# ARRL magazines vs Ham Shack

The clearest difference is rating: Ham Shack at 5.0 against ARRL magazines's 1.8. Ham Shack also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 4 months). ARRL magazines's advantage is ratings volume (265 vs 1) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 26.5). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

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

Ham Shack holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 1.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ARRL magazines has 265 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

ARRL magazines ships an update every 4 months, Ham Shack weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | ARRL magazines | Ham Shack |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [1.8 (265 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/arrl-magazines/id531766442/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ham-shack/id6798066342/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **265** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 12.2% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 126 MB | 17 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.0** | 26.5 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [ARRL, American Radio Relay League, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/531766445) | [Josh Marler](https://appshunter.io/developer/6798066344) |

## What reviewers say

### ARRL magazines

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/arrl-magazines/id531766442)

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

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

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

**What reviewers complain about**

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

**Reported bugs**

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

**Requested features**

- Seamless integration with ARRL account
- Ability to resume reading from last page
- PDF export option


### Ham Shack

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ham-shack/id6798066342)

This app combines amateur radio programming with real-time propagation data. Listen to news, podcasts, and educational content from the ham radio community. Access a dashboard with solar flux, sunspot numbers, and HF/VHF band conditions.

**Highlights:** Stream Ham Shack Radio live, View currently playing program, Check solar and geomagnetic conditions, Review HF band openings, Simple dark interface

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is ARRL magazines free?

ARRL magazines is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Ham Shack free?

Ham Shack is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, ARRL magazines or Ham Shack?

Ham Shack is rated higher. ARRL magazines averages 1.8 out of 5 from 265 ratings, while Ham Shack averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do ARRL magazines or Ham Shack have ads?

Neither ARRL magazines nor Ham Shack shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, ARRL magazines or Ham Shack?

ARRL magazines ships an update every 4 months, and Ham Shack weekly. Most recently, ARRL magazines was updated on October 23, 2026 and Ham Shack on October 24, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*