SDR Receiver vs CoronaSDR
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.
CoronaSDR
This application allows users to connect to and control RTL-SDR servers on their local network. It provides live spectrum and waterfall displays, various demodulation modes, and DSP controls for audio filtering and signal tuning. Users can save favorite stations and adjust RF settings.
- Live spectrum and waterfall display
- Multiple demodulation modes (AM, NFM, WFM, USB, LSB, CW)
- DSP controls (squelch, AGC, filters)
- Station favorites with import/export
- RF controls (PPM, tuner options)
- Diagnostics and performance pipeline
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CoronaSDR is an iOS app for listening to rtl_tcp SDR servers over your local network. Key features: - Live spectrum and waterfall rendering - Demodulation modes: AM, NFM, WFM, USB, LSB, CW - DSP controls: squelch, AGC, audio filters, de-emphasis - Station favorites with import/export - RF controls such as PPM and tuner options (hardware/server dependent) - Diagnostics and a performance-focused pipeline No account is required. Set your rtl_tcp host and port, connect, and tune. Built by Silviu YO6SAY for the radio community.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: CoronaSDR at Free against SDR Receiver's $9.99. CoronaSDR also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.1) and update cadence (every 9 days vs every 4 months). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases 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
CoronaSDR is free to download; SDR Receiver costs $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
CoronaSDR holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 15 and 10 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 73% of SDR Receiver's written reviews are positive against 100% of CoronaSDR's.
SDR Receiver ships an update every 4 months, CoronaSDR every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SDR Receiver | CoronaSDR |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.1 (15 ratings) | 5.0 (10 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 73.1% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 15 — better | 10 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 9 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Transition Technology Ventures, LLC | Alien Systems S.R.L. |
Customer experience
SDR Receiver
CoronaSDR
In-app purchases
SDR Receiver
No in-app purchases
CoronaSDR
No in-app purchases









