Pilotbase vs LogTen vs Crewlounge vs Mezami — EASA 2026

Quick Answer: Which EASA Logbook Should You Pick in 2026?

For most EASA pilots in 2026, the decision comes down to four real options: Pilotbase (career-focused, iOS + Android, €5.99/mo), LogTen Pro (Apple ecosystem, $129/year, the polished veteran), Crewlounge PILOTLOG (European airline favourite, ~€49–99/year, deep type-rating tracking), and Mezami PilotArchive (web-based, free, EASA-first, cryptographic instructor signatures).

The fastest decision rule:

• ✓If you fly a roster at a European airline → Crewlounge PILOTLOG. The roster-import-from-airline-scheduling and type rating recency are unmatched.
• ✓If you only have Apple devices and value polish → LogTen Pro.
• ✓If you want career tools (CV, hours-to-rating tracking) bundled → Pilotbase.
• ✓If you are a PPL/CPL student, instructor, or want it free with tamper-proof signatures → Mezami PilotArchive.

None of these are wrong. Many EASA pilots use one as the daily logbook and one as a backup. This guide breaks down the trade-offs honestly so you can pick the one that fits your phase of career — and includes the actual 2026 prices, EASA Part-FCL compliance scoring, and a no-data-loss migration path.

2026 Pricing in € and $ (Without the Marketing Asterisks)

5-year total cost for someone who never upgrades: Mezami €0, Crewlounge Pro €495, Pilotbase €299, LogTen Pro €595. Over a 20-year flying career the gap matters. That said, none of these are expensive enough to justify picking the wrong tool — pick on fit, not price alone.

The EASA Part-FCL Compliance Matrix

This is the question that drove you to this article. All four apps claim "EASA-compatible" — here is what that actually means under EASA AMC1 FCL.050 (electronic logbook requirements) and EASA Part-FCL Appendix on logbook format.

Two observations from this matrix:

1. 1. Only Mezami has cryptographic instructor signatures. Visual capture (LogTen Pro) creates a JPEG of an instructor's signature embedded in the entry — easy to tamper with after the fact. None of Pilotbase, Crewlounge or LogTen provide HMAC-SHA256 hash-over-data, IP + user-agent audit, or automatic invalidation on edit. For an EASA student gathering signatures from an FI in 2026, this is the single biggest reason to use Mezami at least as the signed-entry archive.
2. 2. LogTen Pro is the only one storing your data in the US. Pilotbase, Crewlounge and Mezami all keep your logbook within the EU. For a European pilot under GDPR this matters — both for principle (your career data shouldn't need a Schrems II transfer assessment) and for practice (subject access requests are simpler).

Pilotbase: The Career-Pilot Bundle

Pilotbase started as a flight log app and now markets itself as a "career hub for pilots": logbook, roster import, career timeline (hours toward CPL, ATPL, type-rating thresholds), and a profile page you can hand to an interviewer.

Strengths

• ✓ The career timeline visualisation is genuinely useful for cadets tracking the 200/700/1500-hour milestones.
• ✓ Roster import from common airline scheduling systems (Crew, Crewlink, EFOS, AIMS variants).
• ✓ iOS + Android + web in one ecosystem, with proper sync.
• ✓ €5.99/month subscription with 14-day free trial — modern SaaS pricing, no surprise jumps.
• ✓ EU data hosting; clear GDPR posture.

Weaknesses

• ✗ No instructor signature workflow — fine for line pilots, but blocks student / IR / type-rating signature collection.
• ✗ FSTD type granularity is partial (no explicit FNPT II vs FFS B field separation in places).
• ✗ Career tools are most useful in the cadet phase; once you have your ATPL and a seat, you stop opening them.
• ✗ CSV import from other logbooks works but coverage of esoteric formats (very old LogTen exports, MCC PILOT LOG) is incomplete.

Best fit

Cadets and modular-route CPL/ATPL trainees who want one app that tracks career progression alongside the legally-required logbook. Less compelling for line pilots who already passed the "career milestones" phase.

LogTen Pro: The Apple-Native Veteran

LogTen Pro has been around since 2005 and remains the polished benchmark for what a logbook app looks like on Mac and iPad. The interface alone is the reason many professional pilots stay loyal.

Strengths

• ✓ Best-in-class Apple-native interface — fluid, fast, native iPadOS gestures.
• ✓ iCloud sync across Mac, iPad, iPhone with conflict resolution that actually works.
• ✓ Both EASA and FAA logbook formats supported; useful if you fly under both jurisdictions.
• ✓ Extensive currency tracking (90-day landings, IR currency, medical, type recency).
• ✓ Multiple report templates including airline-application-ready PDFs.

Weaknesses

• ✗ Apple ecosystem only. No Android, no web. If your phone is Android, you cannot run LogTen Pro. This is the largest single reason European pilots leave LogTen in 2026.
• ✗ $129/year subscription (was a one-time purchase until 2023 — the model change frustrated long-time users).
• ✗ Signatures are visual JPEG captures, not cryptographically signed.
• ✗ Data hosted in the US — GDPR-aware European pilots prefer EU alternatives.
• ✗ No aircraft registry auto-lookup — you type every registration manually.

Best fit

Professional pilots fully in the Apple ecosystem (Mac + iPad + iPhone) who want the most polished daily-use experience and who are not bothered by US data hosting. Particularly common among US-Europe expat pilots holding both licences.

Crewlounge PILOTLOG: The European Airline Standard

Crewlounge PILOTLOG (often just "Crewlounge") is the dominant logbook among European short-haul and long-haul airline pilots. The reason is simple: roster import from airline scheduling systems works, and the EASA columns are correct.

Strengths

• ✓ Full EASA Part-FCL columns with the correct multi-engine / multi-pilot split.
• ✓ Roster import from many airline scheduling systems — for line pilots, this is the killer feature. Type your roster URL once, your logbook auto-fills.
• ✓ Type rating tracking and recency calculations match what fleet managers actually look at.
• ✓ Cross-platform (web + iOS + Android) with offline support.
• ✓ Annual licence, not monthly subscription — cheaper for long-term users.

Weaknesses

• ✗ CSV export uses multi-line fields that break in many other logbooks (this is exactly why Mezami built a state-machine parser to import Crewlounge CSVs).
• ✗ No instructor signature workflow — a blocker for IR / type rating training entries.
• ✗ No night-time auto-calculation; you compute night minutes manually or accept inaccuracy.
• ✗ Interface feels enterprise / dated compared to LogTen Pro or Pilotbase.
• ✗ €99/year Pro tier is required to unlock simulator-roster and unlimited CSV import.

Best fit

Line pilots at European airlines (Ryanair, easyJet, Lufthansa, Air France, KLM, Wizz, ITA, TUI, condor, etc.) who fly a published roster and want the roster auto-imported into their logbook. Less compelling for students, instructors, or pilots flying non-rostered GA.

Mezami PilotArchive: The Free EASA Web Logbook

Mezami PilotArchive is the logbook module inside the broader Mezami aviation training platform. It is web-based, runs in any browser (no install), and is included free in all Mezami plans — including the Starter plan with no upfront cost.

Strengths

• ✓ Cryptographic instructor signatures (HMAC-SHA256). Unique among the four apps: every signed flight is hashed with the instructor identity, timestamp, and exact flight data. Any later edit invalidates the signature automatically. IP + user-agent are logged.
• ✓ Self-signing for licensed PIC. CPL/ATPL holders can self-certify their own line flights with a 4-digit PIN.
• ✓ 345,550 aircraft registrations (France DGAC + US FAA) with auto-fill on registration entry. More country registries on the roadmap.
• ✓ Night time integrated along the great-circle route (NOAA solar position algorithm, up to 600 samples per flight). Correctly handles transatlantic / transmeridian routes where dep and arr see sunset/sunrise at different UTC instants.
• ✓ One-click CSV import from Crewlounge PILOTLOG, ForeFlight, LogTen Pro, MyFlightbook. Up to 2,000 flights per batch, duplicate detection, auto-creation of unknown aircraft.
• ✓ UTC ⇄ Local time toggle — enter dep/arr as wall-clock at each airport's IANA timezone, storage always UTC. Useful for student PPL pilots used to local time.
• ✓ Integrated training platform. The logbook is bundled with EASA-aligned practice quizzes (license × subject × difficulty), interactive instrument simulators (VOR, ADF, ILS, G1000), and structured ATPL courses.
• ✓ Free Starter plan, EU-hosted, GDPR-aligned.

Weaknesses

• ✗ Web-only — no native iOS / Android app yet. Responsive web works on all devices but is not a true native experience.
• ✗ No roster-import-from-airline-scheduling-system. If you fly a Ryanair / Lufthansa roster, Crewlounge is better for the daily fill-in.
• ✗ Career timeline visualisation is simpler than Pilotbase's purpose-built one.
• ✗ No offline entry yet (planned for 2026).

Best fit

EASA student pilots (PPL, LAPL), modular CPL / ATPL candidates, flight instructors, and anyone who wants tamper-proof signed entries plus the training tools (practice quizzes + simulators) bundled. Also a strong choice as a free backup logbook running alongside a daily-driver Crewlounge or LogTen Pro.

Recommendations by Career Phase

How to Migrate Between These Apps Without Losing Data

All four apps support CSV export. Mezami additionally supports format-aware CSV import from Crewlounge PILOTLOG, ForeFlight, LogTen Pro and MyFlightbook — column names are auto-mapped and ICAO/IATA codes resolved. Migration plan:

1. 1. Export from current app. Crewlounge: Settings → Export → CSV. LogTen Pro: File → Export → LogTen Pro export. Pilotbase: Settings → Data → Export CSV.
2. 2. Open the CSV in a spreadsheet and spot-check 10 random rows. Confirm airport codes, times, registrations and engine categories look correct.
3. 3. Import into Mezami via Logbook → Import. Up to 2,000 flights per batch. Duplicate detection prevents re-importing flights you already added by hand. Unknown aircraft registrations are auto-created in your fleet.
4. 4. Verify totals in the new app. Compare total flight time, PIC time, night time. Small rounding differences in night time (1–3 minutes per flight) are normal — different apps use different solar position algorithms.
5. 5. Run both in parallel for one month before deleting the old data. A logbook migration is a one-way change — never delete the source until you have flown a full month against the new system.