Drone Scanner vs SWList
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Drone Scanner
Transform your device into a drone scanner to track nearby flights in real-time. View detailed flight information, including pilot data and location history, on an interactive map. The app is updated to comply with current EU and US regulations.
- Real-time drone tracking
- Detailed drone information
- Interactive flight map
- Support for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi broadcasts
- Flying zone highlighting
- Data export functionality
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The world's first drone Remote ID scanner made by Dronetag. _____ READ BEFORE DOWNLOADING! Limited access to features on some phones is caused by manufacturers’ restrictions. All iOS phones, for example, prohibit app access to Wi-Fi, so only Bluetooth data transmission will work (if and only the drone has an active Remote ID over Bluetooth). It is not a flaw of our app; we cannot fix this, and we don’t deserve negative reviews for these issues. _____ Transform your phone or tablet into a drone scanner and track all the nearby flights over Direct / Broadcast Remote ID standards. Browse real-time data about drones on a detailed map highlighting specific flying space zones. Download Drone Scanner for free and discover what drones fly above your head. Favourite features: - Discover more about drones flying nearby in real-time - Examine detailed information broadcasted by drones via Bluetooth 4, Bluetooth 5, Wi-Fi Beacon, and Wi-Fi NAN - Browse a detailed map with your location and all nearby aircraft - Check available data about drones, including real-time height, direction, pilot identification, pilot position, operation description, and location history - Various flying zones marked and highlighted on the map - Easy export of collected data - Continuously updated to reflect the latest EU & US regulations All these features you find in Drone Scanner – a free app for tracking drones. The app is developed by Dronetag, manufacturing devices for remote drone identification. How it works: Anyone can quickly identify what drones are flying in the sky nearby. Direct Remote ID is a feature that transmits live flight data via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi to the surrounding area. Drone manufacturers use various technologies to build an identification feature in new drones. Older drone pilots use add-on devices, enabling them to become digitally visible. With hardware on your smartphone, Drone Scanner can receive and read broadcasted data.
SWList
Discover and identify shortwave radio stations with access to curated EiBi and Aoki lists. Explore stations by frequency, band, or search criteria, and view detailed transmission information, including location on a map.
- Access EiBi and Aoki curated lists
- Discover stations by frequency or band
- Search by station name, country, or language
- Connect to radio receivers via Hamlib
- Filter for currently broadcasting stations
- View station transmission details
- Display transmitter location on map
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SWList gives you access to the popular EiBi and Aoki lists, helping you easily discover and identify shortwave radio stations. The EiBi list, curated by Eike Bierwirth, is a highly valued resource within the SWL community. The Aoki list, curated by Shigenori Aoki, is also widely used and recognized for its reliability. SWList offers four convenient ways to explore radio stations: - Enter a listening frequency to display stations transmitting nearby. - Select a specific radio band to view all stations within it. - Search by station name, country, or broadcast language. - Retrieve the frequency manually or automatically from your radio receiver, if connected via Hamlib. You can also filter results to show only stations that are currently broadcasting. For each station, detailed information is available, including transmission location, target area, and spoken language. If the transmitter’s location is available, you can display it on a geographic map and calculate the distance from your location. SWList also supports light and dark modes to suit your viewing preferences.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: SWList at 67% against Drone Scanner's 16%. SWList also leads on rating (3.8 vs 1.8). Drone Scanner's advantage is price (Free vs $3.99) and ratings volume (145 vs 4). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases 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
Drone Scanner is free to download; SWList costs $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
SWList holds the better App Store score, 3.8 against 1.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Drone Scanner has 145 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 16% of Drone Scanner's written reviews are positive against 67% of SWList's.
Drone Scanner ships an update every 3 months, SWList every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Drone Scanner | SWList |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $3.99 |
| Rating | 1.8 (145 ratings) | 3.8 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 15.9% of reviews | 66.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 145 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 41 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Dronetag | Stefano Rampazzo |
Customer experience
Drone Scanner
SWList
Bugs and requests
Drone Scanner
Reported bugs
3 issues- App crashes on launch
- Unable to locate drones in proximity
- Inaccurate location tracking
Requested features
3 requests- Add support for WiFi-based Remote ID
- Add support for more drone models
- Allow changing units from metric to imperial
SWList
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Drone Scanner
No in-app purchases
SWList
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Drone Scanner free?
Is SWList free?
Which has better reviews, Drone Scanner or SWList?
Do Drone Scanner or SWList have ads?
Which is updated more often, Drone Scanner or SWList?
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