Drone Scanner vs Spectrum SDR (RTL
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.
Spectrum SDR (RTL
Explore radio signals with your RTL-SDR dongle. Listen to AM/FM/SSB/CW, view FFT and waterfall displays, and customize your experience. Requires a remote rtl_tcp instance over WiFi.
- Full frequency range support
- AM, FM, SSB, CW reception
- FFT and Waterfall displays
- Adjustable sample rates
- Bias tee and gain controls
- Squelch functionality
- Customizable display options
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This application is about having a bit of fun with those amazing little RTL-SDR dongles, whilst listening to AM/FM/SSB/CW radio signals. It's nice and easy to use so why not give it a try? - Covers the full frequency range of your RTL-SDR dongle. - AM and FM, wide and narrow, SSB, CW. - FFT and Waterfall displays. - Sample rates 240000 Hz to 2160000 Hz. - Bias tee control. - 75 presets over 5 pages. - Gain controls. - Squelch. - Flexible display options, hide things you don't need to see. - Built-in help. The application needs to be connected to an instance of rtl_tcp running on a remote computer, most likely over WiFi. You will need a good network connection for this to work reliably when using the higher sample rates. It can be installed on an iPhone, iPad or Apple Silicon Mac. We hope you enjoy using this application.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Spectrum SDR (RTL at 100% against Drone Scanner's 16%. Spectrum SDR (RTL also leads on rating (4.5 vs 1.9) and update cadence (every 11 days vs every 3 months). Drone Scanner's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ratings volume (147 vs 2). On price, ads, monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Spectrum SDR (RTL sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Drone Scanner asks for nothing beyond the download.
Spectrum SDR (RTL holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 1.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Drone Scanner has 147 ratings behind it against 2, 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 100% of Spectrum SDR (RTL's.
Drone Scanner ships an update every 3 months, Spectrum SDR (RTL every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Drone Scanner | Spectrum SDR (RTL |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.9 (147 ratings) | 4.5 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 15.9% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 147 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 11 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 41 MB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Dronetag | James Mainwaring |
Customer experience
Drone Scanner
Spectrum SDR (RTL
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
Spectrum SDR (RTL
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Drone Scanner
No in-app purchases
Spectrum SDR (RTL
- Full Version$2.99
Questions
Is Drone Scanner free?
Is Spectrum SDR (RTL free?
Which has better reviews, Drone Scanner or Spectrum SDR (RTL?
Do Drone Scanner or Spectrum SDR (RTL have ads?
Which is updated more often, Drone Scanner or Spectrum SDR (RTL?
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