Comparison

RepeaterBook vs RepeaterSTART Premium

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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/

About

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.

Highlights
  • Offline repeater map
  • Radio programming instructions
  • Search by country, peak, or callsign
  • Supports multiple radio brands
  • GMRS and Ham radio filtering
  • Printable instructions
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

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

RepeaterBook4 screens
RepeaterSTART Premium4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
RepeaterBook versus RepeaterSTART Premium: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRepeaterBookRepeaterSTART Premium
PriceFree — better$9.99
Rating4.2 (247 ratings)4.7 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings247 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#199 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size51 MB32 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNicolas Associates LtdGreat Maps LLC

Customer experience

RepeaterBook

All ratings247 ratings
Positive78.5%
Neutral7.3%
Negative14.2%
Written reviews105 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral11.4%
Negative21.9%

RepeaterSTART Premium

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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
Show 6 more
  • 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 more
  • 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

1 purchases

RepeaterBook

Subscriptions1
  • Unlimited Access3 Days trial$14.991 Year
None

RepeaterSTART Premium

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is RepeaterBook free?
RepeaterBook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is RepeaterSTART Premium free?
RepeaterSTART Premium costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, RepeaterBook or RepeaterSTART Premium?
RepeaterSTART Premium is rated higher. RepeaterBook averages 4.2 out of 5 from 247 ratings, while RepeaterSTART Premium averages 4.7 from 3 ratings.
Do RepeaterBook or RepeaterSTART Premium have ads?
Neither RepeaterBook nor RepeaterSTART Premium shows ads.
Which is updated more often, RepeaterBook or RepeaterSTART Premium?
RepeaterBook ships an update every 3 weeks, and RepeaterSTART Premium every 6 weeks. Most recently, RepeaterBook was updated on November 1, 2026 and RepeaterSTART Premium on November 4, 2026.

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