# SDR vs Spender Friends

The clearest difference is price: Spender Friends at Free against SDR's $44.99. Spender Friends also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17.6). SDR's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 7 months). On ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Spender Friends is free to download; SDR costs $44.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

SDR ships an update every 2 weeks, Spender Friends every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | SDR | Spender Friends |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $44.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | **[4.6 (67 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sdr-control-mobile/id1673327509/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **67** | — |
| Positive reviews | 84.3% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Every 7 months |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Size | 55 MB | 29 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | **12.0** |
| Devices | iPhone | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Marcus Roskosch](https://appshunter.io/developer/334053438) | [T.C. RADIO AND COMMUNICATION COMPANY LIMITED](https://appshunter.io/developer/1474946932) |

## What reviewers say

### SDR

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sdr-control-mobile/id1673327509)

Control your Icom transceiver remotely or locally from your iPhone. Operate in all modes, log QSOs, and utilize integrated digital modes like FT8/FT4 and SSTV. No extra hardware is needed for global access.

**Highlights:** Remote transceiver operation, All mode control, Auto logging logbook, Integrated FT8/FT4 tool, Integrated SSTV receiver, Integrated CW decoder and keyer, DX-Cluster integration

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Works perfectly with ICOM radios
- 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
- 🌟 Feature-rich and comprehensive
- 💯 Stable and reliable performance
- 📱 Great for remote operation

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 FT8 decoding issues (lower signal levels)
- 🐛 Dialogs do not scale with larger text setting
- 🐛 UI elements can be cramped on iPhone
- 🐛 Some buttons are small and hard to press
- 🐛 Frequency display overlaps buttons

**Reported bugs**

- Dialogs do not scale with larger text setting
- Frequency display overlaps buttons
- FT8 decoding issues (lower signal levels than WSJTX)
- App crashes and leaves radio in transmit
- Logbook export not functional after update

**Requested features**

- Develop for IC-7800
- CarPlay support
- Apple Watch add-on
- Windows version
- JS8call support


### Spender Friends

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spender-friends/id6737226323)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is SDR free?

SDR costs $44.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Spender Friends free?

Spender Friends is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do SDR or Spender Friends have ads?

Neither SDR nor Spender Friends shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, SDR or Spender Friends?

SDR ships an update every 2 weeks, and Spender Friends every 7 months. Most recently, SDR was updated on October 27, 2026 and Spender Friends on October 15, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*