# SOTA Goat vs FT8 Decoder

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.

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.

## The numbers

| Metric | SOTA Goat | FT8 Decoder |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $4.99 | **$1.99** |
| Rating | **[4.5 (32 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sota-goat/id590206108/reviews)** | [4.3 (8 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ft8-decoder/id1592847401/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **32** | 8 |
| Positive reviews | **80.4% of reviews** | 50.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 4 months** | Every 18 months |
| Monetization | **Free** | Paid |
| Size | 22 MB | 1 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | **15.4** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Rockwell Schrock](https://appshunter.io/developer/483066725) | [HotPaw Productions](https://appshunter.io/developer/285074853) |

## What reviewers say

### SOTA Goat

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sota-goat/id590206108)

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.

**Highlights:** Offline summit database, SOTAwatch spotting and alerts, Push notifications for activations, Integrated compass for activation zones, Summit tracking, Export summits to KML/GPX

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

**In-app purchases:** none


### FT8 Decoder

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ft8-decoder/id1592847401)

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.

**Highlights:** 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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is SOTA Goat free?

SOTA Goat costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is FT8 Decoder free?

FT8 Decoder costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, SOTA Goat or FT8 Decoder?

SOTA Goat is rated higher. SOTA Goat averages 4.5 out of 5 from 32 ratings, while FT8 Decoder averages 4.3 from 8 ratings.

### Do SOTA Goat or FT8 Decoder have ads?

Neither SOTA Goat nor FT8 Decoder shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, SOTA Goat or FT8 Decoder?

SOTA Goat ships an update every 4 months, and FT8 Decoder every 18 months. Most recently, SOTA Goat was updated on October 13, 2026 and FT8 Decoder on October 8, 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.*