A free Flightradar24 alternative
Wingwait is a free live flight tracker that runs in your browser. Type a flight number, see the real aircraft on the map. No account, no app to install, no premium tier hiding the good bits.
Open the live map →See military trafficWhy people look for an alternative
Flightradar24 is a brilliant product. It's also a commercial one: plenty of its features sit behind paid subscriptions, and like most commercial trackers it doesn't show every aircraft. Some operators ask to have their aircraft hidden, and some military traffic never appears.
Wingwait takes a different route. Its data comes from adsb.lol, an open community network of volunteers with ADS-B receivers, published under an open-data licence. Its policy is to show what's broadcast, so military aircraft and a lot of traffic other trackers leave out stay visible.
Wingwait vs Flightradar24 at a glance
| Wingwait | Flightradar24 | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, all features | Free tier plus paid subscriptions |
| Account needed | Never | For some features |
| App install | None (installable web app) | App or website |
| Track by flight number | Yes, with callsign conversion | Yes |
| Military aircraft | Dedicated worldwide Mil mode with roles, country and orbit detection | Limited; some military traffic is not shown |
| Live-stream overlay | Built in (stream view) | Not a built-in feature |
| Emergency (7700) alerts | Worldwide, free | Varies by plan |
| "What's above me?" | One tap | AR view in the app |
| Schedules, airport boards, history playback | Not yet | Yes |
| Satellite coverage over oceans | No (shows honestly when a flight is out of range) | Yes, on some plans |
Comparison as of September 2026, based on publicly described features. Flightradar24 is a trademark of its owner. Wingwait isn't affiliated with or endorsed by it.
What Wingwait is best at
- Waiting for someone. Type the number on their boarding pass and you get the real aircraft, its route arc, a progress bar and a landing alert. Then share the link with the family.
- The unusual stuff. Military tankers and ISR orbits, police and air-ambulance helicopters, emergency squawks. The Mil and ✨ Interesting filters surface them without any digging.
- Honesty about gaps. The solid line on the map is where a plane has actually been. Dashed means estimated. Wingwait never invents positions over the ocean.
Where Flightradar24 is still better
If you need airport departure boards, historical playback, flight schedules or satellite positions over oceans, a commercial tracker is the right tool. Wingwait is built for live tracking, and for that it's quick, free and uncluttered.
Questions
Is Wingwait really free?
Yes. Every feature is free and there's no account. The site is supported by one small, clearly labelled ad at the bottom of the flight list.
Does Wingwait show military aircraft that Flightradar24 hides?
Wingwait shows whatever the community networks receive, and those networks don't filter military traffic. You'll often see aircraft that commercial trackers omit. Aircraft that switch their transponders off can't be seen by anyone.
Do I need to download an app?
No. Wingwait runs in any modern browser. On a phone you can add it to your home screen and it opens full-screen like an app.
How accurate is it?
Positions come from the aircraft's own ADS-B broadcasts, usually seconds old and accurate to a few hundred metres or better. Each flight's technical panel shows its position source and accuracy class.