Comparison

VSim vs SignalPlanner

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

Head to head
About

VSim

Get a temporary virtual phone number to receive SMS verification codes without revealing your personal number. Activate accounts quickly and maintain privacy from unwanted spam. All messages are conveniently stored within the app.

Highlights
  • Receive SMS verification codes
  • Virtual numbers for account activation
  • In-app message inbox
  • Privacy protection
  • Pay-as-you-go credits
  • Supports popular platforms
Features
Read full description

VSim — Virtual Number for SMS Verification Need an SMS verification code without sharing your personal phone number? VSim gives you a virtual number to receive SMS verification codes online, so you can activate accounts quickly and keep your real number private. What you can do with VSim * Receive SMS Verification Codes: Use a virtual number to get login and verification codes directly inside the app. * Fast & Simple Activation: Choose a country and service, copy the number, and verify in minutes. * In-App Inbox: All received messages appear in one place for a smooth verification experience. * Privacy-Focused: Keep your real phone number off websites and apps to reduce unwanted spam. * Pay-As-You-Go Credits: Transparent pricing. If no SMS is received within the allowed time, your credit is automatically refunded. How it works 1. Select a country and service 2. Copy the provided number and use it for verification 3. Receive the SMS code in the VSim inbox VSim can be used for verification on many popular platforms, including WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Google, Snapchat, Tinder, Vinted, and more (availability varies by country and service). Privacy Policy: https://vsimapp.com/privacy-policy Terms of Use: https://vsimapp.com/terms-of-use

About

SignalPlanner

Features
Read full description

SignalPlanner brings professional-grade RF propagation modelling to iPhone and iPad. Plan repeater coverage, a backhaul link, or emergency-communications reach in the field or at your desk. PROPAGATION MODELS ITM Longley-Rice — terrain diffraction, with ground type and climate zone Hata Urban and Hata Rural — empirical loss for built-up and open ground COST-231 Urban — extended Hata above 1.5 GHz FSPL + Clutter — free-space loss plus land-cover attenuation Two-Ray + Clutter — ground reflection plus land-cover loss Strict LOS — line-of-sight only, for millimetre-wave paths Compare ITM with FSPL + Clutter on the same terrain, without replacing the saved map. TERRAIN AND LAND-COVER Elevation is NASA/USGS SRTM via AWS Mapzen Terrarium tiles (27 m), cached on device. Land-cover is ESA WorldCover 2021 at 10 m, with OpenStreetMap as fallback. Choose Coarse, Fine, or Very Fine (90 m). Cells grow coarser with range, out to 150 km. COVERAGE MAPS Set site, frequency, power, gain, and losses. Set the radius, or suggest it from the radio horizon. Strong and marginal zones use classic, rainbow, or colour-blind-safe colours. Carve a sector by azimuth and inner radius. Choose downlink, uplink, or two-way; two-way counts a spot only when both directions close. Tap for a link readout and S-meter. Styles: standard, satellite, hybrid, muted, or topographic. WEATHER Run the plan on a forecast: reliable, typical, and favourable coverage over 24, 48, or 72 hours, or any single hour. Ducting is flagged when it may stretch range. RELAYS, ROUTES, AND SITING Best Site ranks places for area, strong signal, or specific pins, and says when none covers them all. Repeater Chain finds the fewest hops between two sites. Repeater(s) reaches up to three far sites. Route coverage plans hops along a path. Band sweep compares frequencies from one site. POINT-TO-POINT AND ANTENNAS The link budget includes the terrain profile, Fresnel clearance, obstructions, fade margin, and a PDF. Import a measured pattern (MSI / Planet) so directional gain shapes the map and the link. HF AND SPACE WEATHER Solar indices, HF openings, and aurora / sporadic-E, saved for offline use. A skip-zone check, with NVIS notes, asks if two stations are too close for HF. The P.533 Full model (Experimental, not yet ITU-validated) estimates reliability, SNR, LUF, and multi-hop. MEASURED VS PREDICTED Import a CSV or JSON survey, or drop signal-report pins, and compare them with a map. You get an advisory offset. iOS cannot read live signal strength. MAP TOOLS Go to an address, lat/long, or MGRS. Drop a pin from GPS or with a long press. Measure distance, bearing, and area, and find high and low terrain. On supported devices, describe a plan in plain language and confirm it before it runs. OFFLINE AND EXPORT Cached terrain, weather, and space weather keep later runs offline. Share a PDF, or a KMZ of placemarks, rings, paths, routes, and a coverage overlay. PRESETS AND PRO Amateur, APRS, LMR, and data-link presets fill in frequency, sensitivity, and a model. Any frequency is still allowed. Four analyses are free. Map tools, KMZ, space weather, the skip-zone estimate, pattern import, link PDFs, and Measured vs Predicted stay free. Pro is a one-time purchase for unlimited runs: weather, Best Site, routes, repeaters, band sweep, and the HF Full model. PRIVACY No account. Location centres the map. Requests send only the coordinates being planned. No analytics, advertising, or tracking. Terrain: AWS Mapzen/Terrarium (MIT licence). Land-cover: ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC-BY 4.0). Topo: OpenTopoMap (CC-BY-SA 3.0). Streets: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Elevation fallback: Open-Elevation (GPLv2). Weather: Open-Meteo. Space weather: HamQSL and NOAA SWPC. Predictions are estimates only. Do not rely on them alone for life-safety, mission-critical, or regulatory decisions. Always verify on site. Terms of Use: www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

VSim4 screens
SignalPlanner4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: VSim at Free against SignalPlanner's $14.99. VSim also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). SignalPlanner's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

VSim is free to download; SignalPlanner costs $14.99 up front. VSim sells 6 one-off in-app purchases and SignalPlanner sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
VSim versus SignalPlanner: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVSimSignalPlanner
PriceFree — better$14.99
Rating4.7 (17K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews84.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings17K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size46 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperElmondLocStat

Bugs and requests

VSim

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Verification codes not received
  • Numbers already in use
  • Account bans without explanation

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to earn free credits
  • More number options
  • Improved privacy policy
  • Better FAQ and community support

SignalPlanner

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

6 purchases

VSim

One-time6
  • 10 Credit$0.99
  • 30 Credit$2.99
  • 50 Credit$4.99
Show 3 more
  • 100 Credit$9.99
  • 250 Credit$24.99
  • 500 credit$49.99
1 purchases

SignalPlanner

One-time1
  • SignalPlanner Pro$14.99

Questions

Is VSim free?
VSim is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SignalPlanner free?
SignalPlanner costs $14.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Do VSim or SignalPlanner have ads?
VSim shows ads; SignalPlanner does not.
Which is updated more often, VSim or SignalPlanner?
VSim ships an update every 2 months, and SignalPlanner every 2 months. Most recently, VSim was updated on October 27, 2026 and SignalPlanner on October 25, 2026.

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