Comparison

HAM Test Prep vs HamTester General

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

Head to head
About

HAM Test Prep

Prepare for your Amateur Radio General license exam with a comprehensive question pool and practice tests. Review FCC rules, track your proficiency, and customize your study sessions. Includes features for vision-impaired users and dark mode support.

Highlights
  • General question pool access
  • Practice exams
  • Proficiency tracking
  • Immediate feedback option
  • View FCC rule text
  • Zoomable figures
  • Accessibility options
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Includes the General Question Pool effective July 1, 2023! Not sure if you want to buy? Try out the "Lite" version of this app! Upgrade your HAM license from Technician to General! With the elimination of the Morse Code requirement, there is no reason not to upgrade your license to gain additional privileges! 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. 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 General question pool is valid through June 30, 2027. Versions of this application for both the Technician 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

About

HamTester General

Prepare for your ham radio FCC General Class exam with unlimited practice tests. This app simulates real exam sessions, providing immediate feedback on your answers and highlighting correct responses.

Highlights
  • Unlimited exam generation
  • Complete General Class Question Pool
  • Immediate exam grading
  • Feedback on errant questions
  • Display of correct answers
Features
Read full description

This application will generate unlimited examinations for you to take to prepare you for your actual testing session. NOTE: The Question Pool is valid for testing sessions beginning July 1, 2024 to June 29, 2027. "It is important to realize that to prepare someone to take an exam, you need to do more than just present a question pool. It is more than just questions/answers, statistics etc. It requires a mental preparation also. I created the HamTester series Technician, General and Extra to be as close to a real FCC exam session as I could, to prepare the student for more than just a list of questions." - Gene Backlin And Gene should know. Since 2000, Gene has been a Volunteer Examiner(VE) and has presided over 150 examination sessions. He has seen what it takes to pass, as well as mentored and encouraged/tutored those who have not. "It is a great hobby, and if I have been able in any way to help you achieve your ham ticket, I am thankful for your trust in my application" - Gene Backlin Features include: - Unlimited Examination Generation. - Complete General Class Question Pool included for immediate study. - Immediate grading of exam upon completion. - Feedback of questions that are errant, including multiple display of incorrect answer chosen as well as correct answer expected.

Screenshots

HAM Test Prep4 screens
HamTester General4 screens

Verdict

The call

HAM Test Prep and HamTester General both sit at 4.9 stars, but that hides the real split: 97% of HAM Test Prep's written reviews are positive against 0% of HamTester General's. HAM Test Prep also leads on ratings volume (575 vs 1) and chart position (#194 vs unranked). HamTester General's advantage is price ($0.99 vs $1.99) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.5). On rating, update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

HAM Test Prep costs $1.99 and HamTester General $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for HAM Test Prep against 5.0 for HamTester General. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: HAM Test Prep has 575 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 97% of HAM Test Prep's written reviews are positive against 0% of HamTester General's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

HAM Test Prep ships an update every 6 months, HamTester General every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
HAM Test Prep versus HamTester General: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHAM Test PrepHamTester General
Price$1.99$0.99 — better
Rating4.9 (575 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews96.9% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings575 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#194 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS15.512.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB11 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPatrick J Maloney LLCGene Backlin

Customer experience

HAM Test Prep

All ratings575 ratings
Positive98.8%
Neutral0.7%
Negative0.5%
Written reviews97 reviews
Positive96.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative3.1%

HamTester General

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Bugs and requests

HAM Test Prep

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Occasional app crashes or freezes
  • Inconsistent behavior between iPhone and iPad versions

Requested features

2 requests
  • Add randomize answers option for practice tests
  • Improve progress tracking and reset functionality in study sections

HamTester General

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

HAM Test Prep

No in-app purchases

None

HamTester General

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is HAM Test Prep free?
HAM Test Prep costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is HamTester General free?
HamTester General costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, HAM Test Prep or HamTester General?
HamTester General is rated higher. HAM Test Prep averages 4.9 out of 5 from 575 ratings, while HamTester General averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do HAM Test Prep or HamTester General have ads?
Neither HAM Test Prep nor HamTester General shows ads.
Which is updated more often, HAM Test Prep or HamTester General?
HAM Test Prep ships an update every 6 months, and HamTester General every 3 months. Most recently, HAM Test Prep was updated on November 6, 2026 and HamTester General on November 2, 2026.

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