Comparison

Radio Reference vs RepeaterSTART Premium

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Radio Reference

This app provides quick access to useful information for radio communication. It offers phonetic spellings, the full phonetic alphabet, Morse code learning, and a lookup for common radio abbreviations and Q signals.

Highlights
  • Phonetic spelling lookup
  • Phonetic alphabet reference
  • Morse code learning
  • Radio abbreviation lookup
  • Q signal definitions
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Radio Reference is a handy app for information you might need while communicating over your radio. Need to spell something phonetically? Type your word or phrase to get the phonetic spelling. Or view the whole phonetic alphabet. Learn Morse Code. Heard a Q signal or other abbreviation you don't recognize? Look it up here. Let me know what other stuff you'd like to see in here.

About

RepeaterSTART Premium

This tool helps amateur radio operators find and program local repeaters. It displays repeaters on a map and in a sortable list, with offline functionality. The premium version adds advanced search and radio programming guides.

Highlights
  • Ham radio and GMRS repeater map
  • Offline map and list view
  • Search by country, peak, or IARU Locator
  • Look up ham locations by callsign
  • Step-by-step radio programming guides
  • Supports multiple popular radio models
  • Filter by GMRS or Ham repeaters
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Repeater-START (Showing The Amateur Repeaters Tool) is a ham radio (and GMRS*) repeater map utilizing the repeaters at Hearham.com. This app lets you see nearby repeaters on a topo map, and on a list, sorted nearest first. Once updated, the app works online or offline. No cell service? power outage? - no problem! This premium version includes: * Search functionality to move map directly to any country or peak (internet required). * Search allows input of IARU Locator (maidenhead locator), even offline - move map to position and show nearby repeaters. * Look up location of other hams by callsign and move map directly to position (internet required). * Simple step by step instructions to program local repeaters on your radio. Anytone, Baofeng, Baofeng-mini, Retevis RT85/TYT UV88/Explorer QRZ-1, iCom, Quansheng, TIDRadio, Radioddity GD77/Baofeng 1801 DMR, Kenwood (TH-G71, TM-261, and TM-281) and Yaesu( VX-6, FT-4X, ft 25, ft-70, ft-65, ft-60, ft-2980) radios are supported with more coming soon... * GMRS and/or Ham (amateur radio) can be selected to show or hide, in the settings. (*GMRS repeaters list is available for Washington, Oregon, Idaho: https://hearham.com/GMRS) * Print out ability to print the step by step instructions to a networked printer. Missing repeater information? Don't panic - the database can be easily updated by adding the information at https://hearham.com/repeaters/add. Wrong information / unusable repeater? Add a comment to the repeater's page and an administrator will review and update the database as needed.

Screenshots

Radio Reference4 screens
RepeaterSTART Premium4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: RepeaterSTART Premium at 100% against Radio Reference's 0%. RepeaterSTART Premium also leads on rating (4.7 vs 1.0) and update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 37 months). Radio Reference's advantage is price ($1.99 vs $9.99). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model and chart position 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

Radio Reference costs $1.99 and RepeaterSTART Premium $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

RepeaterSTART Premium holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 1.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 3 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of Radio Reference's written reviews are positive against 100% of RepeaterSTART Premium's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Radio Reference ships an update every 37 months, RepeaterSTART Premium every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Radio Reference versus RepeaterSTART Premium: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRadio ReferenceRepeaterSTART Premium
Price$1.99 — better$9.99
Rating1.0 (1 ratings)4.7 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings13 — better
Update frequencyEvery 37 monthsEvery 5 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#192#147 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.016.0
Further details — not scored
Size0 MB32 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKoral Oztan SchemelGreat Maps LLC

Customer experience

Radio Reference

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

RepeaterSTART Premium

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Radio Reference

No in-app purchases

None

RepeaterSTART Premium

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Radio Reference free?
Radio Reference costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is RepeaterSTART Premium free?
RepeaterSTART Premium costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Radio Reference or RepeaterSTART Premium?
RepeaterSTART Premium is rated higher. Radio Reference averages 1.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while RepeaterSTART Premium averages 4.7 from 3 ratings.
Do Radio Reference or RepeaterSTART Premium have ads?
Neither Radio Reference nor RepeaterSTART Premium shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Radio Reference or RepeaterSTART Premium?
Radio Reference ships an update every 37 months, and RepeaterSTART Premium every 5 weeks. Most recently, Radio Reference was updated on October 8, 2026 and RepeaterSTART Premium on October 5, 2026.
Which is more popular, Radio Reference or RepeaterSTART Premium?
Radio Reference currently peaks at #192 in the App Store charts, and RepeaterSTART Premium at #147. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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