HAM Test Prep vs HamWaves
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
HAM Test Prep
Prepare for your amateur radio Technician license exam with a comprehensive question pool and practice tests. Identify weak areas, review FCC rules, and practice with adjustable settings. Optimized for mobile devices with accessibility features.
- Technician question pool (July 2022-June 2026)
- Practice exams with immediate feedback
- Proficiency tracking by question group
- View FCC rule text
- Zoomable and pannable figures
- Resume in-progress tests
- Accessibility options
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Includes the Technician Question Pool effective July 1, 2026! Not sure if you want to buy? Try out the "Lite" version of this app! Join the amateur radio community! Become a HAM by obtaining your Technician class license! Amateur Radio License exams are composed of questions from a pool. Use this application prior to taking your exam to review and practice all possible questions. Then, test your knowledge with practice exams! After completing your first practice exam, the question pool screen will display your proficiency in each question group for all practice exams you have completed. This will identify areas in which you need further practice. You may choose to receive immediate feedback on right and wrong answers when taking a practice test. On practice tests, questions in a group will not be repeated until all of them have been used. Some questions require you to review associated Figures. These figures may be zoomed and panned on iPhone/iPod touch. FCC rule text is viewable within the application. All sections can be browsed from the main screen. Additionally, for questions where rule sections have been identified, the rule text can be viewed on the question screen when studying the question pool or reviewing test results. An in-progress practice test can be resumed if you exit the test or the application. Current Technician question pool is valid through June 30, 2030. Versions of this application for both the General and Extra license classes are also available. This app has these additional features: • Accessibility option for vision-impaired users to exclude questions with figures • Dark mode support • Portrait and Landscape support on iPad • Swipe gestures to navigate between questions • Tap on answer to select it • Double-tap or use pinch gesture to zoom Figures on iPhone and iPod touch • Buttons to skip to next/previous wrong answer in test results • ARRL question number displayed on practice tests • Configurable Test Settings • Optional randomizing of test answers • Optional auto-advance during test
HamWaves
This app guides aspiring amateur radio operators in the US through the licensing process. It covers exam study, taking the test, getting on the air, and understanding radio equipment and operations. It's designed for new and prospective Technician level operators.
- FCC license process navigation
- Exam study and testing information
- Getting on-the-air guidance
- Radio equipment selection
- Technician level band-plan
- Online and in-person event resources
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HamWaves will de-mystify the process of getting started in amateur radio in the United States. HamWaves explains each step in the process of getting your license and provides full information on studying and taking your license exam. HamWaves has more than 30 topics for prospective and new Technician level amateur radio operators. Topics include: - Navigating through the FCC license process. - How to study for your exam. - Options and tips for taking the exam. - Getting on-the-air. - Types of on-air activities you can participate in. - Online resources for hams. - Clubs and groups. - Live on-the-air events. - Live in-person events. - Emergency Communications. - Choosing radio equipment. - Radio Programming. - Proper online etiquette. - Learning phonetics. - Using Allstar and EchoLink for remote communications. - Technician level band-plan with frequencies and types of operations allowed. - Several other reference categories to help you. This app is a must-have for all new and prospective hams. It was written by the president of a large amateur radio club with over a decade of experience helping new hams. Best of all, it's free and will be updated regularly as information changes or new topics are suggested.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: HamWaves at Free against HAM Test Prep's $1.99. HamWaves also leads on iOS requirement (16.1 vs 18.6). HAM Test Prep's advantage is ratings volume (806 vs 2) and chart position (#114 vs unranked). On rating, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases 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
HamWaves is free to download; HAM Test Prep costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for HAM Test Prep against 5.0 for HamWaves. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: HAM Test Prep has 806 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 98% of HAM Test Prep's written reviews are positive against 100% of HamWaves's.
| Parameter | HAM Test Prep | HamWaves |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.9 (806 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 98.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 806 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | #114 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | 16.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Patrick J Maloney LLC | Brian MILBURN |
Customer experience
HAM Test Prep
HamWaves
Bugs and requests
HAM Test Prep
Reported bugs
2 issues- Login screen freezes
- Incompatibility with older devices
Requested features
3 requests- Online/web version of the app
- Explanations for incorrect answers
- More diverse practice test questions
HamWaves
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
HAM Test Prep
No in-app purchases
HamWaves
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is HAM Test Prep free?
Is HamWaves free?
Which has better reviews, HAM Test Prep or HamWaves?
Do HAM Test Prep or HamWaves have ads?
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