myGMRS vs HamWaves UV5R
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
myGMRS
Discover two-way radio repeaters in your local area for General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS). Coordinate your own repeaters, look up callsigns, and connect with other nearby users. A GMRS license from the FCC is required to access repeater information.
- Find GMRS repeaters
- Coordinate repeaters
- Lookup callsigns
- Find nearby users
- GMRS license verification
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Individuals can find two-way radio repeaters in the General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) to use in their area, coordinate their repeaters, lookup callsigns, and find other nearby users. A free account is required to view the repeater information, which requires a GMRS license issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
HamWaves UV5R
This interactive field guide provides experienced amateur radio operators with essential information for their Baofeng UV-5R radio. It offers clear explanations of menus, controls, and programming, even without an internet connection.
- Interactive radio guide
- Menu item explanations
- On-the-fly programming
- Offline access
- Control and display identification
- FCC certifications
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As radio users, we never seem to have manuals available when we need them. HamWaves Radio Guides are published to fix this problem! Now you can have interactive guides for your specific radio written by experienced amateur radio operators who actually own and use them. Baofeng UV-5R are notorious for their poorly translated user manuals and difficulty in setting them up and programming channels. HamWaves Guides provide well organized sections and topics to help you operate your radio and add or change settings on the fly, when you most need assistance. No one carries their manuals with them, but you always have your iPhone! HamWaves Guides do not require internet access to operate (except for updates) so if you are a hiker, camper, four-wheeler or someone who sometimes gets out of service range, you will still have the information you need. Covered topics include: - Feature list - Specifications - FCC certifications - Front and side controls - Keypad identification including shortcut items - Display icon identification - Accessories and after-market details - Extensive menu item explanations so you will know what those arcane items actually do - Programming simplex and repeater frequencies on the fly - Other resources to help you be a better and more knowledgable radio operator
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: myGMRS at Free against HamWaves UV5R's $3.99. myGMRS also leads on ratings volume (17 vs 1) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.1). HamWaves UV5R's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 3.8) and ads (none vs shown). On 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
myGMRS is free to download; HamWaves UV5R costs $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
HamWaves UV5R holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: myGMRS has 17 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
myGMRS ships an update every 6 weeks, HamWaves UV5R every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | myGMRS | HamWaves UV5R |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $3.99 |
| Rating | 3.8 (17 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 37.5% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 17 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #132 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 16.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 54 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | RepeaterFinder, LLC | Brian MILBURN |
Customer experience
myGMRS
HamWaves UV5R
In-app purchases
myGMRS
No in-app purchases
HamWaves UV5R
No in-app purchases





