FDS Altis vs Meshtastic
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
FDS Altis
Access the instructional manual for your product and connect to the system. By using this application, you agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
- Product instructional manual access
- System connection
- Terms of Service agreement
- Privacy Policy agreement
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See the instructional manual for your product at https://freefalldatasystems.com for information on how to connect to FDS Altis. By using this app, FDS Altis, you are indicating that you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, as described at https://freefalldatasystems.com/termsofservice and https://freefalldatasystems.com/privacypolicy.
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 ratings volume: Meshtastic at 803 against FDS Altis's 10. Meshtastic also leads on rating (4.2 vs 3.9) and update cadence (every 10 days vs every 3 weeks). On price, review sentiment, 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.
Meshtastic holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Meshtastic has 803 ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 40% of FDS Altis's written reviews are positive against 45% of Meshtastic's.
FDS Altis ships an update every 3 weeks, Meshtastic every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 15, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | FDS Altis | Meshtastic |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.9 (10 ratings) | 4.2 (803 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 40.0% of reviews | 45.2% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 10 | 803 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 26.2 | 17.5 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 16 MB | 76 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Casey Mongoven | Meshtastic LLC |
Customer experience
FDS Altis
Meshtastic
Bugs and requests
FDS Altis
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
FDS Altis
No in-app purchases
Meshtastic
No in-app purchases
