iSlipstick RF vs splotRF
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
iSlipstick RF
This app provides a comprehensive suite of calculators and converters specifically designed for radio frequency (RF) engineers and technicians. It includes tools for path loss, antenna gain, intermodulation, and standard electrical calculations, along with various unit conversions.
- RF-specific calculators
- Standard electrical calculators
- Unit converters
- Path loss calculation
- Intermodulation analysis
- Antenna gain and beamwidth
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iSlipstick RF iSlipstick RF contains all of the functionality of the standard iSlipstick plus many functions specifically for RF work. RF Calculators included with iSlipstick RF are: PATH LOSS – Enter all of the RF link parameters such as transmitter output power, antenna gain, cable loss, distance and frequency to find the actual RF level at the receiver. MICROWAVE DISH BEAMWIDTH & GAIN – Enter the dish size, frequency and efficiency to find the 3 dB beamwidth and antenna gain. WAVELENGTH – Metric & U.S. RETURN LOSS / VSWR – Enter forward and reflected power to find VSWR, reflection coefficient and return loss. FRESNEL ZONE – Enter link distance, obstacle distance and frequency to find the 60% and 80% zone radii. This calculator also provides a visual display of ground clearance. VELOCITY FACTOR (VOP) – Enter the dielectric constant of a coax to find the Velocity of Propagation and enter the cable length to find the propagation delay. This calculator can also find the necessary cable length for a given delay and VOP. INTERMODULATION – Enter up to six frequencies to find the 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 7th intermod products that can be created. A 'hit' window can be set to eliminate out of band results. I.F. FREQUENCY – Enter the incoming carrier frequency and 1st local oscillator frequency to find the resulting I.F. and whether the spectrum is inverted or normal. This is a great calculator when working with up/down converters. INTERCEPT POINT – Once you have determined the levels of fundamental and intermodulation tones in a system, you can enter those values into this calculator to find either IP2 or IP3. Standard Calculators included in iSlipstick RF are: OHM'S LAW – Find voltage, current, resistance and power. REACTANCE – Find inductive and capacitive reactance by entering frequency and capacitance or inductance. RESONANCE – Find the resonant frequency of an inductor – capacitor pair. VOLTAGE DIVIDER – Enter the voltage into a resistor divider network to find the output voltage. PARALLEL RESISTOR – Enter up to six resistor values to find the resultant parallel resistance. SERIES and PARALLEL RLC – Enter R, C and L of a series or parallel circuit to find the impedance and phase angle. OP-AMP – Find the gain of either an inverting or non-inverting op-amp circuit. TIME CONSTANT - Find the first 5 time constants of both RC and RL circuits. Standard Converters included in iSlipstick RF are: RESISTOR COLOR CODE – Enter a resistor value to find the color code or enter the color code to find the resistor value. SMD RESISTOR – Enter 3 digit or 4 digit SMD codes to find the resistance value. Also does EIA-96 conversion. VOLTAGE CONVERTER – Convert between RMS, average, peak and p-p values. dB CONVERTER – Convert dBm, dBV, dBW and dBuV to absolute values and vice-versa in 50, 75 and 600 ohm load. TEMPERATURE – Convert between four popular scales. PERIOD – FREQUENCY – Convert waveform period to frequency and vice-versa. LENGTH, AREA, VOLUME, CAPACITY and WEIGHT – Convert from metric to U.S. and vice-versa. Also convert within same standard. A help page is also available as a quick function guide. Tested with iOS 12.0 thru iOS 15.1
splotRF
Visualize and analyze touchstone S-parameter data with interactive plots. Supports multiple file overlays, stability calculations, and various matrix conversions. Export data in vector graphics formats.
- Plot .snp format S-parameter data
- Stability circles and µ/µ' analysis
- Overlay multiple trace data
- View data as a table
- S/Y/Z matrix conversion
- Smith Chart, Polar, and Rectangular plots
- Export to PDF
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Key Features: • plots .snp format s-parameter touchstone data • stability circles for load and source • µ and µ' for load and source stability • interactive data markers • overlay multiple trace data on a single plot • overlay trace data from multiple files • view data as a table list • arbitrary number of ports (.s1p, .s2p, s3p…snp support) • S/Y/Z matrix conversion • mA/RI/dB formatting • interpolation over frequency • exports vector graphics to .pdf • plotting display properties and configuration are saved within file comments • automated grid layout • Smith Chart, Polar and Rectangular plots • reads and plots .zip archives containing s-parameter data
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: splotRF at every 10 days against iSlipstick RF's every 10 months. splotRF also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and device support (3 vs 1). iSlipstick RF's advantage is iOS requirement (16.6 vs 18.0). On price, ratings volume, 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
splotRF holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 2 respectively.
iSlipstick RF ships an update every 10 months, splotRF every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 17, 2026 and September 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | iSlipstick RF | splotRF |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (3 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 3 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 10 months | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 43 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Sam Virgillo | DirectRF |
Customer experience
iSlipstick RF
splotRF
In-app purchases
iSlipstick RF
No in-app purchases
splotRF
No in-app purchases









