RepeaterBook vs RepeaterSTART Premium
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
RepeaterBook
This app provides a comprehensive, offline directory of amateur radio repeaters worldwide. It allows users to easily search, filter, and sort repeater information based on various criteria, and submit updates to the community database.
- Offline repeater directory
- Global repeater search
- Distance and heading display
- Comprehensive repeater details
- Search by town, ZIP, callsign, frequency
- Filter by distance, band, service
- Submit updates and additions
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RepeaterBook Amateur Radio's most comprehensive, worldwide, FREE repeater directory. Powered by the popular community database of RepeaterBook.com Easily find repeaters across the world. • No network connection required. • Comprehensive search, selection and sorting. • Displays distance, heading and full repeater details. • Fast and flexible, to help you use repeaters. • Portrait or Landscape views for phone and tablets. • Easily submit updates/additions. Repeater List View Distance, bearing and details of the nearby repeaters. Current Locator/Grid/Lat Long/Town. Portrait or Landscape views for phone and tablets. Repeater Detail View Distance, bearing and details of the repeater. Portrait or Landscape views for phone and tablets. Submit an update if needed! Search No internet needed, fast and reliable. Results from your current or searched location. Results generated as you type. Search By • Town (Greater than 5k population) - portland • Town State - portland tn • USA ZIP Code - 90210 • Repeater Call - GB7SV • Repeater Frequency - 433.325 • Locator - Enter a 4 or 6 figure locator in search box and press search • Latitude Longitude - Enter Latitude Longitude (Locale specific decimal point) in search box and press search • Wildcard - * for "wildcard matches" *ford matches Bedford, Hertford Search Results • Selecting a town changes your location to show Repeaters near that town. • Selecting a repeater displays all the info on the repeater. Search History • 10 search examples are provided. • The last 10 searches are saved. Filter Distance Band Service Sort by Distance Frequency Band Tone Call Service Bearing Country Settings Location titles Locator (IO91VW) Lat Lon (52.6579 1.7160) Text (East) Short Text (E) Degrees (90°) Theme Light or Dark Distance Units (Miles or km) Menu App name version and build Current location and name Settings About Add repeater Feedback via Email Privacy Policy Supported Languages ca, cs_CZ da,de en, en_GB, en_US, en_AU, en_IE, en_ZA, en_NZ es, es_AR, es_CL fi, fr, fr_CA it_IT nb, no, nl pl, pt se, sv, sk RepeaterBook will always be free. 73 Garrett KD6KPC and Nicolas M1HOG Copyright 2011-2026 RepeaterBook.com & ZBM2.com Terms of Use (EULA):https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
RepeaterSTART Premium
This app maps nearby ham radio and GMRS repeaters on a topographical view. It offers offline functionality, detailed programming instructions for various radio models, and search capabilities for locations and callsigns.
- Offline repeater map
- Radio programming instructions
- Search by country, peak, or callsign
- Supports multiple radio brands
- GMRS and Ham radio filtering
- Printable instructions
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Repeater-START (Showing The Amateur Repeaters Tool) is a ham radio (and GMRS*) repeater map utilizing the repeaters at Hearham.com. This app lets you see nearby repeaters on a topo map, and on a list, sorted nearest first. Once updated, the app works online or offline. No cell service? power outage? - no problem! This premium version includes: * Search functionality to move map directly to any country or peak (internet required). * Search allows input of IARU Locator (maidenhead locator), even offline - move map to position and show nearby repeaters. * Look up location of other hams by callsign and move map directly to position (internet required). * Simple step by step instructions to program local repeaters on your radio. Anytone, Baofeng, Baofeng-mini, Retevis RT85/TYT UV88/Explorer QRZ-1, iCom, Quansheng, TIDRadio, Radioddity GD77/Baofeng 1801 DMR, Kenwood (TH-G71, TM-261, and TM-281) and Yaesu( VX-6, FT-4X, ft 25, ft-70, ft-65, ft-60, ft-2980) radios are supported with more coming soon... * GMRS and/or Ham (amateur radio) can be selected to show or hide, in the settings. (*GMRS repeaters list is available for Washington, Oregon, Idaho: https://hearham.com/GMRS) * Print out ability to print the step by step instructions to a networked printer. Missing repeater information? Don't panic - the database can be easily updated by adding the information at https://hearham.com/repeaters/add. Wrong information / unusable repeater? Add a comment to the repeater's page and an administrator will review and update the database as needed.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: RepeaterBook at Free against RepeaterSTART Premium's $9.99. RepeaterBook also leads on ratings volume (247 vs 3) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 6 weeks). RepeaterSTART Premium's advantage is rating (4.7 vs 4.2) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). On ads, 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
RepeaterBook is free to download; RepeaterSTART Premium costs $9.99 up front. RepeaterBook sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $14.99 per year. RepeaterSTART Premium asks for nothing beyond the download.
RepeaterSTART Premium holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: RepeaterBook has 247 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of RepeaterBook's written reviews are positive against 100% of RepeaterSTART Premium's.
RepeaterBook ships an update every 3 weeks, RepeaterSTART Premium every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | RepeaterBook | RepeaterSTART Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $9.99 |
| Rating | 4.2 (247 ratings) | 4.7 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 247 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 6 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #199 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 51 MB | 32 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nicolas Associates Ltd | Great Maps LLC |
Customer experience
RepeaterBook
RepeaterSTART Premium
Bugs and requests
RepeaterBook
Reported bugs
11 issues- Location services showing repeaters hundreds of miles away
- App not displaying any repeaters despite correct filters
- iOS version showing incorrect frequency data
- Recent update losing user data and settings
- Location feature not finding nearby repeaters
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- iPad compatibility issues with latest version
- 2-meter repeaters not showing in filtered results
- Repeater information not loading properly
- App crashes or becomes unresponsive
- Website login issues not addressed in app
- Feedback submission disabled in application
Requested features
16 requests- Map display of repeater locations
- Field name labels for repeater details
- Coverage range information for repeaters
- GMRS channel display alongside frequency
- Dark mode support
Show 11 moreShow fewer
- Ability to edit user location manually
- Link to full website listings from app
- Better DMR repeater information
- Club repeater highlighting
- APRS filter option
- Wires-X filter option
- Copy and paste functionality
- Watch interface support
- Ability to add custom repeaters
- Offline map support
- Call sign validation for international prefixes
RepeaterSTART Premium
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
RepeaterBook
- Unlimited Access3 Days trial$14.991 Year
RepeaterSTART Premium
No in-app purchases



