# RS vs SDR

The clearest difference is review sentiment: SDR at 84% against RS's 15%. SDR also leads on rating (4.6 vs 1.9) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 8 months). RS's advantage is price (Free vs $44.99). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

RS is free to download; SDR costs $44.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

SDR holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 1.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 76 and 67 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 15% of RS's written reviews are positive against 84% of SDR's.

RS ships an update every 8 months, SDR every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | RS | SDR |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $44.99 |
| Rating | [1.9 (76 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rs-ms1i/id1193842632/reviews) | **[4.6 (67 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sdr-control-mobile/id1673327509/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **76** | 67 |
| Positive reviews | 14.7% of reviews | **84.3% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 8 months | **Every 2 weeks** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | **#109** |
| Size | 34 MB | 55 MB |
| Requires iOS | **16.0** | 17.6 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [ICOM INCORPORATED](https://appshunter.io/developer/1193842631) | [Marcus Roskosch](https://appshunter.io/developer/334053438) |

## What reviewers say

### RS

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rs-ms1i/id1193842632)

Control compatible transceivers, share voice and pictures, and view station locations on a map. Access received station information, send text messages, and manage call sign and repeater lists. Customize transceiver and application settings for a streamlined experience.

**Highlights:** Transceiver DR functions, Send and receive voice and pictures, Map repeater and station locations, Read and edit received station information, Send and receive text messages, Manage call sign and repeater lists, Import/Export data

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Works with IC-705
- 👍 Works with ID-52
- 👍 Map feature useful
- 👍 Past contacts visible
- 👍 Quick bug fixes

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes on map screen
- 🐛 Crashes when sending photos
- 🐛 Bluetooth connectivity issues
- 🐛 Not connecting to ID-52
- 🐛 Not connecting to iPhone

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes when using map function
- App crashes on map screen
- App closes when opening map
- Not staying connected to the app
- Connection unsuccessful error message

**Requested features**

- Add support for ID-5100
- Add support for ID-51A Plus 2
- Add support for ID-50
- Add support for IC-705
- Improve repeater list


### SDR

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sdr-control-mobile/id1673327509)

**Currently charting:** #109 Top Paid · Utilities (US App Store)

Control your Icom radio remotely from your iPhone. View spectrum scope, waterfall, and access all radio controls over Wi-Fi or the internet. Supports various Icom models and includes features for ham radio operators.

**Highlights:** Spectrum scope and waterfall display, Full radio control, Remote operation over Wi-Fi/internet, FT8-Improved and JS8 modes, CW decoder and keyer, Speech transcription and translation, Logbook with ADIF import/export

**Features:** iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Works perfectly with ICOM radios
- 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
- 🌟 Feature-rich and comprehensive
- 💯 Stable and reliable performance
- 📱 Great for remote operation

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 FT8 decoding issues (lower signal levels)
- 🐛 Dialogs do not scale with larger text setting
- 🐛 UI elements can be cramped on iPhone
- 🐛 Some buttons are small and hard to press
- 🐛 Frequency display overlaps buttons

**Reported bugs**

- Dialogs do not scale with larger text setting
- Frequency display overlaps buttons
- FT8 decoding issues (lower signal levels than WSJTX)
- App crashes and leaves radio in transmit
- Logbook export not functional after update

**Requested features**

- Develop for IC-7800
- CarPlay support
- Apple Watch add-on
- Windows version
- JS8call support


## Frequently asked questions

### Is RS free?

RS is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is SDR free?

SDR costs $44.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, RS or SDR?

SDR is rated higher. RS averages 1.9 out of 5 from 76 ratings, while SDR averages 4.6 from 67 ratings.

### Do RS or SDR have ads?

Neither RS nor SDR shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, RS or SDR?

RS ships an update every 8 months, and SDR every 2 weeks. Most recently, RS was updated on October 29, 2026 and SDR on October 30, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*