You run an aircraft partnership or European flying club and want per-company EUR pricing, automated PDF invoicing, per-pilot balances, calendar sync, and AI integration.
You run a US club where FAA currency enforcement matters, want a low entry price with unlimited users, and are happy to pair scheduling with an external accounting tool.
Holdshort prices read off holdshort.com/organizations/plans on 6 October 2026. Always verify current pricing with each vendor. Visit Holdshort.com ↗
SOLO
1 aircraft, 1 pilotFree forever
BASIC
1 aircraft, 5 pilots€9/month
PRO
2 aircraft, 10 pilots€18/month
ULTRA
Unlimited aircraft and pilots€45/month
Trial
No permanent free tier60 days
Shared Plane
1 resource, unlimited users$10/mo
Flying Club
Up to 5 aircraft$30/mo
Flight School
Up to 10 aircraft$55/mo
Enterprise
Unlimited aircraft$499/mo
Extra aircraft
Each, on top of any plan+$5/mo
Five operating scenarios. Amounts are nominal, each in the vendor’s own currency (EUR and USD) — not converted. Pilot-Next paid tiers are billed annually. Holdshort is its cheapest route on yearly billing — a plan plus $5 a month per aircraft above the plan’s limit (12 × $5 a year; no yearly add-on price is published), read off holdshort.com/organizations/plans on 6 October 2026; prices change without notice, so check the date before you rely on them.
| Club profile | Pilot-Next | Holdshort |
|---|---|---|
| 1 aircraft, 1 pilot | SOLO — €0/yr | Shared Plane — $110/yr |
| 1 aircraft, 10 pilots (small club) | PRO — €216/yr | Shared Plane — $110/yr |
| 4 aircraft, 12 pilots (mid-size club) | ULTRA — €540/yr | Shared Plane plus 3 extra aircraft at $5 — $290/yr |
| 10 aircraft, 40 pilots (large club) | ULTRA — €540/yr | Flight School — $605/yr |
| 12 aircraft, 50 pilots (larger operation) | ULTRA — €540/yr | Flight School plus 2 extra aircraft at $5 — $725/yr |
At one aircraft Pilot-Next is free for a single pilot and €9 a month for up to 5 pilots, against $10 on Shared Plane; with more pilots on that aircraft Holdshort is nominally lower. Because Holdshort adds aircraft at $5 a month each, its cheapest route stays below ULTRA (€45) up to seven aircraft and level at eight; from nine aircraft on ULTRA is nominally lower, and the difference grows by $5 a month with every aircraft added.
What a club of 10 pilots pays per year as the fleet grows
Holdshort
Cheapest route on yearly billing: a plan plus $5 a month per aircraft above its limit
Pilot-Next
Cheapest plan that fits 10 pilots; one fee for the whole fleet
| Feature | Pilot-Next | Holdshort |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | SOLO — free forever | 60-day trial only |
| Starting paid price | €9/month (billed annually) | $10/mo |
| Pricing model | 4 tiers; unlimited aircraft at €45/mo | Tiered by fleet size |
| Pricing transparency | publicly listed | publicly listed |
| Aircraft booking | 2-click | |
| Pilot balance management | full credit/debit tracking | invoices & payment history |
| Automated invoicing | built-in PDF invoicing | invoice per booking (beta, not on Shared Plane) |
| Membership dues | monthly, quarterly or yearly; one step or automatic | Not stated |
| Club booking limits | length, open bookings, days ahead, minimum balance | maximum event length, maximum future events |
| Maintenance tracking | included | |
| FAA certificate enforcement | ||
| Calendar sync | invite per booking (Google, Outlook, Apple) | Not stated |
| Mobile-optimized | fully responsive PWA | native iOS + Android |
| AI / MCP integration | built-in MCP server | Not stated |
| European-native (EUR) | USD pricing; hosting not stated | |
| Unlimited users per plan | ULTRA only (5 pilots on BASIC, 10 on PRO) | |
| Aircraft co-ownership model | built for co-owners | Shared Plane plan (no billing) |
Holdshort starts at $10 per month with unlimited users on every plan and tiers up by fleet size — $30 for up to 5 aircraft, $55 for up to 10, $499 unlimited — and sells extra aircraft on any plan at $5 a month each, so its cheapest route rises by $5 a month per aircraft. Pilot-Next is priced per company in four tiers by aircraft and pilot count, and from three aircraft upward one ULTRA fee of €45 per month (billed annually) covers an unlimited fleet. In nominal terms — different currencies — Holdshort is lower or level up to eight aircraft ($45 a month at eight), and ULTRA is lower from nine aircraft on ($50 at nine, $65 at twelve).
Holdshort can block a booking when a pilot's medical, flight review, or other FAA currency has lapsed. That's genuinely useful for US clubs running mixed instructor / member operations. Pilot-Next does not check medical, licence or currency at all — it focuses on partnership operations where currency is usually each pilot's individual responsibility.
Pilot-Next maintains a running balance for every pilot, auto-generates a PDF invoice on each flight settlement, and supports per-hour, per-booking, or manual rates. Holdshort handles scheduling and currency well; its invoicing module — an invoice per reservation, with members' payment history — is marked as beta and is not available on the Shared Plane plan, and a running pilot balance is not described (read 23 September 2026).
Pilot-Next is a fully responsive progressive web app — installable to a phone home screen, offline-capable for reading recent bookings, and identical features on phone, tablet, and desktop. Holdshort's mobile experience is basic; the desktop UI is its centre of gravity.
Pilot-Next has a built-in MCP (Model Context Protocol) server. Claude, ChatGPT, and other MCP-compatible AI assistants can book flights, check availability, and query pilot balances through natural language. Holdshort’s site does not mention an AI integration (read 23 September 2026).
Find the row that matches your operation.
| Your situation | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| US flying club where FAA currency enforcement is non-negotiable | Holdshort | Can block bookings when medical or BFR is out of currency. Pilot-Next does not check currency at all. |
| European partnership billing in EUR | Pilot-Next | EUR pricing, EU hosting, GDPR-friendly. Holdshort publishes its prices in USD. |
| Single aircraft with more than 5 pilots, lowest monthly fee | Holdshort | Shared Plane at $10/mo with unlimited users. Above 5 pilots Pilot-Next needs PRO at €18/month (billed annually). |
| Operating 9+ aircraft and watching the cost | Pilot-Next | ULTRA covers an unlimited fleet for €45/month (billed annually). Holdshort's cheapest route is $50/month at nine aircraft and $5 more for every aircraft after that; up to eight aircraft Holdshort is nominally lower or level. |
| Treasurer wants automated invoicing and pilot balance ledger | Pilot-Next | PDF invoices auto-generated on settlement; running balance per pilot. Holdshort’s invoicing is in beta and it does not describe a pilot balance. |
| Pilots book from their phone at the airfield | Pilot-Next | Fully responsive PWA installable to the home screen. Holdshort mobile is basic. |
| Club wants AI assistant integration for hands-free booking | Pilot-Next | Built-in MCP server — connect Claude or ChatGPT directly to the club. |
Holdshort offers a 60-day free trial. There is no permanent free tier. Pilot-Next offers a free SOLO plan (1 aircraft, 1 pilot) that never expires and requires no credit card.
Holdshort starts at $10 a month or $110 a year for one aircraft (Shared Plane) and has plans by fleet size — Flying Club $30 a month for up to 5 aircraft, Flight School $55 for up to 10, Enterprise $499 unlimited — with unlimited users on every plan; extra aircraft can be added to a plan at $5 a month each (read 6 October 2026). Pilot-Next is priced per company in four tiers: SOLO is free (1 aircraft, 1 pilot), BASIC €9/month (1 aircraft, 5 pilots), PRO €18/month (2 aircraft, 10 pilots) and ULTRA €45/month (unlimited aircraft and pilots), paid tiers billed annually.
No. Holdshort focuses on scheduling and FAA certificate enforcement (medical and flight review currency). Pilot-Next adds a per-pilot account balance and automated PDF invoicing after each flight settlement.
Yes — that's one of Holdshort's differentiators. It can block bookings when a pilot's medical, BFR, or other FAA currency requirements have lapsed. Pilot-Next does not check medical, licence or currency at all, FAA or EASA; that stays each pilot's own responsibility.
Most of the differences between Pilot-Next and Holdshort come down to how a flight gets measured, billed and settled. The calculator and these articles explain how we think about that, so you can judge whether the model fits your club before you sign up for anything.
Free and without an account: pick a type and the number of owners, and see the fixed share per year and the rate per flight hour — the same split a partnership or club settles on. Download it as a PDF or as an Excel spreadsheet with live formulas.
Why splitting costs at the booking level beats logging every leg — and what changes when your operations tool stops caring about where you flew.
The practical difference between the two engine-wear measures, which one your club should bill on, and why Pilot-Next lets you configure both per aircraft.
Dues, joining fees and hourly rates at 17 flying clubs, read on their own pages — and what an hour really costs a member at 25, 50 or 100 hours a year.
The six decisions in order — who owns the aircraft, bylaws and operating rules, insurance — and the dues and hourly rate one Cessna 172S needs at 10 to 30 members.
Aircraft operations is not pilot record-keeping, is not flight training, and is not airworthiness management. Why the scope stays tight — and what to use instead.
More on how clubs run their aircraft on the Pilot-Next blog.
No credit card required. Start on the free SOLO tier and upgrade when you're ready.
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