Comparison

SDR Receiver vs SDR

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

SDR

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
Currently charting
Read full description

Your Icom radio on your iPhone: at home over Wi-Fi or from anywhere over the internet. Made by a ham, for hams, with personal support included. SDR-Control Mobile shows the spectrum scope and waterfall of your Icom radio with all its controls. No extra hardware or software needed. WORKS WITH ■ IC-705 (Wi-Fi) ■ IC-7610, IC-7760, IC-9700, IC-7300 MK2 and the IC-R8600 receiver (radio on your network by cable) The app connects over the network only. The older IC-7300 (without MK2) has no network connection and can't be used. OPERATE ■ Spectrum scope and waterfall with band plan, DX Cluster and FT8 spots ■ Two VFOs, filters, preamp, attenuator, NB, NR, notch, AGC and more ■ Compact floating panels: tuning, PTT, CW, memories, macros, Command Bar, DTMF, RIT / ∆TX, D-Star ■ Your iPhone as microphone and speaker; the radio keeps playing in the background ■ Ready for iPhone Duo: the iPhone screens when folded, the large radio screen when open MODES ■ FT8-Improved with AutoAnswer and AutoCQ, plus the classic FT8 ■ JS8 keyboard chat ■ CW with decoder, keyer and CW keyboard ■ Speech: incoming voice transcribed and translated, your typed text sent as speech ■ SSTV, HF-Fax, APRS, WSPR and D-Star FT8-Improved, JS8, Speech and WSPR need iOS 26. TOOLS ■ Logbook with ADIF import and export, shared via iCloud with SmartSDR, FT-Control, TS-Control and K4-Control, on iPhone, iPad and Mac ■ DX Cluster, POTA, PSK Reporter, Call Lookup, Band Plan, Network Stats, Memories, Scanning ■ Controllers: MIDI, CTR2, HaliKey, Pryme, Flic ■ 4O3A Genius devices and Ultra Beam antennas MADE BY A HAM Made by Marcus, DL8MRE, who has been developing apps for Apple devices since 2009 and uses this app every day in his own shack, where all supported radios are on the desk. Personal online support and a detailed manual are included. Updates with new modes and features are free: no subscription, no in-app purchases. WHAT YOU NEED ■ One of the radios above, connected to your network ■ An iPhone with iOS 18 or later ■ For use over the internet: access to your home network from outside (see the manual) Manual: https://go-to.me/sdrcontrol-mobile-manual More apps: https://ham-radio-apps.com SDR-Control is developed independently and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Icom.

Screenshots

SDR Receiver4 screens
SDR4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: SDR Receiver at $9.99 against SDR's $44.99. SDR's advantage is rating (4.6 vs 4.1) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 4 months). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support 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 SDR $44.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SDR holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 15 and 73 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 73% of SDR Receiver's written reviews are positive against 84% of SDR's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SDR Receiver ships an update every 4 months, SDR every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
SDR Receiver versus SDR: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSDR ReceiverSDR
Price$9.99 — better$44.99
Rating4.1 (15 ratings)4.6 (73 ratings) — better
Positive reviews73.1% of reviews84.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1573 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank—#184 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB55 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTransition Technology Ventures, LLCMarcus Roskosch

Customer experience

SDR Receiver

All ratings15 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews26 reviews
Positive73.1%
Neutral7.7%
Negative19.2%

SDR

All ratings67 ratings
Positive89.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative10.4%
Written reviews70 reviews
Positive84.3%
Neutral5.7%
Negative10.0%

Bugs and requests

SDR Receiver

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

SDR

Reported bugs

12 issues
  • 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
Show 7 more
  • Function button for horizontal scrolling not fully displayed
  • FT8 decode is useless and unreliable
  • Messed up radio, requiring reset
  • RX audio unusable outside home network (prior to 1.5.1)
  • Struggles with audio RX packets on remote cellular networks
  • Cannot work over mobile data with certain carriers (EE)
  • FT8 alerts sound but don't display

Requested features

14 requests
  • Develop for IC-7800
  • CarPlay support
  • Apple Watch add-on
  • Windows version
  • JS8call support
Show 9 more
  • More digital modes
  • Display memory bank names
  • Initiate memory scan from app
  • WSPR implementation
  • Tool for WSPR
  • More FT8/FT4 features (e.g., setting transmit frequency directly in FT8 view)
  • Send image to unit
  • KISS TNC support
  • Control digital modes (reflectors, etc.)

In-app purchases

None

SDR Receiver

No in-app purchases

None

SDR

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SDR Receiver free?
SDR Receiver costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is SDR free?
SDR costs $44.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, SDR Receiver or SDR?
SDR is rated higher. SDR Receiver averages 4.1 out of 5 from 15 ratings, while SDR averages 4.6 from 73 ratings.
Do SDR Receiver or SDR have ads?
Neither SDR Receiver nor SDR shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SDR Receiver or SDR?
SDR Receiver ships an update every 4 months, and SDR every 2 weeks. Most recently, SDR Receiver was updated on November 3, 2026 and SDR on November 7, 2026.

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