I've tried them all (at least the popular ones). Logten pro and Safelog are function-by-function pretty much equivalent. Logten pro's sync function (for portable devices) is a kludge in my opinion whereby Safelog uses a "true" sync to their servers. Logten pro is wedded to the Apple platforms and they have already announced their commitment to use iCloud as their syncing method. Unfortunately, iCloud was never designed for this so who know how long that will take. On the other hand, Safelog has both a PC and a MAC platform and supports both iOS and Android portable devices. Personally, I like the Safelog user interface better but that is a personal decision. Both programs allow for the import of any CSV logfile created by another logbook program. A third, and web-based only, choice is ZuluLog. It is pretty good but not in the same league as LogTen pro and Safelog.

Mostly all the major applications have a demo capability whereby you can set up the program, input some data and see how it works for you. The notable exception is Logten Pro. Personally, I think that is a big deficiency. They have some YouTube videos but not a working demo that you can download or play with on the web.

A note on Logbook Pro. Some of you like it, some don't. The big problem with Logbook Pro is that it uses very old technology as their software base. I used Logbook Pro in 1999 and it hasn't changed much since then. (As a matter of fact, in 1987 I was using a program that looked very similar to the way Logbook Pro looks now without the graphical UI components). They have added some graphical elements without changing the base technology which has led to a unstable (in my opinion) and visually unappealing product. Their existing product is version 1.6. That tells me they have had one major version change in 13 years. From a software development standpoint, that is scary. To me, that is reason enough not to use it aside from the functional limitations.

We looked at some other logbook software programs and ultimately came to the conclusion that you get what you pay for. The free or less expensive products just don't have the functionality of the higher-end products.

For those of you that are solely using a portable device for your logs (iPad, iPhone) please make sure you are backing up your data somewhere and I don't mean by using iTunes. Losing the data especially for professional pilots is nothing short of a catastrophe.

Suggestion: If you already have a MAC, I'd go with Logten Pro. If you are PC-based, I'd choose SafeLog but that's just me.