Comparison

HAM Test Prep vs ARRL magazines

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 Extra license exam with a comprehensive question pool and practice tests. Review FCC rules, get immediate feedback, and track your proficiency across question groups. Features include accessibility options and customizable test settings.

Highlights
  • Extra Question Pool (effective July 1, 2024)
  • Practice Exams
  • Proficiency Tracking
  • Immediate Feedback
  • View FCC Rule Text
  • Zoomable Figures
  • Accessibility Options
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Includes the Extra Question Pool effective July 1, 2024! Not sure if you want to buy? Try out the "Lite" version of this app! Upgrade your HAM license from General to Amateur Extra! With the elimination of the Morse Code requirement, there is no reason not to upgrade your license to the highest level to obtain all 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 Extra question pool is valid through June 30, 2028. Versions of this application for both the Technician and General 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

ARRL magazines

Access the monthly ARRL membership journal, QST, on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch. This publication offers news, construction projects, and tutorials for Amateur Radio enthusiasts. The digital version includes exclusive content not found in print.

Highlights
  • Monthly QST digital delivery
  • News and updates
  • Construction projects
  • Tutorials and guides
  • Exclusive digital content
Read full description

If you're a member of ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio, install this app and have QST, the ARRL membership journal, delivered to your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch every month! QST entertains and informs with news, construction projects, tutorials and much more. That's why it is the most widely read Amateur Radio publication in the world. The digital version of QST goes even further with content not found in the printed journal. Privacy & Terms of Conditions: http://www.arrl.org/online-privacy-policy

Screenshots

HAM Test Prep4 screens
ARRL magazines4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: HAM Test Prep at 98% against ARRL magazines's 12%. HAM Test Prep also leads on rating (4.9 vs 1.8) and chart position (#164 vs unranked). ARRL magazines's advantage is price (Free vs $2.99) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.5). On ratings volume, 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

ARRL magazines is free to download; HAM Test Prep costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

HAM Test Prep holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 1.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 312 and 258 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 98% of HAM Test Prep's written reviews are positive against 12% of ARRL magazines's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and July 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
HAM Test Prep versus ARRL magazines: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHAM Test PrepARRL magazines
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.9 (312 ratings) — better1.8 (258 ratings)
Positive reviews97.7% of reviews — better12.2% of reviews
Number of ratings312 — better258
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
Best chart rank#164 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.512.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB126 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPatrick J Maloney LLCARRL, American Radio Relay League, Inc.

Customer experience

HAM Test Prep

All ratings312 ratings
Positive98.7%
Neutral0.3%
Negative1.0%
Written reviews87 reviews
Positive97.7%
Neutral2.3%
Negative0.0%

ARRL magazines

All ratings258 ratings
Positive15.9%
Neutral3.1%
Negative81.0%
Written reviews123 reviews
Positive12.2%
Neutral5.7%
Negative82.1%

User reviews

HAM Test Prep

From 312 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ✅ Effective exam preparation and high pass rates
  • 📱 Convenient mobile access for studying anytime
  • 🎯 Accurate and current question pools
  • 📊 Tracks progress and identifies weak areas
  • 🎮 Randomized questions prevent memorization by position

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent app crashes during use
  • ❌ Limited practice modes (only randomize tests)
  • 🔧 Confusing logic and navigation initially
  • 📍 No 'where I left off' bookmark feature

ARRL magazines

From 258 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fast and responsive
  • 👍 Intuitive interface
  • 💡 Offline reading support

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes
  • 🔒 Authentication issues
  • 👎 Unreliable login/logout
  • 🔋 High battery consumption

Bugs and requests

HAM Test Prep

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes almost every time a menu item is selected
  • Cannot reset review question selection
  • Crashes during long study or test sessions

Requested features

4 requests
  • Bookmark or 'where I left off' feature for resuming sessions
  • Ability to reset review question selection
  • Option to randomize answer order in practice question pools
  • Non-randomized practice mode alongside randomized tests

ARRL magazines

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Downloading issues causes app to freeze
  • Inconsistent behavior across devices
  • Disappearing downloaded content

Requested features

3 requests
  • Seamless integration with ARRL account
  • Ability to resume reading from last page
  • PDF export option

In-app purchases

None

HAM Test Prep

No in-app purchases

None

ARRL magazines

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is HAM Test Prep free?
HAM Test Prep costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is ARRL magazines free?
ARRL magazines is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, HAM Test Prep or ARRL magazines?
HAM Test Prep is rated higher. HAM Test Prep averages 4.9 out of 5 from 312 ratings, while ARRL magazines averages 1.8 from 258 ratings.
Do HAM Test Prep or ARRL magazines have ads?
Neither HAM Test Prep nor ARRL magazines shows ads.
Which is updated more often, HAM Test Prep or ARRL magazines?
HAM Test Prep ships an update every 4 months, and ARRL magazines every 4 months. Most recently, HAM Test Prep was updated on September 26, 2026 and ARRL magazines on July 6, 2026.

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