ST BLE Drone vs Meshtastic
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ST BLE Drone
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The ST Drone is an STEVAL-FCU001V1 board, based on STM32 processor and ST sensors such as the 9-axis gyroscope, accelerometer, magnetometer, pressure, temperature and BLE. The GUI allows to pilot the ST Drone after the BLE connection has been established, then the drone is driven by touchable analog cursors. The GUI is composed by the following screens: • Pilot • BLE connector • Drone parameters settings and configurations • Help (in English or Italian) to explain the commands, the icons and their features Video about ST drone flight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGFqIDVpMT4 For more information about ST Drone: https://community.st.com/community/drone-zone For more information about STEVAL-FCU001V1: http://www.st.com/en/evaluation-tools/steval-fcu001v1.html To download free source code: https://github.com/STMicroelectronics-CentralLabs/ST_Drone_FCU_F401
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 update cadence: Meshtastic at every 10 days against ST BLE Drone's every 8 months. ST BLE Drone's advantage is iOS requirement (11.0 vs 17.5). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
ST BLE Drone ships an update every 8 months, Meshtastic every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 10, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ST BLE Drone | Meshtastic |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 4.2 (803 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 44.2% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 803 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 8 months | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | — | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 17.5 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 11 MB | 76 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | STMicroelectronics | Meshtastic LLC |
Bugs and requests
ST BLE Drone
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
ST BLE Drone
No in-app purchases
Meshtastic
No in-app purchases
