Windy is one of the best weather maps around, and plenty of drone pilots already use it. If you like reading maps, comparing models and checking METARs yourself, Windy does far more than Altiwind. Altiwind answers a narrower question: how does the wind look at 30–120 m over your spot, for your drone, and how is the forecast matching the nearest airport right now? Many pilots will want both.
Side by side
Checked October 2026. Windy prices are from the US App Store, and other stores and currencies differ.
| Altiwind | Windy | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free; Windy Premium in-app items listed at $2.99–$29.99 |
| Free tier | Today plus the next 24 hours, 1 spot, 1 drone, go/no-go, Kp now, verified badge | All models, all layers and the basic version of every feature, without ads (Windy announcement); up to 3 favourites and alerts |
| Platforms | Web app, installable on the home screen; native iPhone app planned | Web (windy.com), iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple Vision, Android |
| Wind at flight altitude | 30, 60, 90 and 120 m (100–400 ft) | Surface and 100 m (330 ft); higher levels are pressure levels, up to FL450 |
| Gusts | Estimated gusts at each height | Wind gust layer, plus gusts in the Airgram and Meteogram |
| Kp / GPS | Kp now, weighted by latitude | Not stated |
| Go/no-go per drone | Yes, from your drone's wind limit, with a reason for each check | Not stated |
| Forecast checked against METAR | Yes, automatically, nearest airport within 25 km | Shows decoded and raw METAR, TAF and station data; you compare them yourself |
| Airspace | Not yet; informational overlays planned | VFR airspace map under Airports (added April 2025) |
| Account required | No | Not stated |
Where Windy is better
- Maps and models. Windy has more than 50 map layers and more than 15 models, according to its App Store listing. Global models include ECMWF, GFS, ICON and meteoblue. Local ones include ICON-D2, UKV, AROME-HD and HRRR. You can switch models on the map to see where they disagree.
- Model comparison. The App Store listing names model comparison as a Premium feature. A September 2026 update extended Compare Forecasts from the basic forecast to the meteogram and waves. That's the quickest way to see how much the models agree.
- Radar, satellite and lightning. Windy combines radar from national services with a global satellite composite, and Premium adds 24-hour loops. Altiwind has no radar.
- Airports. You can search more than 50,000 airports for METAR, TAF and NOTAMs, and there's a VFR airspace map. If you can read a TAF, that's a lot of extra information.
- Range and extras. Premium gives 1-hour steps over a 15-day outlook, updated 4–6 times a day. Windy also has thermals, a route planner, webcams and an Apple Watch app.
Where Altiwind is different
- The heights a drone actually uses. A Windy moderator explains that only the surface and 100 m levels are true heights. Everything above is a pressure level, such as 950 hPa, so its height above ground changes with terrain and weather. Altiwind gives wind at 30, 60, 90 and 120 m. It interpolates between the model levels at 10, 80, 120 and 180 m, or uses a power law when a model only has 10 m wind.
- Why that matters. Take 20 km/h (12 mph) at 10 m over open land by day. With the power law, that becomes about 28 km/h (17 mph) at 120 m. With the stronger night-time profile it's about 37 km/h (23 mph). More in how wind changes with height.
- Gusts at your height. Windy shows gusts near the surface. Altiwind adds the 10 m gust excess (gust minus mean wind) to the wind at each height, never less than 1.2× that wind, and labels the result as estimated gusts.
- It checks the forecast for you. On Windy you can open a METAR and compare it with the forecast yourself. Altiwind's verified forecast does this automatically. It compares the last 6–24 hours of wind and gusts at the nearest METAR station with 2–3 models, picks the one with the smallest error and shows the bias, e.g. "Checked vs EGLL 40 min ago: running 3 km/h high". New to METARs? See reading METAR for drone pilots.
- A verdict for your drone. Altiwind turns the numbers into within your limits, marginal or outside your limits. It checks wind, estimated gusts, rain, temperature, visibility, Kp and daylight against your drone profile.
- Kp for GPS. Kp is adjusted for your geomagnetic latitude and shown as "GPS: normal" or "GPS: may be degraded".
FAQ
Is Windy good for drone pilots?
Yes, especially for maps, radar and comparing models. It doesn't convert the forecast into wind at 30–120 m or score it against your drone's limits. That's the gap Altiwind fills.
What height is Windy's wind?
The surface level and the 100 m (330 ft) level are heights above ground. The levels above are pressure levels, according to a Windy community moderator (checked October 2026).
Does Altiwind use the same models as Windy?
Partly. Altiwind uses Open-Meteo with ICON-D2 in Central Europe, UKV in the UK, AROME in France, HRRR in the US and ECMWF IFS elsewhere. Windy shows all of these and more. See weather models explained.
Should I use both?
Many pilots will: Windy for the bigger picture, Altiwind for the go/no-go at your spot. Altiwind is not for air navigation, so check your local rules.