SOTA Goat vs FT8 Decoder
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SOTA Goat
This app serves as a comprehensive assistant for the Summits On The Air amateur radio program. It offers an offline summit database, real-time spotting and alerts from SOTAwatch, and an integrated compass for navigation to activation zones. It's designed to help users plan and complete their radio activations effectively.
- Offline summit database
- SOTAwatch spotting and alerts
- Push notifications for activations
- Integrated compass for activation zones
- Summit tracking
- Export summits to KML/GPX
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SOTA Goat is the all-in-one summit database and spotting application for participants of the Summits On The Air amateur radio program. It was designed from the ground up as an invaluable tool for summit activators – as necessary as your transceiver and power supply! SOTA Goat provides all the tools to aid in planning and completing your activation. Mountain Goats and Shack Sloths alike will appreciate the comprehensive summit database and search features, as well as the ability to view and share summit activations and signal reports over SOTAwatch. This is a universal app that is available for all devices that support iOS 11+, including iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. OFFLINE SUMMIT DATABASE: • Every summit in the SOTA database is available offline: search, browse, and view a map • Download updates to the database to get the latest new associations • Star your favorite summits for easy access • Export summits to KML and GPX files for use in other applications or GPS devices SOTAWATCH3 SPOTS AND ALERTS: • View, add, and modify spots and alerts from SOTAwatch3 • Enable push notifications to be alerted of every new activation. Granular filtering ensures you only see the alerts you desire SUMMIT TRACKER: • Reach the summit with an integrated compass that lets you know when you're within the activation zone. With the help of SOTA Goat, you're on your way to become a Shack Sloth or a Mountain Goat in no time! Baaaaaah!
FT8 Decoder
This application decodes FT8 digital signals from amateur radio bands. It can process audio from external sources or directly from an SSB radio or SDR. The app also generates FT8 modulated audio for experimentation.
- Decodes FT8 8FSK modulated signals
- Processes external audio or SDR sound
- Supports standard callsigns and 13-character messages
- Generates FT8 message audio
- Experiment with sending and receiving FT8 audio
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An FT8 decoder. FT8 is a weak signal digital mode, currently very popular in the amateur radio HF shortwave bands. The ft8d app allows decoding FT8 8FSK modulated signals contained in externally provided audio or sound from an SSB radio or SDR. The app supports Level 1 decoding of messages with standard callsigns or 13 character free text messages. The app can also generate standard FT8 message audio, so can be used to experiment with sending and receiving FT8 encoded and modulated audio. The app does NOT perform Auto-sequencing, or decode long hashed callsigns.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: SOTA Goat at 80% against FT8 Decoder's 50%. SOTA Goat also leads on update cadence (every 4 months vs every 18 months) and rating (4.5 vs 4.3). FT8 Decoder's advantage is price ($1.99 vs $4.99). On ads, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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
SOTA Goat costs $4.99 and FT8 Decoder $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
SOTA Goat holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 32 and 8 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 80% of SOTA Goat's written reviews are positive against 50% of FT8 Decoder's.
SOTA Goat ships an update every 4 months, FT8 Decoder every 18 months. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SOTA Goat | FT8 Decoder |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | $1.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.5 (32 ratings) — better | 4.3 (8 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 80.4% of reviews — better | 50.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 32 — better | 8 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months — better | Every 18 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 15.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 22 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Rockwell Schrock | HotPaw Productions |
Customer experience
SOTA Goat
FT8 Decoder
In-app purchases
SOTA Goat
No in-app purchases
FT8 Decoder
No in-app purchases








