HomeWAV vs InmateSales
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
HomeWAV
Connect with incarcerated loved ones through phone calls, video calls, and messaging. Manage funds, schedule visits, and receive notifications when they are available. This app facilitates communication and connection with inmates.
- Create free account
- Add and manage inmate contacts
- Manage funds and payment information
- Initiate phone and video calls
- Send messages to inmates
- Schedule onsite and remote visits
- Receive inmate login notifications
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HomeWAV Mobile App Features: - New to HomeWAV? Create a free account. - Returning visitor? Login with your username and password. - Fully registered and approved visitors will be able to choose the facility and add inmate. - See available funds, add funds or transfer funds. - Add, update or change credit/debit information. - Only pay for the minutes you use. No plans or packages. - Once logged in, the inmate will see you are available and can initiated a phone call, video call or message (*If allowed by facility). - Visitor will receive notification once inmate is logged in. - Easily schedule onsite visits (*If allowed by facility). - No scheduling required for remote video visitations. For best results, a WIFI connection and use of headset are suggested. Note: Not available at all facilities. Phone and video costs will vary.
InmateSales
Manage your account for inmate services, including making deposits for products and scheduling video sessions. Send emails to individuals at supported facilities. Not all services are available at every location.
- Manage InmateSales account
- Make deposits for products
- Schedule video sessions
- Send emails to inmates
- Check facility service availability
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The InmateSales mobile app allows you to manage your InmateSales account and make deposits for products at certain facilities. You can also schedule video sessions and send emails to these individuals where they are allowed at a facility. Not all facilities support all products and services that we offer.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: HomeWAV at 3.8 against InmateSales's 2.4. HomeWAV also leads on ratings volume (11K vs 185) and update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 4 months). InmateSales's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). On price, review sentiment, 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.
HomeWAV holds the better App Store score, 3.8 against 2.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: HomeWAV has 11K ratings behind it against 185, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 8% of HomeWAV's written reviews are positive against 16% of InmateSales's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
HomeWAV ships an update every 5 weeks, InmateSales every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | HomeWAV | InmateSales |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.8 (11K ratings) — better | 2.4 (185 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 8.4% of reviews | 15.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 11K — better | 185 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #147 | #136 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 94 MB | 108 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | HomeWAV | Combined Public Communications |
Customer experience
HomeWAV
InmateSales
User reviews
HomeWAV
From 11K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Able to communicate with loved ones
- 👍 Appreciate having the app to use instead of in-person visits
- 🤗 Great customer service
Room to improve
- 🐛 Constant login issues and app crashes
- 💰 Expensive and overpriced for the service provided
- 🔥 Unreliable video/audio quality and frequent disconnections
- 🤯 Frustrating and disappointing experience overall
InmateSales
From 185 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to set up
- 👍 Grateful for connection
- 👍 Responsive and helpful
- 👍 Fast and convenient deposits
- 👍 User-friendly interface
Room to improve
- 💸 High fees
- 🐛 Frequent app crashes
- 🐛 Calls dropping
- 🐛 Login issues
- 🐛 Account creation problems
Bugs and requests
HomeWAV
Reported bugs
3 issues- App frequently logs users out unexpectedly
- Video calls often freeze or disconnect
- Inability to receive notifications of incoming calls
Requested features
3 requests- Keep users logged in to avoid constant re-logins
- Improve video/audio quality and reliability
- Provide more affordable pricing options
InmateSales
Reported bugs
24 issues- App crashes frequently
- Login issues
- Account creation fails
- Calls drop mid-conversation
- App logs out unexpectedly
Show 19 moreShow fewer
- Emails and pictures not being sent/received
- Video calls fail to connect
- Verification links expire
- App freezes on logo screen
- Calls not ringing through
- Mutes inmate during calls
- Cannot hear inmate
- App kicks users out
- Password reset links not sent
- Error message: failed to reach contact
- Visits not logged correctly
- Chirp screen goes black
- Calls come through as normal phone calls
- Text messages not delivered
- App deletes unsaved emails
- Cannot zoom in on text
- Reloading app does not fix issues
- Verification emails not working
- App crashing after loading money
Requested features
18 requests- Add option to save email drafts
- Fix glitch with normal phone calls
- Make video visits longer
- Show phone airtime and Chirp text balance on app
- Allow larger increments for video visits and tablet time
Show 13 moreShow fewer
- Make app 100% reliable
- Add more ways to create an account
- Add account reset button
- Provide FAQ page with clear pricing
- Allow users to see phone balance on app
- Fix issue with inmate not being able to use specific funds
- Allow users to check account balances
- Add ability to connect with inmate for texts
- Allow uploading pictures for emails
- Fix issue with emails/pictures not being received
- Add dark mode option
- Improve text message delivery
- Allow users to email customer service
In-app purchases
HomeWAV
No in-app purchases
InmateSales
No in-app purchases
