Comparison

Shortwave Guide vs Overhead 1090

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

Head to head
About

Shortwave Guide

This application displays a real-time schedule of shortwave radio broadcasts worldwide, sourced from the EiBi database. Users can rescan for updates, view specific frequencies, and update the entire broadcast schedule database.

Highlights
  • Worldwide shortwave broadcast schedule
  • Real-time station listings
  • Frequency viewing
  • Database updates
  • EiBi database integration
Features
Read full description

The app shows a schedule of shortwave radio broadcasting. Information taken from EiBi database. When you run the application, you will see a list of radio stations, broadcasting currently worldwide. To update the scanning time in the menu, click "Rescan". To view all the selected radio frequency specifically, use a right button. When you first launch the app, or to update the schedule database, choose "Update Database".

About

Overhead 1090

Features
Read full description

Overhead 1090 turns your own ADS-B receiver into a beautiful live radar picture of the sky above you. No accounts. No subscriptions. No aircraft data leaving your network. If your antenna can hear it, Overhead 1090 shows it โ€” with the low-latency, unfiltered view that only a local receiver can deliver. WHAT YOU GET โ€ข Live radar map โ€” every aircraft your receiver hears, updated in real time on a gorgeous dark map โ€ข Aircraft details โ€” callsign, registration, type, altitude, speed, heading, and distance from home โ€ข Reports โ€” traffic by hour and day, busiest hours, top operators and types โ€ข Sightings โ€” a feed of the notable stuff: military contacts, low passes, rare types, new airframes, closest approaches โ€ข Logbook โ€” a searchable log of every flight your receiver has heard, each with its ground track โ€ข All your receivers โ€” run more than one antenna? Add them all and filter by who heard what โ€ข Built for iPad โ€” a full-screen radar display โ€ข Apple TV โ€” the living-room big board. Put the sky above your house on the biggest screen you own โ€ข One purchase unlocks iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV WORKS WITH YOUR RECEIVER Overhead 1090 connects to ADS-B receivers on your local network that expose dump1090-compatible data โ€” including popular Raspberry Pi feeder setups. Setup is as simple as pointing the app at your receiver's address; it can even find it for you. No receiver yet? Demo mode lets you explore the full app with realistic sample traffic. WHY LOCAL IS BETTER Internet flight trackers filter, delay, and aggregate. Your receiver doesn't. Overhead 1090 shows exactly what's broadcast over your head the moment it's received โ€” including traffic that never appears on the big tracking sites. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your aircraft data stays on your network. Overhead 1090 has no analytics, no ads, and no accounts. The app's privacy label is "Data Not Collected." โ€” Overhead 1090 is for hobbyist and educational use. It is not certified for real-world navigation, air traffic control, or safety-of-life use. Requires a dump1090-compatible ADS-B receiver on your local network for live data (demo mode works without one). The app logs traffic while it is open.

Screenshots

Shortwave Guide3 screens
Overhead 10904 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Overhead 1090 at $4.99 against Shortwave Guide's $8.99. Overhead 1090 also leads on update cadence (every 4 weeks vs every 2 months) and chart position (#156 vs unranked). Shortwave Guide's advantage is iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.0). On ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Shortwave Guide costs $8.99 and Overhead 1090 $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Shortwave Guide ships an update every 2 months, Overhead 1090 every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences ยท 5 level
Shortwave Guide versus Overhead 1090: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShortwave GuideOverhead 1090
Price$8.99$4.99 โ€” better
Positive reviews20.0% of reviewsโ€”
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 4 weeks โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidโ€”
Best chart rankโ€”#156 โ€” better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Apple TV
Requires iOS15.6 โ€” better18.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size26 MB25 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperVladyslav HaliukMichael Russo

In-app purchases

None

Shortwave Guide

No in-app purchases

None

Overhead 1090

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Shortwave Guide free?
Shortwave Guide costs $8.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Overhead 1090 free?
Overhead 1090 costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Shortwave Guide or Overhead 1090 have ads?
Neither Shortwave Guide nor Overhead 1090 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Shortwave Guide or Overhead 1090?
Shortwave Guide ships an update every 2 months, and Overhead 1090 every 4 weeks. Most recently, Shortwave Guide was updated on October 16, 2026 and Overhead 1090 on October 8, 2026.

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