Comparison

HAM Test Prep Lite vs Ham Radio Exam Extra

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 Lite

Prepare for your Amateur Radio General license exam with practice questions and mock tests. Review FCC rule text and track your proficiency across question groups. This lite version includes a subset of the full question pool.

Highlights
  • General question pool practice
  • Practice exams
  • Proficiency tracking
  • Immediate feedback option
  • View FCC rule text
  • Zoomable figures
  • Dark mode support
Features
Read full description

Includes the General Question Pool effective July 1, 2023! NOTE: This "Lite" version contains only 2 of the 10 subelements in the question pool. Click the 'Buy Now' link in the app to get the FULL version. 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. This "Lite" version only contains questions from subelements G1 and G7. 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

Ham Radio Exam Extra

Prepare for your Extra Class FCC Amateur Radio License exam. Review official question pools, take topic-specific quizzes, and simulate the actual exam. Track your progress and find local exam sessions.

Highlights
  • Review official question pools
  • Take topic-specific quizzes
  • Simulate full license exams
  • Track user performance
  • Find local exam sessions
  • Follow ham radio news
Features
Read full description

"Ham Radio Exam - Extra" will help the user pass his/her examination for a Extra Class FCC Amateur Radio License. Ham Radio Exam allows the user to review the correct answers to the official pool of questions that will appear on their Extra license exam. The user can also take quizzes of each topic that will be on the exam as well as take simulated examinations that exactly mimic the license exam that the user will take. The users performance is stored so that the user can track their progress as they continue their preparations. Ham Radio Exam even allows the user to find an examination session near them and to follow ham radio news.

Screenshots

HAM Test Prep Lite4 screens
Ham Radio Exam Extra4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Ham Radio Exam Extra at free against HAM Test Prep Lite's free with in-app purchases. Ham Radio Exam Extra also leads on rating (4.6 vs 4.4) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.5). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and update cadence 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

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Ham Radio Exam Extra holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 47 and 62 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 89% and 89% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

HAM Test Prep Lite ships an update every 7 months, Ham Radio Exam Extra every 12 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
HAM Test Prep Lite versus Ham Radio Exam Extra: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHAM Test Prep LiteHam Radio Exam Extra
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (47 ratings)4.6 (62 ratings) — better
Positive reviews89.4% of reviews — better88.6% of reviews
Number of ratings4762 — better
Update frequencyEvery 7 months — betterEvery 12 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.59.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB52 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPatrick J Maloney LLCRoy Watson

Customer experience

HAM Test Prep Lite

All ratings46 ratings
Positive87.0%
Neutral2.2%
Negative10.9%
Written reviews66 reviews
Positive89.4%
Neutral4.5%
Negative6.1%

Ham Radio Exam Extra

All ratings58 ratings
Positive89.7%
Neutral5.2%
Negative5.2%
Written reviews44 reviews
Positive88.6%
Neutral4.5%
Negative6.8%

User reviews

HAM Test Prep Lite

From 47 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to learn and use
  • 👍 Great for studying for exams
  • 👍 Helpful for Technician and General licenses
  • 👍 Mobile and convenient for on-the-go studying
  • 👍 Provides confidence for tests

Room to improve

  • 👎 Free version is limited
  • 👎 Only a subset of questions in free version
  • 👎 Some questions lack necessary images (schematics)
  • 👎 Not all test questions were in the study material
  • 👎 App crashed iPod

Ham Radio Exam Extra

From 62 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Straightforward and easy to use
  • 🚀 Helps pass license exams
  • 📱 Convenient for studying on the go
  • ✅ Practice tests are effective
  • 💡 Tracks missed questions and results

Room to improve

  • 🔇 Mutes music playback
  • 🎨 Dark headers hard to read
  • ❓ Some questions have errors
  • 📱 Ads can be distracting

Bugs and requests

HAM Test Prep Lite

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • App crashed iPod
  • Some questions ask about schematic symbols but the necessary picture is not shown

Requested features

2 requests
  • Include schematic symbol images for relevant questions
  • Consider a UK version

Ham Radio Exam Extra

Reported bugs

8 issues
  • Clipboard data theft concern
  • Cannot read results (dark green text on royal blue background)
  • Cannot see answer options (white text on white background)
  • Question pool outdated
  • Question E2B03 has incorrect answer/no answer selected
Show 3 more
  • App expired on 6/30/20 and didn't switch to new pool
  • Questions too long to display fully in study modes
  • Accidental touches registered as answers

Requested features

4 requests
  • Option to put missed questions into own category
  • Open recommended questions directly
  • Remove distracting ads
  • Mark successfully answered questions to avoid repetition

In-app purchases

None

HAM Test Prep Lite

No in-app purchases

None

Ham Radio Exam Extra

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is HAM Test Prep Lite free?
HAM Test Prep Lite is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Ham Radio Exam Extra free?
Ham Radio Exam Extra is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, HAM Test Prep Lite or Ham Radio Exam Extra?
Ham Radio Exam Extra is rated higher. HAM Test Prep Lite averages 4.4 out of 5 from 47 ratings, while Ham Radio Exam Extra averages 4.6 from 62 ratings.
Do HAM Test Prep Lite or Ham Radio Exam Extra have ads?
Neither HAM Test Prep Lite nor Ham Radio Exam Extra shows ads.
Which is updated more often, HAM Test Prep Lite or Ham Radio Exam Extra?
HAM Test Prep Lite ships an update every 7 months, and Ham Radio Exam Extra every 12 months. Most recently, HAM Test Prep Lite was updated on November 6, 2026 and Ham Radio Exam Extra on November 1, 2026.

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