# Meshtastic vs Phantom

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Meshtastic at 44% against Phantom's 0%. Meshtastic also leads on rating (4.1 vs 3.7) and ratings volume (824 vs 3). Phantom's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 10 days). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Meshtastic holds the better App Store score, 4.1 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Meshtastic has 824 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 44% of Meshtastic's written reviews are positive against 0% of Phantom's.

Meshtastic ships an update every 10 days, Phantom every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Meshtastic | Phantom |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.1 (824 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/meshtastic/id1586432531/reviews)** | [3.7 (3 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/phantom-mesh-comms/id6792339073/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **824** | 3 |
| Positive reviews | **44.0% of reviews** | 0.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days | **Every 4 days** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 95 MB | 778 MB |
| Requires iOS | **17.5** | 26.4 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Meshtastic LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1586432533) | [Antonio Lambert](https://appshunter.io/developer/1769139666) |

## What reviewers say

### Meshtastic

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/meshtastic/id1586432531)

This app enables off-grid, decentralized communication via a low-power mesh network. Send text messages in areas lacking cellular or WiFi service.

**Highlights:** Off-grid communication, Decentralized mesh network, Low-power LoRa radio support, Text messaging, No cellular/WiFi required

**Features:** Siri integration, Apple Watch app, iMessage stickers, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Well-made app
- 🚀 Polished and intuitive interface
- 🚀 Powerful features for off-grid communication
- 👍 Great community and responsive developers
- 👍 Continuously improving with updates

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Bluetooth connectivity issues
- 🐛 Unreliable messaging and node connections
- 🐛 Crashes and stability problems
- 🔋 High battery consumption
- 👎 Lacking feature parity with Android version

**Reported bugs**

- Canned messages configuration issues
- Location sharing and traceroute functions not working
- Settings screen bugs and crashes
- Inconsistent behavior when switching between devices

**Requested features**

- Offline maps support
- Ability to customize notifications
- More sorting and filtering options for nodes
- Apple Watch and Shortcuts integration
- Improved documentation and user guidance


### Phantom

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/phantom-mesh-comms/id6792339073)

This app enables off-grid voice and text communication over mesh networks, functioning without cell towers, Wi-Fi, or internet. It utilizes Meshtastic-compatible LoRa hardware for direct peer-to-peer messaging.

**Highlights:** Off-grid voice and text messaging, Works without cell towers, Wi-Fi, or internet, Hold-to-talk voice reconstruction, Bluetooth connectivity to Meshtastic LoRa nodes, Interoperable with standard Meshtastic app

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Meshtastic free?

Meshtastic is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Phantom free?

Phantom is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Meshtastic or Phantom?

Meshtastic is rated higher. Meshtastic averages 4.1 out of 5 from 824 ratings, while Phantom averages 3.7 from 3 ratings.

### Do Meshtastic or Phantom have ads?

Neither Meshtastic nor Phantom shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Meshtastic or Phantom?

Meshtastic ships an update every 10 days, and Phantom every 4 days. Most recently, Meshtastic was updated on October 14, 2026 and Phantom on October 7, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*