Compare the best flight planning software for simulators, including Little Navmap, SimBrief, Navigraph, simple planners, imports and AIRAC fixes.
For general flight simulation, Little Navmap is the best free all-round flight planning software; SimBrief is best for airline-style dispatch and fuel planning; Navigraph Charts is best for subscription charting and matching navdata. A simulator’s built-in planner is the simplest option when quick setup and native ATC compatibility matter most.
Best flight simulator route planners compared
Little Navmap is the strongest all-round choice, but the best flight planner depends on whether the priority is visual route editing, airline dispatch, instrument charts or getting native ATC to recognise a flight.
| Planning tool | Best for | Key strengths | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Little Navmap | Free VFR and IFR planning | Detailed route editor, moving map, airspace, terrain, performance profiles and broad export support | Needs database and simulator-connection setup; it does not replace instrument charts |
| SimBrief | Airliner dispatch and fuel planning | Operational flight plans, winds, fuel, reserves, payload, alternates and aircraft profiles | Less convenient for visual route editing; older navdata may not match the aircraft |
| Navigraph Charts | Procedure-heavy IFR flying | Route planning, instrument charts, moving maps and matching navdata for supported aircraft | Subscription required; SimBrief remains the better dispatch component |
| Built-in simulator planner | Simple flights and native ATC | No separate application, quick setup and direct integration with the simulator | Limited editing, performance planning and control over procedures |
Little Navmap is our default recommendation for MSFS, X-Plane, FSX and Prepar3D users who want a capable free planner. It can read supported simulator scenery databases, calculate routes, display a live aircraft position and export several simulator and avionics formats. Our database, connection and route-export walkthrough for Little Navmap covers the setup points that most often cause trouble.
SimBrief is built around airline operations. Given a suitable aircraft profile, it produces an operational flight plan with route, weather, estimated weights, fuel, reserves and alternates. Core planning does not require a paid subscription, although access to newer navigation data depends on the account and services being used. Our step-by-step SimBrief planning guide explains aircraft selection, routing and OFP generation.
Navigraph Charts is the best fit when chart coverage and consistent navigation data matter more than keeping the setup free. It complements SimBrief rather than replacing it: SimBrief handles dispatch, while Navigraph supplies charting and navdata for supported simulators and add-on aircraft.
The built-in planner is often the right simple flight planner for a short VFR trip or a flight using default ATC. Its route may be less elegant, but keeping the plan inside the simulator gives ATC the best chance of seeing it. On console editions of Microsoft Flight Simulator, desktop utilities cannot run on the console and arbitrary route-file access may be restricted, making the built-in planner or a supported aircraft integration especially useful.
What is the best flight-plan editor for simple route planning?
Little Navmap is the best flight-plan editor when the route needs to be inspected, adjusted and exported rather than merely generated automatically.
It lets the user examine airways, controlled airspace, terrain, procedures and individual legs on one map. That makes it easier to spot a needless dog-leg, an unsuitable airway or a departure that turns towards high ground. For the simplest direct airport-to-airport flight, however, a simulator’s built-in planner requires less setup.
Keep the editable master route in the planner’s own format and create a fresh simulator export when needed. Converting repeatedly between .pln, .fms and aircraft-specific formats can discard procedures, altitude constraints or other details those formats do not share.
A moving-map planner is not the aircraft’s FMS. It can design and monitor the route, but the GPS or FMS in the simulated aircraft remains responsible for sequencing legs, applying performance data and flying procedures.
Is Little Navmap a good SimBrief alternative?
Little Navmap is the best free SimBrief alternative for interactive route editing and general aviation, but it is not a direct replacement for airline dispatch.
- Choose Little Navmap for VFR routes, airspace and terrain awareness, manual airway editing, a live moving map and flexible file exports.
- Choose SimBrief for an airline-style operational flight plan, wind-aware fuel estimates, reserves, alternates, payload and aircraft profiles.
- Combine them when a free workflow is preferred: generate the dispatch plan in SimBrief, inspect the route in Little Navmap, then export or enter it into the aircraft.
- Add charting and matching navdata when flying complex SIDs, STARs and approaches where database consistency matters.
Little Navmap can estimate performance and fuel when supplied with an accurate aircraft profile, but the quality of the answer still depends on correct climb, cruise and descent data. SimBrief presents those calculations in a dispatch-oriented format and is usually the better tool for airliner operations.
What is the best flight optimisation tool?
SimBrief is the best flight optimisation tool here for airline-style route, wind and fuel planning, while Little Navmap is better for manually improving a route around terrain, airspace or unwanted airway segments.
“Optimised” needs a defined objective. The shortest route may use more fuel after winds and altitude are considered; the lowest-fuel route may take longer; and a valid airway route may still be unsuitable for the aircraft or expected ATC clearance. No general flight sim planner can guarantee the operationally best route under every real-world restriction.
False precision is a common failure. Check the aircraft variant, engine type where applicable, weight units, cruise altitude, winds and reserve policy before trusting a fuel figure. A beautifully formatted plan based on the wrong profile is still wrong.
For a typical airliner flight, use SimBrief to create the dispatch plan, use charts to verify the terminal procedures, and then check the programmed FMS against both. Our guide to checking simulator routes against aviation charts explains how to interpret procedure names, transitions and navigation-data differences.
A reliable planner-to-simulator workflow
The cleanest workflow keeps route planning, simulator ATC and aircraft avionics separate until each has been checked.
- Confirm the databases. Check that the planner and aircraft recognise the same airports, fixes, airways and procedures. Identical AIRAC cycles are ideal for IFR, but compatible data is the practical requirement.
- Select the correct aircraft profile. Match the aircraft variant and units. Review planned payload, fuel, reserves and cruise altitude instead of accepting defaults blindly.
- Build the en-route section first. Confirm that the route is sensible before adding the expected departure, arrival and approach. Runway selection should follow weather, airport configuration and the intended operation.
- Choose one procedure workflow. Either export supported procedures with the route or select them in the aircraft. Adding the same SID or STAR in both places commonly creates duplicate fixes and loops.
- Export the format the destination accepts. MSFS, FSX and Prepar3D commonly use
.pln; X-Plane commonly uses.fms. Complex aircraft may use an EFB import, a company-route format or direct account integration instead. X-Plane users can follow our X-Plane 12 route-export and avionics-loading instructions. - Load every system that needs the route. Importing into an aircraft’s FMS does not necessarily send the plan to native ATC. If default ATC must follow the route, load it through the simulator’s pre-flight planning layer as well.
- Inspect the legs before departure. Look for missing fixes, duplicate procedures, sharp reversals, unexpected direct legs, altitude constraints and discontinuities. Do not remove every discontinuity automatically; some represent radar vectors or manual sequencing.
- Verify fuel and weights in the aircraft. Route import often transfers only lateral-route information. Planned fuel, payload, reserves, cruise level and performance settings may still need separate entry.
Why does a flight plan change or break after import?
Most broken flight plans result from mismatched navdata, unsupported file content, duplicated procedures or the planner, simulator and aircraft maintaining separate versions of the route.
| Symptom | Likely cause | Practical fix |
|---|---|---|
| Waypoint or airway not found | Planner and aircraft use different AIRAC data | Use matching data or rebuild that section with fixes recognised by the aircraft |
| SID, STAR or approach vanishes | The procedure, transition or runway differs between databases | Select the procedure again in the aircraft and inspect every connecting leg |
| Route appears on the planner but not in the FMS | The simulator plan and aircraft avionics are separate | Use the aircraft’s supported EFB, FMS, company-route or integration method |
| Native ATC ignores the imported route | The plan was loaded only into the aircraft | Load the base plan through the simulator’s own pre-flight planner |
| Loops, zigzags or repeated fixes appear | A procedure was imported and then selected a second time | Remove the duplicate procedure and reconnect the en-route and terminal legs |
| The route starts from the wrong runway | Weather changed, runway numbering differs or scenery is older than the navdata | Compare the airport scenery with the procedure and reselect the runway manually |
| Fuel is far too high or low | Wrong aircraft profile, units, winds, weights or reserve settings | Correct the inputs and recalculate rather than adjusting fuel by guesswork |
AIRAC data: matching beats merely having the newest cycle
The planner, charts and aircraft do not always need the newest AIRAC cycle, but they should contain compatible fixes, airways and procedures.
Older data is usually adequate for casual VFR flying and offline routes using established waypoints. Newer data becomes much more useful for online ATC, recently revised procedures and flights based on newer instrument charts.
Airport scenery creates another layer of possible disagreement. A navigation database may use a renamed runway or revised taxiway layout while the simulator still displays the older markings. Check runway designators as well as missing waypoints when a procedure appears valid in the planner but wrong in the simulator.
All software and planning methods discussed here are for flight simulation. They are not approved sources for real-world flight planning or navigation.