RF Engineer's Calc vs VibeSDR Jr
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ with what reviewers say about each.
RF Engineer's Calc
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A simple RF Engineer's Calculator. Convert Watts to dBm, calculate dBm power changes, convert Return Loss to VSWR, etc...
VibeSDR Jr
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VibeSDR Jr is a complete software-defined radio receiver that runs on your Apple Watch. Not a remote control for a phone in your pocket โ the watch makes its own connection, does its own decoding and plays its own audio. Leave the handset at home. Turn the Digital Crown to tune. The spectrum and waterfall run live on the wrist, in colour, at a frame rate you can actually read a band with. Press and hold for the menu, and everything else is a tap away. WHAT IT RECEIVES Jr is a client, so it needs a receiver to listen to โ either one of your own on your network, or one of the thousands of public ones already out there. It speaks VibeServer, OpenWebRX, KiwiSDR and FM-DX Webserver, and it ships with a directory of public servers, so there is something to listen to within seconds of installing. VibeServer is your own receiver. It is built into the VibeSDR phone app and available free for macOS โ plug in an RTL-SDR, an Airspy HF+ or an SDRplay RSP and it is yours. MODES AND DECODERS USB, LSB, AM, SAM, FM, NFM and wide FM in stereo, plus CW upper and lower. DAB, and an ADS-B view that plots the aircraft talking overhead. ON THE WRIST Bookmarks, synced with the VibeSDR phone app through iCloud. A band plan, so you know what you are looking at. Bandwidth, squelch, gain and the receiver's own hardware controls โ including the LNA, IF gain and notches an SDRplay RSP actually has, rather than a dongle's single slider pretending to be them. Background audio, so it keeps playing when you drop your wrist. And a link meter that tells you the truth about the connection. VibeSDR Jr is open source under the GPLv3. The engine underneath it, VibeDSP, is our own โ the same one that runs the phone app, so a waterfall you set up in one turns up looking the same on the other. Requires a Wi-Fi or cellular connection, and a receiver to connect to.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: RF Engineer's Calc at Free against VibeSDR Jr's $0.99. RF Engineer's Calc also leads on iOS requirement (16.1 vs 18.0). VibeSDR Jr's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs every 10 months) and device support (3 vs 1). On ads and in-app purchases 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
RF Engineer's Calc is free to download; VibeSDR Jr costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
RF Engineer's Calc ships an update every 10 months, VibeSDR Jr every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | RF Engineer's Calc | VibeSDR Jr |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free โ better | $0.99 |
| Update frequency | Every 10 months | Every 3 days โ better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch โ better |
| Requires iOS | 16.1 โ better | 18.0 |
| Further details โ not scored | ||
| Size | 43 MB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | GRAHAM JOHN SMITH | Stuart Carr |
In-app purchases
RF Engineer's Calc
No in-app purchases
VibeSDR Jr
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is RF Engineer's Calc free?
Is VibeSDR Jr free?
Do RF Engineer's Calc or VibeSDR Jr have ads?
Which is updated more often, RF Engineer's Calc or VibeSDR Jr?
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