay predictions, gate changes, and getting alerts faster than your airline. It is one of the most polished flight trackers on iOS and pairs well with frequent flyers who want a lifetime log of their flights.
When not to choose Flighty
Flighty does not track visa compliance, days spent in countries, or Schengen and tax residency rules. It is also iOS only, so Android users cannot use it. If your need is staying within legal stay limits rather than monitoring flights, it does not cover that.
Alternative #3: TripIt - Best for organizing itineraries
TripIt, from SAP Concur, turns confirmation emails into a single master itinerary. Forward a booking to its inbox address and it assembles flights, hotels, and rentals into one organized trip. It is popular with business travelers who juggle many bookings across providers.
Key features
- Automatic itinerary building from forwarded confirmation emails
- Calendar sync and trip sharing
- TripIt Pro adds real-time flight alerts and alternate flight suggestions
- Interactive airport maps and country-specific travel guidance (Pro)
- Document storage per trip
Pricing
TripIt Free costs $0. As of June 2026, TripIt Pro is $49 per year with a 30-day free trial (verified against TripIt's pricing page reporting). Available on iOS and Android.
When to choose TripIt
Choose TripIt if your main pain is scattered bookings. It excels at consolidating itineraries automatically and works across both iOS and Android. Business travelers with frequent multi-leg trips get the most value from TripIt Pro's alerts and rebooking suggestions.
When not to choose TripIt
TripIt organizes trips but does not count your days in each country or apply visa rules. Its country guidance is general travel information, not compliance tracking. If you need to know whether you are within your Schengen 90-day allowance, TripIt will not calculate that. Our TripIt alternatives guide covers this in more depth.
Alternative #4: Polarsteps - Best for logging and sharing trips
Polarsteps is a travel tracking and sharing app that logs your route automatically and turns trips into visual stories you can share with friends. It is free to use, earning revenue from printed travel books. It is well known among long-term travelers who want a record and a social element.
Key features
- Automatic real-time trip tracking in the background
- Visual route maps and trip stories
- Trip reels and printed travel books
- AI itinerary planner and destination snapshots
- Social following and trip sharing
Pricing
Polarsteps is free to use on iOS and Android. It earns revenue from printed travel books, which start around €36 and range higher for premium editions (verified against Polarsteps reporting, June 2026).
When to choose Polarsteps
Choose Polarsteps if you want a beautiful, automatic record of your journeys and enjoy sharing them. It is a strong free option for travelers who value memories and social features over compliance logic, and it runs on both major platforms.
When not to choose Polarsteps
Polarsteps records where you traveled but does not apply visa or tax rules. It will not warn you about Schengen limits or 183-day residency thresholds. For compliance, you would still need a dedicated tool. Our Polarsteps alternatives guide compares it against compliance-focused options.
Alternative #5: Been - Best for mapping countries visited
Been is a map-first travel tracker. Mark each country or region you have visited and watch your personal world map fill in, with stats on continents and the percentage of the world you have seen. It is the simplest tool on this list, focused purely on the visual record.
Key features
- Tap-to-mark country and region tracking (250+ countries, 1,000+ regions)
- Personal travel map and percentage-of-world stats
- 3D globe view (premium)
- Shareable travel map
Pricing
Been is free to download with core features included. A premium upgrade unlocks all regions, the 3D globe, and removes ads. Available on iOS and Android (verified against Been's official site, June 2026).
When to choose Been
Choose Been if you want a quick, satisfying visual map of everywhere you have been, without itinerary or flight complexity. It is a free, lightweight option on both platforms for travelers who mainly want a countries-visited record.
When not to choose Been
Been marks which countries you visited, not how many days you stayed or whether you are within visa limits. It has no compliance logic, alerts, or visa database. If you need day-counting for Schengen or tax residency, Been does not provide it.
How to choose the right Flighty alternative
Picking the right tool depends on what you actually need to track and how you prefer to manage data. Use these criteria to narrow down.
-
Start with what you are tracking. If you need visa compliance (Schengen 90/180, 183-day residency, overstay limits), choose a tool built for compliance, not a flight or travel-history app. Nomad is designed for this; Flighty, TripIt, Polarsteps, and Been track flights, trips, or places, not stay limits.
-
Check platform availability. Nomad and Flighty are iOS only. TripIt, Polarsteps, and Been support both iOS and Android, so they are the options if you are on Android.
-
Evaluate privacy requirements. If storing passport numbers in cloud services concerns you, look for on-device storage. Nomad keeps sensitive data local; most travel apps store your data in the cloud.
-
Consider your travel volume. High-volume travelers visiting six or more countries a year benefit most from automated day-counting. Occasional travelers may find manual logging or a free map app sufficient.
-
Decide how much manual entry you want. Nomad and Polarsteps automate tracking. Been relies on tapping countries manually, and TripIt depends on forwarding confirmation emails.
Frequently asked questions
Is Flighty still worth using in 2026?
Yes, Flighty remains one of the best flight tracking apps on iOS in 2026. It delivers delay and cancellation alerts that often beat the airline, predicts delays with machine learning, and tracks inbound aircraft up to 25 hours ahead. Its free tier covers basic history, and Pro runs $59.99 per year. Flighty is a strong pick if your priority is real-time flight information. It is less suitable if you need visa compliance tracking, day-counting across countries, or Android support, since it is iOS only.
What is the best free alternative to Flighty?
For travel tracking, Been and Polarsteps are the strongest free options, and both run on iOS and Android. Been maps the countries you have visited at no cost, while Polarsteps logs and shares trips for free, earning money from printed books instead. TripIt also has a capable free tier for organizing itineraries. Nomad is not free; it offers a free trial and then requires an annual subscription. If you specifically need visa compliance tracking rather than travel memories, a paid compliance tool like Nomad fills a gap that the free apps do not.
Does Flighty track visa compliance automatically?
No. Flighty tracks flights, delays, and flying statistics, but it does not monitor visa compliance. It does not calculate Schengen 90/180 rolling windows, 183-day tax residency thresholds, or overstay deadlines, and it has no country visa database. Its Passport feature counts flights, aircraft, and destinations rather than days spent inside each country, which is what visa rules measure. For automated compliance tracking, Nomad is purpose-built for that task: it counts your days per country and alerts you before any stay limit expires.
Can I use Flighty and Nomad together?
Yes, and many travelers do, because the two apps handle different jobs. Flighty tracks your flights and tells you about delays, gate changes, and inbound aircraft in real time. Nomad tracks how many days you have spent in each country and whether you are within visa-free, Schengen, or tax residency limits. There is no conflict between them; one manages the journey and the other manages compliance. Both run on iOS, so iPhone users can keep both installed and use each for its strength.
Which Flighty alternative is best for digital nomads?
For digital nomads, Nomad is the best choice because it solves the problem nomads face most: staying legal across many countries. It automatically counts days against Schengen's 90/180 rule, tracks 183-day tax residency for multiple countries at once, and references visa-free stay limits across 195+ countries. It also alerts you 7, 3, and 1 day before any limit and keeps passport details on-device for privacy. Flight trackers and trip loggers do not handle this compliance logic. The main caveat is that Nomad is currently iOS only.
Related guides
- The Schengen 90/180 rule explained
- The 183-day rule explained
- TripIt alternatives
- Polarsteps alternatives
Final verdict
Different tools suit different needs. If you want the fastest flight delay alerts, Flighty is excellent and worth its price. If your bookings are scattered, TripIt organizes them automatically. If you want a beautiful record of your trips, Polarsteps is a strong free option, and Been gives you a simple countries-visited map.
For digital nomads and multi-country travelers, the real risk is not a delayed flight, it is an accidental overstay or an unplanned tax residency. Nomad is built for that reader. It counts your days automatically, warns you before any limit, covers 195+ countries, and keeps your passport data private on-device. If compliance is your concern, Nomad is the clear recommendation, with the honest caveat that it is iOS only today.
About Nomad
Nomad is the visa compliance app for digital nomads. Built by nomads for nomads, it tracks your days across every country automatically, alerts you before overstays, and keeps passport details on your device for privacy. The in-app AI assistant answers visa questions in plain English. Available on iOS.
Important: This content is informational and does not constitute legal, tax, or immigration advice. Visa rules, tax regulations, and entry requirements change frequently and vary by individual circumstances. Always verify current requirements with official government sources or a qualified professional before making travel decisions. Nomad tracks your days and surfaces compliance information, but final responsibility for compliance rests with the traveler.