ARRL magazines vs HamStudy.org
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Monthly QST digital delivery
- News and updates
- Construction projects
- Tutorials and guides
- Exclusive digital content
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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
HamStudy.org
This app offers an intelligent study mode that tracks your progress and focuses on areas where you struggle. It allows you to tailor your study to specific chapters and topics from license manuals, with explanations for difficult questions. Practice exams are also available.
- Intelligent study algorithms
- Vetted user-submitted explanations
- Infinite practice exams
- Study all US Amateur Radio question pools
- International question pools
- Multi-user support
- Cross-device progress sync
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HamStudy is not your typical study app. Most study apps focus on practice exams, which is like studying for your math test by trying 20% of the questions on repeat. Study smarter with HamStudy. Instead of taking practice tests with random questions over and over, our intelligent Study Mode tracks your progress as you move through the questions—what you’ve seen, what you haven’t, and where you’re struggling—and focuses your study on the questions you need to see most. Full statistics are provided along the way, giving you insight into how many times you’ve gotten a question right or wrong as well as your overall study progress. Don’t worry, you can still take practice exams whenever you want. You won’t find a better tool to use alongside your favorite learning material. Through collaboration with some of the most recognized names in amateur radio, HamStudy allows you to simply choose from a selection of license manuals, then instantly adapts so you can match your study to the chapters, topics, and sections you’re used to†. Want to study just the questions from chapters 4 and 5? No problem. And when a question trips you up, just tap the Explain button to understand what you missed, review formulas, and read helpful study tips. Features: • HamStudy's intelligent study algorithms work with you to ensure you learn the questions, tracking your progress and adjusting the pace to keep you challenged but not frustrated. • Vetted user-submitted explanations help you avoid the pitfall of just memorizing answers. • Infinite practice exams. Fun fact: it takes around 70 practice exams before you’ll see every Technician question just once. Study more, test less! • Study all current US Amateur Radio question pools: Technician, General, and Amateur Extra. Updates are downloaded automatically, and new pools are always included free when they are revised every four years. • English and Spanish translations included for US Amateur Radio pools. • Includes an ever-growing selection of international question pools, such as Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, and Argentina. • Supports multiple users on the same device, each with independent study history. • Sync your progress across all devices and study online with a free hamstudy.org account. • Share your progress with friends, instructors, or other HamStudy.org users and help each other keep progressing towards that next license exam! HamStudy is proud to be sponsored by Icom. † Disclaimer: HamStudy does not contain the actual instructional material from linked books, but works great with the book sitting on the table next to you! Images, names, and trademarks used with permission.
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Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: HamStudy.org at 94% against ARRL magazines's 12%. HamStudy.org also leads on rating (4.9 vs 1.8) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 4 months). ARRL magazines's advantage is price (Free vs $3.99) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.4). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support 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
ARRL magazines is free to download; HamStudy.org costs $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
HamStudy.org holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 1.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: HamStudy.org has 2.6K ratings behind it against 258, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 12% of ARRL magazines's written reviews are positive against 94% of HamStudy.org's.
ARRL magazines ships an update every 4 months, HamStudy.org every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on July 6, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ARRL magazines | HamStudy.org |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $3.99 |
| Rating | 1.8 (258 ratings) | 4.9 (2.6K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 12.2% of reviews | 93.6% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 258 | 2.6K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | — | #12 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 126 MB | 30 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ARRL, American Radio Relay League, Inc. | Signal Stuff |
Customer experience
ARRL magazines
HamStudy.org
User reviews
ARRL magazines
From 258 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fast and responsive
- 👍 Intuitive interface
- 💡 Offline reading support
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes
- 🔒 Authentication issues
- 👎 Unreliable login/logout
- 🔋 High battery consumption
HamStudy.org
From 2.6K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Great study tool
- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Efficient way to prepare for exams
- 🚀 Comprehensive coverage of exam material
- 👍 Helpful explanations and hints
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional app freezes
- 👎 Some explanations could be clearer
- 🔋 Battery drain when using app extensively
Bugs and requests
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
HamStudy.org
Reported bugs
2 issues- Email support not working
- Occasional freezing or crashing
Requested features
4 requests- Dark mode option
- Ability to clear test history
- More detailed performance analytics
- Spell out acronyms and define technical terms
In-app purchases
ARRL magazines
No in-app purchases
HamStudy.org
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is ARRL magazines free?
Is HamStudy.org free?
Which has better reviews, ARRL magazines or HamStudy.org?
Do ARRL magazines or HamStudy.org have ads?
Which is updated more often, ARRL magazines or HamStudy.org?
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