A quick look at DJI’s download center and you’ll find a long list of official apps, 14 apps in fact. All of which are important to fly your DJI drone, but aren’t crucial.
You see, besides the official DJI apps, there are many unofficial alternatives that in some cases are even better and easier to work with than the official ones.
Granted, each app has its own specific drones and pilots that it’s intended for. Which is why this article will be an attempt to list all the flight related DJI apps and their alternatives. Giving you a clear idea on what app you should choose based on our drone model.
I’ll also leave a table at the end to tell you exactly which app you’re better off downloading, so let’s get into it.
Let’s start with the list of apps that we’ll be covering because I won’t be covering all of them. I’ll only be covering the popular and flight related apps.
Here are the apps we’ll be covering:
First up on the list (and also the most used) is the Fly app.
The DJI Fly App is a sort of companion app that controls some aspects of flight for many of DJI’s new drone models, including the Mini 2, the Mavic Air 2S, and others. I say “sort of companion” because it’s actually crucial to fly or see your drone’s feed, but can easily be replaced by DJI GO, its predecessor or the DJI GO 4, the newest version.
The DJI Fly app is used to control flight, update firmware, calibrate the compass and IMU. It also has some intelligent flight modes and is geared towards novice drone pilots who still don’t have much experience.
It’s mainly geared towards novice pilots and hobbyists.
Since the DJI Fly app is still relatively new, it only works with the newer models of the DJI drone line.
Luckily, DJI themselves have already released an official list here.
The drones that can use DJI Fly app are as follows:
Its main selling point is being extremely easy to pick up, and by being a native DJI app it’s easy to update your drone through it. You can also read up on its other features in my article about it here.
It’s hard to say that the Fly app has any alternatives. What do I mean by that?
Well, the DJI Fly app is an app that is really basic. It’s geared towards novice, first time pilots. However, if we’re just looking at standard flight apps that don’t have a steep learning curve, there are two apps that I can think of that can replace the DJI Fly app (once you’re comfortable flying your drone, of course).
I won’t go into the details about the Go 4 app because I’ll be covering it in the next section. But it’s a flight app that’s released officially by DJI themselves.
Similar to DJI Fly App, it also has intelligent flight modes, though it’s used for flight control and waypoints. While the feature exists in the Fly App, it’s limited compared to the DJI Go 4.
Pros:
Cons:
Litchi App
The litchi app is one of the best flight apps for DJI drones out there. It’s a little bit harder to learn than the DJI Go 4 or the DJI Fly app, but has much more functionality, and is overall easy once you get the hang of it.
I may be biased but I absolutely love how Litchi was able to find a sweet spot between “Highly performant” and “easy to pick up”. Usually the more features and functionalities an app has the more complex it is. Yet the Litchi is extremely intuitive and is a joy to work with.
It’s also the most popular flight control app out there. With a current price of $24.99 for IOS users and $29.99 for android users.
I think this is an app that is geared for professionals and hobbyists alike, seeing how easy it is to pick up (despite its advanced functionalities).
Pros:
Cons:
The DJI Go 4 app is regarded by some as the perfect app for beginner pilots, mostly those who fly drones in the Mavic line. It’s free, simple, but also has a little bit more functionality than the DJI Fly app we discussed above.
You’ll find pilots complaining about it online, a lot. But love it or hate it, many of us still go back to the Go 4 app from time to time.
The DJI GO 4 app can be downloaded on iOS and Android, and is compatible with the Mavic series, Phantom 4 series, Spark, DJI FPV, and newer models like the mini 2 and mini 3.
As a beginner’s app, the DJI Go 4 doesn’t offer much in terms of functionality but it still beats the DJI Fly app, feature-wise.
It has a list of useful intelligent flight modes which are as follows: Hyperlapse, Quickshot, Active Track, Point of Interest, Waypoints, Tapfly, and Cinematic Mode.
Pros:
Cons:
There are two good alternatives for the DJI Go 4 which I can think of, both work great for waypoints, and both have its slightly different features.
Litchi App
We’ve already talked about it above. It’s currently one of the best DJI flight control apps out there, if not the best, but that’s highly subjective and depends on the pilot.
The Litchi was able to find a sweet spot between “Highly performant” and “easy to pick up”. Usually the more features and functionalities an app has the more complex it is. Yet the Litchi is extremely intuitive and is a joy to work with.
It’s currently priced at $24.99 for IOS users and $29.99 for android users.
I think this is an app that is geared for professionals and hobbyists alike, seeing how easy it is to pick up (despite its advanced functionalities).
Pros:
Cons:
Autopilot App
A popular alternative to DJI GO 4, with higher functionality and customizable controls. It’s more complex than the DJI GO 4, but that’s fine considering it’s targeted at professional and experienced drone pilots. It’s currently priced at $29.99 and available on IOS only.
Its main selling point is that it has the smoothest camera movement around point of interests when it comes to waypoints, out of all the apps discussed above.
Pros:
Cons:
The DJI Mimo app is a dedicated app for DJI handheld devices. It offers live HD video feeds and unique, easy-to-use intelligent modes, empowering you to shoot, edit, and share your world with endless creativity.
It works with the DJI Osmo pocket, Osmo mobile & Osmo Action Camera.
Being just a video editing app in essence, I couldn’t find specific alternatives for it. While it actually brings out a lot of functionality out of the Osmo action and pocket cameras, when it comes to Osmo mobile, it’s like any other video editing app. Just a simple one to use.
Similarly to the Mimo app, this is a dedicated video editing app for the following DJI products: DJI RS 2, DJI RSC 2, Ronin-S, Ronin-SC, DJI RS 3 Pro, DJI RS 3.
The apps we’ve covered above are the most commonly used, besides the Ronin which is reserved for the high-end Roning cameras.
There are however two other apps that aren’t as popular but also used by two specific kinds of drones. I’m talking about the DJI Tello, which is quite possibly the BEST drone under $100 in the market today, the end of DJI's suite of enterprise drones.
Enterprise drones like the the DJI Matrice 30 and 300, DJI has come out with a specific app for these high end drones called the DJI Pilot App.
Then there is the DJI Tello app, which as the name suggests allows you to get the best out of the DJI Tello drone. It’s like a light version of the Fly app.
You might have noticed that some of these apps are similar in functions and features, so that begs the question, which app is best for your drone.
As promised, below is a table with each popular DJI drone and the app that I believe goes best with it. Keep in mind that these are merely suggestions, at the end of the day you can use the app that you think fits your drone flying best.
| DJI Flight App | DJI Drones They Go With |
| DJI Fly App | Mavic Mini, Mavic Air 2, DJI Mini 2, DJI FPV, and DJI Air 2S |
| DJI Go 4 App | Mavic series, Phantom 4 series, Spark, DJI FPV, and Mini 2 |
| DJI Pilot & Pilot PE | DJI Matrice 30, DJI Matrice 300 RTK, DJI Phantom 4 RTK, DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Series |
If you’ve read this far, then you must’ve realized that there are many other options besides the official dji apps when it comes to drone flight (and other dji products like the osmo and ronin suite).
In fact, there are some apps that are also great alternatives and that I didn’t include, like UgCS, Px4d (more suited to professional surveyors), etc…
Third party apps are getting better and in some cases, you’ll actually be better off using a third party app than an official one.
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