SimBrief vs Navigraph vs PFPX: Best Flight Planner in 2026

For most flight-simulation users in 2026, start with SimBrief. It is free, browser-based, produces detailed operational flight plans, supports more than 120 aircraft types, and exports to more than 40 FMS and route formats. Add a Navigraph subscription when you want current AIRAC data and integrated charts. Keep PFPX only if you already own it and accept that sales, development, and official support ended years ago.

SimBrief, Navigraph Charts, and PFPX are often compared as if they were three interchangeable products. They are not. SimBrief is a virtual dispatch and flight-planning service owned by Navigraph. Navigraph Charts is a charting, moving-map, procedure, and planning environment that complements SimBrief. PFPX is legacy desktop dispatch software that is no longer sold or actively supported.

SimBrief vs Navigraph vs PFPX at a glance

All of these tools are for flight simulation. SimBrief explicitly warns that its information may be inaccurate and must not be used for real-world navigation.

What SimBrief does

SimBrief is a web-based virtual dispatch system. After you sign in with a free Navigraph account, you choose departure and arrival airports, aircraft or saved airframe, payload, fuel policy, alternates, route, and planning options. It then generates an operational flight plan with route, fuel, winds, weather, NOTAM information, ETOPS calculations when relevant, and other dispatch details.

Its biggest advantage is ecosystem support. SimBrief’s official site says it supports over 120 aircraft types and more than 40 FMS or route-file formats. Many popular airliner add-ons can import a SimBrief plan or use the SimBrief pilot ID. The FMS Downloader can also place generated route files into supported simulator and aircraft folders.

Is SimBrief free?

Yes. Creating the required Navigraph account and using SimBrief are free. The important limitation is navigation-data age: SimBrief says the free service uses a slightly outdated database by default. A Navigraph subscription provides the latest simulation AIRAC cycle, updated every 28 days.

That distinction matters when the simulator, aircraft, online network, and planner do not share the same AIRAC cycle. A route can include a waypoint, airway, SID, or STAR that another component does not recognize. Before troubleshooting an import, compare the cycle shown in SimBrief with the cycle in the aircraft FMS and simulator.

What Navigraph adds to SimBrief

Navigraph is not simply “paid SimBrief.” SimBrief handles dispatch-style calculation and OFP generation. Navigraph Charts focuses on charts and visual navigation workflow. Navigraph describes Charts as providing worldwide IFR and VFR chart access, flight planning, intelligent procedure selection, interactive enroute charts, terrain and obstacle presentation, and real-time weather information.

A Navigraph Unlimited subscription also gives SimBrief access to the current AIRAC cycle. The practical workflow is therefore:

1. Create or select the flight in SimBrief.
2. Generate the dispatch plan and fuel figures.
3. Open or synchronize the route in Navigraph Charts.
4. Review departure, arrival, approach, airport, and enroute charts.
5. Confirm the same route and AIRAC cycle in the simulator and aircraft.
6. Monitor progress using the chart or moving-map tools supported by your setup.

You do not need a paid Navigraph subscription merely to generate a SimBrief flight plan. Pay when current navdata, the chart library, moving-map integration, and the combined workflow justify the cost for how you fly.

What happened to PFPX?

PFPX—Professional Flight Planner X—was a detailed Windows desktop planning and dispatch application. It offered aircraft profiles, route and fuel planning, weather integration, operational flight-plan formats, scheduling, and exports. It appealed to users who wanted local control and a deeper airline-dispatch-style interface.

It is now a legacy product. Aerosoft announced that sales would cease at the end of November 2021 because PFPX would not be developed or updated further. Aerosoft later described it as end-of-life, and in March 2023 stated that the support forum was being made read-only because development-team support had stopped.

Existing owners may still run PFPX successfully on a known working system. That is different from recommending it to a new user. Do not buy a questionable key or download an unofficial installer from a file-sharing site. There is no supported new-purchase path, and future operating-system, weather, network, navdata, export, and add-on compatibility is uncertain.

PFPX vs SimBrief

If you already own PFPX, there is no need to remove a stable installation merely because it is old. Preserve the installer, license information, aircraft profiles, OFP templates, export configuration, and a system backup. Test routes and fuel figures rather than assuming old integrations remain current.

Best SimBrief alternative: Little Navmap

Little Navmap is the strongest free alternative when you prefer a desktop moving map and hands-on route editing. Its official project describes it as a free, open-source flight planner, navigation tool, moving map, airport search, and airport-information system for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

It supports MSFS 2020 and 2024, X-Plane 11 and 12, FSX, and Prepar3D versions listed by the project. It can calculate routes, display procedures and weather, use simulator or Navigraph data, exchange plans with SimBrief, track the aircraft, analyze elevation, and export numerous formats.

Little Navmap is not a clone of SimBrief. Choose it when interactive maps, offline planning, airport research, direct simulator connection, and manual route work matter more than automatically generating an airline-style OFP. Many users benefit from using both: SimBrief for dispatch and fuel planning, Little Navmap for route inspection and moving-map use.

Which flight planner should you choose?

Choose free SimBrief if

• You fly airline add-ons and want a realistic OFP quickly.
• Your aircraft supports SimBrief import.
• You are comfortable checking for navdata-cycle mismatches.
• You want a browser-based planner with broad export support.

Add Navigraph if

• You want current simulation navdata in SimBrief and supported add-ons.
• You regularly use IFR charts and procedures.
• You value integrated chart, route, weather, and moving-map tools.
• You fly online and want fewer cycle mismatches across your planning stack.

Keep PFPX if

• You already own it and have a stable installation.
• You depend on custom profiles or OFP templates that still work.
• You understand that it is unsupported legacy software.
• You can maintain backups and independently verify output.

Choose Little Navmap if

• You want a free desktop map and route editor.
• You fly GA, VFR, IFR, or mixed simulator types rather than only airline dispatch.
• You want airport research, elevation profiles, moving-map features, and many export formats.
• You prefer local planning that can work without an online route-calculation service.

How to avoid route-import problems

1. Match aircraft type and profile. A generic profile may produce unrealistic fuel or payload results for a specific add-on.
2. Check AIRAC cycles. Compare the cycle in the planner, simulator, aircraft, and chart tool.
3. Use the correct export format. A simulator PLN file, X-Plane FMS file, and aircraft-specific company-route format are not interchangeable.
4. Confirm the destination folder. Import failures often come from exporting a valid file to the wrong simulator or aircraft directory.
5. Review SIDs and STARs in the cockpit. Some aircraft import only the enroute portion or require procedure selection in the FMS.
6. Do not blindly accept fuel. Verify airframe weights, reserves, alternate policy, weather, payload, taxi fuel, and add-on documentation.
7. Validate the route for the network and region. A generated route can still need adjustment for current online ATC operations or local restrictions.

For a complete hands-on workflow, use our step-by-step SimBrief flight-plan guide. MSFS 2024 users can also follow the dedicated SimBrief with MSFS 2024 walkthrough.

Flight-planning software FAQ

Is SimBrief owned by Navigraph?

Yes. SimBrief identifies itself as a free flight-planning service provided by Navigraph and requires a Navigraph account for sign-in.

Do I need Navigraph to use SimBrief?

You need a free Navigraph account, but you do not need a paid subscription for basic SimBrief use. The subscription adds current navigation data and Navigraph’s other subscribed products.

Is PFPX still available?

Not as a supported new purchase. Aerosoft ended sales in 2021, later described the product as end-of-life, and closed the support forum to new activity in 2023.

Is Navigraph a replacement for SimBrief?

No. They are complementary. SimBrief generates dispatch-style plans and OFPs; Navigraph Charts provides charting, visual planning, procedures, weather, and moving-map functions.

Can SimBrief be used for real-world flying?

No. SimBrief explicitly states that its data may be inaccurate and must not be used for real-world navigation.

What is the best free flight planner for MSFS 2024?

SimBrief is the best starting point for airliner dispatch and OFPs. Little Navmap is a strong free choice for desktop mapping, route editing, airport information, and simulator tracking. They can be used together.

Official sources

• SimBrief: official service overview, features, AIRAC, and simulation-only warning
• Aerosoft: PFPX sales and support status notices
• FlightSimSoft: PFPX user manual
• Little Navmap: official features and supported simulators

Feature availability, integrations, pricing, and subscription terms can change. Confirm the current product page before subscribing or changing your simulator workflow.