ADSB exchange
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersFountain Hills, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What ADSB exchange does
ADS-B Exchange operates the world's largest independent ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast) flight tracking network, founded in 2016 and headquartered in Fountain Hills, United States. The platform is built on a community-powered infrastructure of over 25,000 active receivers contributed by individuals and businesses worldwide, ingesting all aircraft broadcasts as received — including those that opt out of government or commercial tracking services — and delivering real-time (500ms refresh) and historical aircraft visibility to more than 11 million users. The core product is a public interactive globe map (globe.adsbexchange.com), augmented by a Developer Hub offering REST APIs, gRPC streaming, and S3-based historical data access, plus a Feeder Hub and Member Hub for community contributors.
The company's revenue model is dual-track: a freemium community platform providing free tracking tools, feeds, and developer access to individual users, paired with four production-ready enterprise subscription data products — Live Positions, Live Operations, Daily Positions, and Daily Operations — sold via direct enterprise sales with quote-based monthly subscription pricing delivered through API, gRPC streams, or S3. Enterprise customers span defense and security (Anduril, Rhombus Power), counter-drone (Dedrone), aviation training and simulation (CAE), urban air mobility (Skyports), private aviation (Stratos Jets), emergency response (Watch Duty), environmental monitoring (airnoise), and nonprofit intelligence research (C4ADS). Strategic direction in 2026 includes the announced TailVision consumer mobile app with point-and-scan identification and a partnership with SiFly Aviation integrating Q12 drones into the live airspace display, positioning ADS-B Exchange as a unified crewed/uncrewed aircraft visibility layer.
The company operates as a privately held, bootstrapped entity with a 1-10 person team and no disclosed venture funding, distinguishing itself from commercial competitors (Flightradar24, FlightAware) and government sources through community-built scale, data independence, and transparency.
ADSB exchange firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- ADSB exchange
- Legal name
- ADS-B Exchange
- Website
- https://ADSBexchange.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
ADSB exchange industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Aviation Flight Data & Tracking
- NAICS
- Advertising Agencies (54181)
- SIC
- Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)
- akta.pro primary industry
- B2B Marketplaces & Wholesale Platforms (BPAMAGAD)
Keywords
Where ADSB exchange is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Fountain Hills
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
ADSB exchange business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Enterprise Data Subscriptions (Live & Daily Products): ADS-B Exchange offers four production-ready subscription data products: Live positions, Live operations, Daily positions, and Daily operations. These are sold to enterprise customers as structured data feeds delivered via API, streaming (gRPC), or S3. Revenue is recurring on a subscription basis with tiered plans for different data refresh rates and data sets. The company has been serving the aviation community since 2016.
- Community Platform (Free Tier): The community platform provides free tracking tools, feeds, and developer API access to individual users and hobbyists, creating a broad user base and contributor pipeline. This free tier drives network effects and community growth while supporting the enterprise subscription business.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Live Data Products — Ultra-low-latency real-time aircraft positions and operations refreshed every 500ms |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels11 records
ADSB exchange product offering
Product offeringCore offering
ADS-B Exchange operates the world's largest independent ADS-B receiver network (25,000+ active receivers) and sells four enterprise subscription data products — Live Positions, Live Operations, Daily Positions, and Daily Operations — that deliver real-time (500 ms refresh) and historical global aircraft data via API, gRPC streaming, and S3. It complements these paid products with a free public Globe map, developer API access, and a community platform that lets individuals contribute ADS-B receiver data to the network.
Product overview
ADS-B Exchange is a global, independent flight data network built on a community-powered receiver network of over 25,000 devices serving 11 million users. The platform operates a unified architecture combining consumer-facing flight tracking tools with enterprise data subscription products. The core product is the Global Flight Tracking Map (Globe), supported by four enterprise data products: Live Positions and Live Operations for real-time tracking (updated every 500ms), and Daily Positions and Daily Operations for historical analysis. The Community Platform enables individual contributors to run receivers and share data, while the Developer Hub provides API access for building applications. A new TailVision mobile app with point-and-scan capability is under development.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- TailVision: New mobile app experience announced - Point, Scan, Know. Users point camera to get instant aircraft details.
Products and services
- Live Positions Subscription data feed providing ultra-low-latency global aircraft positions refreshed every 500 milliseconds for real-time tracking at scale; delivered via API and streaming to enterprise customers in defense, aviation, and airspace awareness.
- Live Operations Subscription data feed providing precision real-time aircraft data with departure and arrival context for localized airspace awareness; used by enterprises for operational coordination at specific airports or regions.
- Daily Positions Subscription data feed providing the most complete high-fidelity record of global aircraft positions for historical analysis; refreshed every 24 hours and delivered as a structured data feed.
- Daily Operations Subscription data feed providing a BI-ready daily feed of completed flights from origin to destination; used for structured historical flight analysis and reporting.
- Global Flight Tracking Map (Globe) Free public-facing interactive globe displaying real-time global aircraft positions updated every 500 ms; trusted by more than 11 million users worldwide and built on the 25,000+ receiver network.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 25,000 active receivers in the global distributed network
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use ADSB exchange
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles6 records
ADSB exchange technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
Feature7 records
ADSB exchange partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- SiFly AviationcoreSiFly Aviation and ADS-B Exchange announced a strategic partnership enabling SiFly's Q12 drones to appear within ADS-B Exchange's live airspace displays, creating a unified view of both crewed and uncrewed aircraft. The integration allows Q12 drone operations to be visible through secure cloud connectivity, supporting scalable beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) operations and real-time telemetry sharing across aviation. This partnership demonstrates airspace integration using existing infrastructure without waiting for future frameworks, addressing the growing use of unmanned aircraft in public safety, infrastructure inspection, and environmental monitoring.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights4 records
ADSB exchange competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Flightradar24: Major consumer and enterprise flight tracking platform with a large global ADS-B receiver network and subscription data products. Directly competes with ADS-B Exchange in both consumer tracking and commercial data subscriptions.
- FlightAware: Largest commercial flight tracking platform globally, providing real-time and historical ADS-B data to enterprise and consumer customers. Now owned by Collins Aerospace (RTX), giving it substantial resources for product development and enterprise sales that ADS-B Exchange lacks.
- Plane Finder: Consumer and enterprise flight tracking platform with a global ADS-B receiver network and subscription data products. Direct competitor in the live aircraft tracking market with similar product positioning.
- OpenSky Network: Non-profit community-based ADS-B receiver network operated by EPFL, focused on open aviation data for research and academia. Closest peer to ADS-B Exchange in community-driven, independent model — though positioned more for research than commercial enterprise sales.
- AirNav RadarBox: Global flight tracking service operating its own ADS-B receiver network with consumer and enterprise data products. Competes directly with ADS-B Exchange on live tracking data and historical archives.
Emerging players
- Altitude Angel: U-space and UTM (Unmanned Traffic Management) platform provider enabling drone operations and airspace integration. Adjacent player in the drone airspace market that could either compete with or integrate ADS-B Exchange's data for UAM applications.
- Dedrone: Counter-drone and airspace security company that is itself a customer of ADS-B Exchange. Operates in adjacent airspace awareness market with hardware and software products for drone detection — potential competitor or partner as the drone airspace market matures.
- Aireon: Space-based ADS-B provider delivering global aircraft surveillance via satellite constellation, primarily serving ANSPs and aviation authorities. Represents a technology alternative to ground-based networks like ADS-B Exchange's.
Broad incumbents
- OAG: Global travel and aviation data company providing flight schedules, status, and analytics to airlines, airports, and travel platforms. Adjacent incumbent in aviation data with deeper enterprise relationships in airline operations.
- Cirium: Established aviation analytics company owned by RELX, offering comprehensive flight data, schedules, and analytics to airlines, airports, and enterprise customers. Broader incumbent with much wider aviation data portfolio beyond raw ADS-B positions.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
ADSB exchange social profiles
Digital presenceADSB exchange financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
ADSB exchange leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
ADSB exchange funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
ADSB exchange M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about ADSB exchange
What does ADSB exchange do?
ADS-B Exchange operates the world's largest independent ADS-B receiver network (25,000+ active receivers) and sells four enterprise subscription data products — Live Positions, Live Operations, Daily Positions, and Daily Operations — that deliver real-time (500 ms refresh) and historical global aircraft data via API, gRPC streaming, and S3. It complements these paid products with a free public Globe map, developer API access, and a community platform that lets individuals contribute ADS-B receiver data to the network.
Is ADSB exchange a public or private company?
ADSB exchange is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was ADSB exchange founded?
ADSB exchange was founded in 2016. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is ADSB exchange based?
ADSB exchange is headquartered in Fountain Hills, United States, in the North America region.
How does ADSB exchange make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Enterprise Data Subscriptions (Live & Daily Products) is the primary driver. The others are community Platform (Free Tier).
Who are ADSB exchange's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Flightradar24, FlightAware, Plane Finder, OpenSky Network and AirNav RadarBox. Emerging players are Altitude Angel, Dedrone and Aireon. Broad incumbents are OAG and Cirium.
Does ADSB exchange have an API?
Yes. ADS-B Exchange provides a public API for accessing real-time and historical flight data. The API offers aircraft position data, with endpoints for live positions (updated every 500ms) and historical flight data. Authentication and rate limit details are not specified in available documentation. The company also provides gRPC streaming capabilities for real-time data delivery. Developer documentation is at gateway.adsbexchange.com/api/aircraft/v2/docs/index.html?url=/api/aircraft/v2/docs/openapi.json.
What industry is ADSB exchange in?
ADSB exchange's product category is Aviation Flight Data & Tracking. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMAGAD, B2B Marketplaces & Wholesale Platforms. Its NAICS code is 54181 and its SIC code is 7311.