HamAlert vs Meshtastic
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
HamAlert
Receive instant push notifications for desired amateur radio contacts. Filter alerts by various criteria like callsign, band, mode, and location. Stay updated on DX spots from multiple sources.
- Push notifications for desired stations
- Filter spots by DXCC, callsign, and location
- Support for Reverse Beacon Network, SOTAwatch, DX cluster, PSK Reporter
- Filter by band, mode, and time
- Filter by spotter callsign and DXCC
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This app is a companion to the HamAlert web site (hamalert.org) and lets you receive push notifications from HamAlert. HamAlert is a system that allows amateur radio operators to get notifications when a desired station appears on the DX cluster, the Reverse Beacon Network, SOTAwatch, POTA, WWFF Spotline, or PSK Reporter. Spots can be filtered by various criteria, including: • DXCC (both actual and callsign home DXCC) • Callsign • Island reference • Summit reference • Park reference • CQ zone • Continent • Band • Mode • Time and days of week • Source • Spotter callsign and DXCC
Meshtastic
This app enables off-grid, decentralized communication via a low-power mesh network. Send text messages in areas lacking cellular or WiFi service.
- Off-grid communication
- Decentralized mesh network
- Low-power LoRa radio support
- Text messaging
- No cellular/WiFi required
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Meshtastic® is an open source, off-grid, decentralized, mesh network built to run on low-power Lora radios letting you send text messages in areas without reliable cellular or WiFi service.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Meshtastic at every 10 days against HamAlert's every 5 months. Meshtastic also leads on ratings volume (824 vs 34). HamAlert's advantage is review sentiment (67% vs 44%) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.5). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.0 for HamAlert against 4.1 for Meshtastic. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Meshtastic has 824 ratings behind it against 34, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 67% of HamAlert's written reviews are positive against 44% of Meshtastic's.
HamAlert ships an update every 5 months, Meshtastic every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | HamAlert | Meshtastic |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (34 ratings) | 4.1 (824 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews — better | 44.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 34 | 824 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 17.5 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 11 MB | 95 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Manuel Kasper | Meshtastic LLC |
Customer experience
HamAlert
Meshtastic
Bugs and requests
HamAlert
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Meshtastic
Reported bugs
4 issues- Canned messages configuration issues
- Location sharing and traceroute functions not working
- Settings screen bugs and crashes
- Inconsistent behavior when switching between devices
Requested features
5 requests- Offline maps support
- Ability to customize notifications
- More sorting and filtering options for nodes
- Apple Watch and Shortcuts integration
- Improved documentation and user guidance
In-app purchases
HamAlert
No in-app purchases
Meshtastic
No in-app purchases
