FT8 Decoder vs HAM
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
FT8 Decoder
This application decodes FT8 digital signals from amateur radio bands. It can process audio from external sources or directly from an SSB radio or SDR. The app also generates FT8 modulated audio for experimentation.
- Decodes FT8 8FSK modulated signals
- Processes external audio or SDR sound
- Supports standard callsigns and 13-character messages
- Generates FT8 message audio
- Experiment with sending and receiving FT8 audio
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An FT8 decoder. FT8 is a weak signal digital mode, currently very popular in the amateur radio HF shortwave bands. The ft8d app allows decoding FT8 8FSK modulated signals contained in externally provided audio or sound from an SSB radio or SDR. The app supports Level 1 decoding of messages with standard callsigns or 13 character free text messages. The app can also generate standard FT8 message audio, so can be used to experiment with sending and receiving FT8 encoded and modulated audio. The app does NOT perform Auto-sequencing, or decode long hashed callsigns.
HAM
This utility app offers a comprehensive suite of tools for amateur radio operators, including band conditions, DX-Cluster monitoring, and a logbook. It features direct radio integration for tuning and automatic logging, along with various calculations and resource information.
- DX-Cluster and PSK-Reporter activity monitoring
- Bandplan, Glossar, and AWG resource information
- Built-in radio integration for direct tuning
- Fully featured logbook with QSO editing
- LOTW and QRZ.com log submission
- Calculations for Ohm's law, VSWR, and antennas
- CW Encoder and Decoder
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The ultimate utility App for every HAM-Radio Operator HAM-Toolbox provides a variety of useful Tools to help you operating your HAM-Radio. The Tools are ranging from activity monitoring Tools like DX-Cluster and PSK-Reporter, to Tools helping you with resource information like Bandplan, Glossar, AWG and many more Tools. HAM-Toolbox also has a built-in radio integration, so that you can directly tune to spots from the DX-Cluster and other tools. During logging, the appropriate fields for the frequency and mode will be automatically filled. With a one-time purchase you gain access to all of the following Tools on your iPhone, iPad and Mac. · TOOLS: + Band Conditions + POTA + DX-Cluster + PSK-Reporter + Reverse Beacon Network + Call-Lookup + Locator + Beacons (especially NCDXF) + Repeater + DTMF Generator + CW Encoder and Decoder + Frequency List + QSL Card Designer (design, preview, print and export your own QSL cards) · LOGBOOK: HAM-Toolbox comes with a fully featured Logbook. + Inspect and edit your existing QSOs + Easy-to-use logging interface + Maintenance (Data completion from QRZ.com, Duplicates finder, Mass change) + LOTW and QRZ.com log submission + Integrated Call-Lookup with possibility to update QSO + Worked/Needed statistics for CQ-Zones, ITU-Zones and DXCCs + Map with worked grid locators representation + iCloud-Sync with multiple devices (compatible with SDR-Control and SmartSDR) · Radio-Integration: + Frequency and Mode + Logbook integration + Direct tuning from various Tools like DXCluster, POTA, Frequency List + Supports all major Brands and Radios via Network or USB + YAESU: FT-710, FT-991, FT-DX10, FT-DX100 + Icom: IC-705, IC-7300mk2, IC-7300, IC-7610, IC-7760, IC-9700, IC-R8600, + Kenwood: TS-890, TS-990 + Elecraft: K4 + HamLib · CALCULATIONS: + Ohm's law + VSWR + Dipole-Antenna + Groundplane-Antenna + HB9CV-Antenna + Helix-Antenna + dB Conversion + Wavelength · RESOURCES: + Bandplan + Glossar + Morse + AWG + CTCSS-Codes + Formulas + Q-Codes + Abbreviations + Constants Find out more here: https://ham-toolbox.com Read the Manual: https://go-to.me/hamtoolbox-manual
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: FT8 Decoder at $1.99 against HAM's $14.99. FT8 Decoder also leads on rating (4.3 vs 4.0) and iOS requirement (15.4 vs 18.6). HAM's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 18 months) and review sentiment (69% vs 50%). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
FT8 Decoder costs $1.99 and HAM $14.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
FT8 Decoder holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 8 and 7 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 50% of FT8 Decoder's written reviews are positive against 69% of HAM's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
FT8 Decoder ships an update every 18 months, HAM monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | FT8 Decoder | HAM |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 — better | $14.99 |
| Rating | 4.3 (8 ratings) — better | 4.0 (7 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | 69.2% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 8 — better | 7 |
| Update frequency | Every 18 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #177 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.4 — better | 18.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1 MB | 83 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | HotPaw Productions | Marcus Roskosch |
Customer experience
FT8 Decoder
HAM
In-app purchases
FT8 Decoder
No in-app purchases
HAM
No in-app purchases
