SDR Receiver vs FT8 Decoder
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SDR Receiver
This app demodulates and plays AM and FM radio signals received by compatible SDR hardware. It allows users to listen to various broadcasts, manage station lists, and adjust audio settings. Requires a separate radio and host computer for operation.
- Demodulate AM and FM signals
- Manage station lists (import/export)
- Adjustable squelch and LNA gain
- Adjustable audio filters
- Signal strength indicator
- AirPlay audio streaming
- Lock Screen controls
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Demodulate and play AM and FM signals received by an RTL-SDR, Airspy HF+ or SDRplay radio. Requires a radio and a host computer which are not provided with SDR Receiver and must be separately installed and configured. Streams data from an rtl_tcp, hfp_tcp or rsp_tcp server application which are free and open source applications. The appropriate server application must be installed on the host computer and configured for the attached radio. SDR Receiver is a Software Defined Radio (SDR) that processes, demodulates and plays AM, narrowband FM and wideband FM signals. Listen to communications from aircraft (AM), amateur repeaters and VHF handhelds, police and fire, NOAA weather reports (narrowband FM) and commercial broadcasts (wideband FM). • Easily entered and managed lists of stations simplify station selection. • Export and import lists of stations in CSV or TSV format. • Adjustable squelch that works for both AM and FM signals. • Adjustable LNA gain (for RTL-SDR and SDRplay radios). • Adjustable audio high pass and low pass filters. • Audio AGC for AM, optimized for aircraft communications. • Selectable IQ Offset eliminates DC errors. • DC Blocker option reduces spurious errors. • Signal strength indicator that shows power level in the signal passband. • Multiple sampling rates to accommodate different network bandwidths. • Selectable 8-bit or 16-bit sample size streaming from Airspy HF+ and SDRplay radios. • Option to play audio over AirPlay to a HomePod, HomePod mini or any AirPlay compatible device. • Stream synchronized audio to multiple AirPlay 2 compatible devices. • Lock Screen shows controls and streaming station information. • Custom URLs enable another application on the same device to set the station and start streaming. • Supports VoiceOver. SDR Receiver processes signals that are streamed over the network from a host computer (Mac, PC or Raspberry Pi) that is attached by USB bus to an RTL-SDR, Airspy HF+ or SDRplay radio. An rtl_tcp server or equivalent application running on the host computer receives baseband IQ data from the radio and streams the sampled signals over the network to the iPhone or iPad running SDR Receiver. Requires an RTL-SDR, Airspy HF+ or SDRplay radio and a host computer which are not provided with the application. Support for 192 ksps and 384 ksps Airspy HF+ sampling rates requires Airspy HF+ firmware version R3.0.7 or later, and hfp_tcp version v.1.2.117 or later.
FT8 Decoder
This application decodes FT8 digital signals from amateur radio bands. It can process audio from external sources or directly from an SSB radio or SDR. The app also generates FT8 modulated audio for experimentation.
- Decodes FT8 8FSK modulated signals
- Processes external audio or SDR sound
- Supports standard callsigns and 13-character messages
- Generates FT8 message audio
- Experiment with sending and receiving FT8 audio
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An FT8 decoder. FT8 is a weak signal digital mode, currently very popular in the amateur radio HF shortwave bands. The ft8d app allows decoding FT8 8FSK modulated signals contained in externally provided audio or sound from an SSB radio or SDR. The app supports Level 1 decoding of messages with standard callsigns or 13 character free text messages. The app can also generate standard FT8 message audio, so can be used to experiment with sending and receiving FT8 encoded and modulated audio. The app does NOT perform Auto-sequencing, or decode long hashed callsigns.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: FT8 Decoder at $1.99 against SDR Receiver's $9.99. FT8 Decoder also leads on rating (4.3 vs 4.1) and iOS requirement (15.4 vs 17.0). SDR Receiver's advantage is review sentiment (72% vs 50%) and update cadence (every 4 months vs every 18 months). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
SDR Receiver costs $9.99 and FT8 Decoder $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
FT8 Decoder holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 15 and 8 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 72% of SDR Receiver's written reviews are positive against 50% of FT8 Decoder's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
SDR Receiver ships an update every 4 months, FT8 Decoder every 18 months. The most recent releases landed on September 18, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SDR Receiver | FT8 Decoder |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9.99 | $1.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.1 (15 ratings) | 4.3 (8 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 72.0% of reviews — better | 50.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 15 — better | 8 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months — better | Every 18 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Transition Technology Ventures, LLC | HotPaw Productions |
Customer experience
SDR Receiver
FT8 Decoder
In-app purchases
SDR Receiver
No in-app purchases
FT8 Decoder
No in-app purchases









