Home › Guides › MockDPE vs HeyDPE vs Checkride.bot

MockDPE vs HeyDPE vs Checkride.bot: AI Oral Prep Compared (2026)

MockDPE, HeyDPE and Checkride.bot compared on price, free tier, ratings and platform, plus 10 other AI mock-oral apps. Prices checked on each vendor site Oct 19, 2026.

Updated 2026-10-19 · Facts and prices checked against vendor sites

Checked October 19, 2026. MockDPE, HeyDPE and Checkride.bot are the three AI examiners pilots compare most often for the checkride oral. All three ask you questions out loud, follow up on weak answers and grade you against the FAA Airman Certification Standards (ACS). They differ a lot on price, how you pay, which ratings they cover and where they run. Every price and limit below comes from each vendor's own website or US App Store listing on the date above. MockDPE in particular raised its price, so some other lists are out of date.

The big three at a glance

	MockDPE	HeyDPE	Checkride.bot
How you answer	Voice	Voice or text	Voice only (no typing)
Ratings	Private, Instrument, Commercial (not CFI)	Private, Commercial, Instrument (ATP "coming soon")	24 exams from Sport Pilot and Part 107 through Commercial, ATP, CFI and CFII, including helicopter, glider and powered-lift
Free option	1 limited mock checkride, no card	7-day trial with 3 full exams and voice, no card	One task free on every exam, no account
Price	$49/mo or $349/yr	$39/mo or $299/yr	One-time 30-day pass per rating: Private or Instrument $49.99, Commercial $59.99, CFI $79.99; 20% off later ratings; no auto-renew
Platform	Web	Web (desktop and tablet browsers)	iPhone and iPad (iOS 18+)
Stand-out feature	Scenarios built from live METAR/TAF at real US airports; 3 examiner personas; checkride gouge upload (Premium)	Cheapest unlimited plan; every assessment cites PHAK, AFH, AIM or CFR; pause and resume	Enter the codes from your knowledge test report and the examiner targets them; debrief with the exact FAR, AIM or ACS reference

Prices are in US dollars and change often. Check the vendor's page before you buy. Cockpit Index has no affiliate deals with any of these apps.

Who each one is for

MockDPE: instrument applicants who want realistic scenarios. Its founder, a CFI, built it around the instrument rating, and it works today's real weather into the questions, so a low ceiling at your destination turns into an alternate-filing question. It costs the most per month of the three, so use the free session first.
HeyDPE: the best value if you'll practice a lot for a month or more. Unlimited sessions for $39 a month (about $25 a month on the annual plan), and you can type when you can't talk. The free week with 3 full exams is the most generous trial of the three.
Checkride.bot: phone-first pilots, CFI candidates, and anyone who hates subscriptions. You pay once per rating for 30 days and it never renews. It is the only one of the three that covers CFI, CFII, ATP and non-airplane categories. It's voice only, which is closest to the real oral but means you can't practice silently.

Other AI mock-oral apps worth a look

App	Answers	Ratings	Free option	Price (checked Oct 19, 2026)	Platform
check-ride.ai	Voice	Private, Instrument, Commercial, CFI (ATP for single-engine land)	5-minute voice demo, no card	Credits from $29.99 per full oral (5-pack), never expire; written prep $69.99 per rating	Web (phone, tablet, desktop)
CheckrideReady	Text; voice on Base+ and Premium	Private, Instrument, Commercial	7-day trial, 1 session a day, no voice	$19.99, $29.99 (voice) or $39.99/mo; 20% off yearly	Web
PocketDPE	Voice	Private, Instrument, Commercial	Free download	Pro $39.99/mo, $129.99/yr or $19.99/week	iPhone, iPad
Checkride Prep (Flight Levels)	Voice or text	Private, Instrument, Commercial	Free demo, no account	$29/mo; $49/mo with its ATC Trainer	Web, iPhone, iPad
Checkride Mentor	Voice	Private, Multi-Engine	3-day trial for new subscribers	$19.99/mo	iPhone, iPad
AviateIQ	Voice (Pro Voice Checkride)	Private	Free plan (no voice examiner)	Pro $9.99/mo	iOS, Android, web
FlightKit	Voice		7-day Pro trial, no card	Pro $159/yr (unlimited AI examiner orals)	Web, iOS
GroundScholar	Voice mode	Private	1 oral session a month, free forever	Written Pass $49 once, includes unlimited mock checkrides	Web
Gleim Digital Pilot Examiner (Otto)	Talk or text	Private only	No free trial listed	$124.95 introductory (list $299)	Web
CheckrideAI		Private only	No; 14-day refund	$399 one time	Web

Also bundled with bigger courses: Part Time Pilot includes a voice mock checkride simulator in its $67-a-month Interactive AI Tools plan (Private or Sport Pilot), and Sporty's ChatDPE, ChatCFI & ChatFAR comes inside Sporty's Learn to Fly Course. A blank cell means the vendor doesn't say.

What a month of prep costs

Most applicants use an oral app hard for the last three to six weeks. For one Private or Instrument rating over about 30 days, at today's prices: HeyDPE is $39 (after the free week), Checkride.bot is $49.99 once, MockDPE is $49, CheckrideReady with voice is $29.99, and check-ride.ai starts at $29.99 per full oral in a 5-pack. Whatever you pick, budget for at least one real mock oral with your CFI too.

How to choose in 30 minutes

Run two free sessions back to back. HeyDPE's trial and MockDPE's free checkride cost nothing and need no card. Add Checkride.bot's free task if you're on iPhone.
Answer out loud. The real oral is spoken. If an app lets you type, practice speaking anyway.
Check one citation from each app. Look the reference up in the eCFR or the AIM. If it's wrong or vague, trust that app less.
Match your rating and your aircraft. CFI candidates need Checkride.bot or check-ride.ai. Multi-engine applicants can try Checkride Mentor.
Pick one and pay for one month. Cancel the day after your checkride, or choose a non-renewing pass.

These supplement your CFI, they don't replace them

None of these apps is FAA-approved training, and the vendors we checked say so themselves. AI examiners can accept a wrong answer or cite the wrong paragraph. The ACS is the standard your examiner actually uses, so study from it, answer systems and performance questions from your aircraft's POH, and treat the app as a sparring partner that finds your weak spots for your CFI to fix. Only your instructor can endorse you, and only a DPE or FAA inspector can pass you.

More: Best AI apps for checkride oral prep (how to get real value from them), How to use AI to study for the instrument rating, and AI tools for student pilots: a starter kit.

Compare every tool on our checkride prep page.

Frequently asked questions

How much does MockDPE cost in 2026?

As checked on MockDPE's own pricing page on October 19, 2026: Premium is $49 a month or $349 a year, and one limited mock checkride is free with no credit card. Some older listings still show a lower price, so check the vendor's page before you buy.

Is HeyDPE or MockDPE better?

It depends on what you want. MockDPE builds scenario questions from live METAR and TAF data at real US airports and gives you three examiner personas, which suits instrument applicants. HeyDPE is cheaper ($39 a month or $299 a year), lets you answer by voice or text, and its free trial is more generous: 3 full exams over 7 days with no card. Both cover Private, Instrument and Commercial.

Which AI oral prep app covers the CFI checkride?

Checkride.bot sells a CFI (airplane) pass for $79.99 and also covers CFII, ATP, Sport Pilot and Part 107. check-ride.ai also lists Flight Instructor mock orals. MockDPE, HeyDPE, CheckrideReady and PocketDPE stop at Commercial.

Which one is cheapest for a few weeks of prep?

For one rating over about a month: HeyDPE is $39 after its free week, Checkride.bot is a one-time $49.99 for Private or Instrument (30 days, no auto-renew), and MockDPE is $49 for a month. check-ride.ai sells per-session credits from $29.99, so a couple of full orals can cost less than any subscription. Start with the free tiers first.

Can an AI examiner replace my CFI or a real mock oral?

No. These apps are self-study tools. None is FAA-approved training, they can be wrong, and only your instructor can endorse you for the practical test. Use them for repetition and to find weak ACS areas, then check every answer against the ACS, the FARs, the AIM, the FAA handbooks and your aircraft's POH, and do a mock oral with your CFI.

Do these apps work on iPhone?

Checkride.bot, PocketDPE and Checkride Mentor are iPhone and iPad apps. MockDPE, HeyDPE, check-ride.ai and CheckrideReady run in a web browser; check-ride.ai says it works on phones, tablets and desktops, and HeyDPE says voice works in modern browsers on desktop and tablet.