Comparison

SDR Receiver vs FT8 Decoder

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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.

About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Read full description

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

SDR Receiver4 screens
FT8 Decoder1 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
SDR Receiver versus FT8 Decoder: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSDR ReceiverFT8 Decoder
Price$9.99$1.99 — better
Rating4.1 (15 ratings)4.3 (8 ratings) — better
Positive reviews72.0% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings15 — better8
Update frequencyEvery 4 months — betterEvery 18 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS17.015.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTransition Technology Ventures, LLCHotPaw Productions

Customer experience

SDR Receiver

All ratings15 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews25 reviews
Positive72.0%
Neutral8.0%
Negative20.0%

FT8 Decoder

All ratings8 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral12.5%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral16.7%
Negative33.3%

In-app purchases

None

SDR Receiver

No in-app purchases

None

FT8 Decoder

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SDR Receiver free?
SDR Receiver costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is FT8 Decoder free?
FT8 Decoder costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, SDR Receiver or FT8 Decoder?
FT8 Decoder is rated higher. SDR Receiver averages 4.1 out of 5 from 15 ratings, while FT8 Decoder averages 4.3 from 8 ratings.
Do SDR Receiver or FT8 Decoder have ads?
Neither SDR Receiver nor FT8 Decoder shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SDR Receiver or FT8 Decoder?
SDR Receiver ships an update every 4 months, and FT8 Decoder every 18 months. Most recently, SDR Receiver was updated on September 18, 2026 and FT8 Decoder on September 21, 2026.

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