Ham Radio Prep vs ShellRef
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Ham Radio Prep
Prepare for your ham radio license exams with comprehensive study materials. Access video lessons, track your progress, and take practice tests designed to mirror the official FCC exams for all three license levels.
- Covers all 3 license levels
- Premium video lessons
- Progress tracking per lesson
- FCC-style practice tests
- Exam readiness dashboards
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The fastest, easiest, and most informative way to get your ham radio license. > Includes all 3 Levels: Technician License, General License, and Amateur Extra License > Learn the material with premium video lessons > Track Your Progress For Each Lesson / Subpool > Practice Tests Built Using the Subpools Just Like the Real FCC Exam > Dashboards to Track Exam Readiness See why thousands of students have chosen HamRadioPrep.com to effectively study for their amateur radio license exams.
ShellRef
This app provides an offline reference for Bash, Zsh, and terminal editors, mimicking a retro technical manual. It's ideal for quickly looking up commands, syntax, and scripting practices without needing an internet connection. Features include search, bookmarks, and customizable display themes.
- Offline Bash and Zsh reference
- Terminal editor guides (Nano, Vim, Emacs)
- Quick command lookup
- Searchable content
- Customizable themes
- Adjustable text size
- Bookmarks
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ShellRef is an offline reference for Bash, Zsh, and terminal editors, presented as a focused CRT console reference manual. It’s designed for quick lookup while you work—whether you’re writing your first shell script, checking quoting rules, reviewing Zsh behavior, or trying to remember a Vim command without opening a browser. The app includes reference sections for: • Bash fundamentals, control flow, functions, strings and arrays, file I/O, processes, and scripting practices • Zsh differences, globbing, arrays, and configuration • Common command-line tools for text processing, file operations, and system tasks • Terminal editors including Nano, Vim, and Emacs Topics are organized as short reference entries with examples, notes, warnings, and tables where they help clarify syntax and behavior. ShellRef also includes: • Offline access to the full reference library • Search across commands, topics, examples, and notes • My Quick Refs for saving frequently used entries • A CRT-inspired interface with White, Green, and Amber phosphor display modes • Optional scanlines and adjustable display glow • Reduced-effects controls for a cleaner reading experience • Adjustable text size for easier reading on iPhone and iPad ShellRef is intended for developers, sysadmins, students, and anyone who wants a readable shell reference without ads, accounts, or an internet connection.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Ham Radio Prep at Free against ShellRef's $0.99. Ham Radio Prep also leads on ratings volume (2.2K vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.6). ShellRef's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and rating (5.0 vs 4.8). On update cadence, ads 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
Ham Radio Prep is free to download; ShellRef costs $0.99 up front. Ham Radio Prep sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. ShellRef asks for nothing beyond the download.
ShellRef holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ham Radio Prep has 2.2K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Ham Radio Prep ships an update every 2 weeks, ShellRef every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Ham Radio Prep | ShellRef |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $0.99 |
| Rating | 4.8 (2.2K ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 79.6% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 2.2K — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 53 MB | 19 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | World Radio League Inc. | Andrew Bacon |
Customer experience
Ham Radio Prep
ShellRef
Bugs and requests
Ham Radio Prep
Reported bugs
3 issues- Lessons locked after initial free content
- Advertisements causing app to freeze
- Progress not tracking across platforms
Requested features
3 requests- Online proctoring for exams
- Improved sync between app and website
- More practice questions and tests
ShellRef
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Ham Radio Prep
- Technician License Exam Course$34.99
- In-App Video Bundle$49.99
- General + Technician Course$55.00
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- Full Course Access, All Levels$79.99
ShellRef
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Ham Radio Prep free?
Is ShellRef free?
Which has better reviews, Ham Radio Prep or ShellRef?
Do Ham Radio Prep or ShellRef have ads?
Which is updated more often, Ham Radio Prep or ShellRef?
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