WHICH SIM should you buy - MICROSOFT or XPLANE?

Today I compare Microsoft Flight Simulator and XPlane 11 to help you decide which one is right for you? Which is best for VFR navigation, IFR procedural flying, emergency training, weather flying, and more? After my "Has MICROSOFT FLIGHT SIMULATOR killed XPLANE?" video, this looks at various flying scenarios and discusses which are better in which piece of software.

💻 SAVE $50 on your new PC 💻
Use code STEF747 when you buy a PC or Laptop through Aftershock and get $50 OFF!

🕹 MY FLIGHT SIM GEAR 🕹

✈️ GET EXCLUSIVE FLYING CONTENT ✈️
JOIN the channel today, get EXCLUSIVE member only videos with full Air Traffic Control calls, procedures, and watch in detail how I fly certain flights. Great if you're a student pilot or just want more detail on the flying side of this channel:

👍 Say Hello 👍

🎵 Music 🎵
Tracks by Epidemic Sounds:

[skiwoods]

I use X-Plane 11 for IFR practice - that is all. It took me a bit of time and effort to get a plane set up with a Garmin GTN650 and 2 G5s to simulate my real world cockpit. As cool as MSFS looks, I'm sticking with my current setup, and that serves my purpose well.

[bryanpascual]

Flight Simulator = gamer feel / appeal to wider audience
X-Plane 11 = simulation focused / certified for actual flight training

[mbi]

Me: *looks at my Xbox*
My Xbox: Don't even think about it

[marek]

I absolutely disagree with your final statement that the msfs is and should be a game.I think in next two years it will be the best flight sim on the market.

[Niccokai]

Information is awesome to see, I disagree with the final statement though that MSFS should go down a good flying game route, I think the scenery generation for VFR, the weather engine and expansion to the add-on flight models for MSFS will expand the realism to never before seen levels of realism and I think that the space needs the competition between the sims that it lost for a good solid 10 years. It'll benefit enthusiast who will probably stick around longer anyways, and Xplane and other sims will only benefit from further competition in development of technologies.

[GTSaints]

the modding community will 100% figure out how to make MSFS as realistic as possible. The devs only need a few smaller changes to allow for that, so i think it's okay for them to go the flying game route and focus on missions and things like that. They definitely did their job by creating a platform, but as with every sim it's the community content that really brings it to life

[coriscotupi]

01:52 - You know the scenery is darned realistic when you instantly recognize the site (Neuschwanstein castle) you've visited only once, over a quarter of a century ago.

[mackymac]

For now...
XPlane 11 = Serious :-)
MSFS2020 = Fun :-)

[springbok]

I don’t know man. I hope MSFS2020 takes the more realistic path than arcade/games. It sure has a lot of potential without being potentially ruined by those not treating it as a sim.

[craigobrien]

Another point. I fly from a field in England real life. The field is perfectly detailed on MFS20. It could be a great way of teaching students circuits, especially with non radio aircrafts.

[corzaplayz]

I've got to say with owning P3D, XPlane and now MSFS. I am really enjoying MSFS a lot more. I think because it has gotten me to think about flight sim a little different. I was a little shocked however when I attempted some VOR navigation that it wasn't really put in correctly yet (this might be a lack of knowledge however, not a real-world pilot). From what I have heard from many other real-world pilots is that MSFS is spot on with flight dynamics. I was honestly somewhat disappointed with the SR22 however. But other aircraft it feels very well done.
I love how clear and technologically advance MSFS is, and this has made it so much easier to do flights, especially group flights being able to follow a road on maps and it is in the simulator as well. At the moment the sim is more VFR GA, especially bush flying, and honestly, I am not complaining. But I am positive they will fix these issues, and 3rd party developers will start creating study level airliners and other GA planes again and this will become the sim of choice for most people.

[Titanfinger]

Hy Stefan (X-Plane 11 with / without Addons?)
Great Video, i really apreciate your detailed informations.
Especially because i never flown in any X Plane or MS FS 2020.

But did you compare Xplane 11 without any Addons in this Video?
If no, which Addons did you use and whats the cost of those?

[limesaviation]

I very much disagree with your final statement please don’t speak for the whole flight simulator / aviation community I really want this sim to go down the path of being more realistic

[MagnumMike]

8:35 - Bill Gates is no longer the CEO of Microsoft, he has been out of Microsoft for about a decade now, Satya Nadella is the current CEO. :-)

[deepposeidon]

5:00 Don't forget that XP11 doesn't have a default SR22 so the SR22 you're using in XP11 had everything working and is to a better quality than MSFS2020 default SR22 so the quality will improve when Carenado or whoever bring their addons to MSFS

[Barabyk]

I totally agree. X-plane was always about flight model and physics geekery. MS2020 is stunning eye-candy and definitely fun. I'm sticking with Xplane mainly due to physical simulator panel I've built and rewiring everything for different type of interface would set me back a couple of days of troubleshooting.

[mokopa]

After taking forever to make up my mind, I eventually bought XPlane 11 last week. MSFS looks a lot better...but when you get down to it, XPlane is just, well, the better simulator.

[averyavery]

You cant compare default aircrafts to payware. Thats pretty much what this whole video was about

[theairbornemuffin]

I can’t wait to see EchoYankeeZulu back on the tarmac, and Milkshake being your copilot on long flights! Despite now playing MSFS 2020, have you opted to retain your loyalty to the X-PLANE gang or have you decided to move on? It is great to see that private pilots like yourself and many others are keeping well despite having to leave your beloved aircraft in the dust of the hanger. I quite enjoy your comedic approach to everything, turning the most serious of things into comedy gigs with Milkshake (she is very adorable)!

[jshepard]

Thank you, thank you! You've confirmed what I suspected. I don't care about graphics as much. I'm trying to learn.