KALX vs WPKN
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
KALX
Listen to UC Berkeley's student and community radio station live from your device. Stream broadcasts from 90.7 FM and the web, bringing campus radio wherever you go.
- Live radio streaming
- Access to 90.7 FM broadcast
- Web stream access
- UC Berkeley student radio
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The KALX Radio app allows you to listen to KALX-FM, pause and rewind the live audio, catch up on the news from KALX, send in your audio or video comments, view the playlists and view the program schedules all at once! You can also wake up to KALX with the alarm clock! Live Streaming • DVR-like controls (pause, rewind, and fast forward). You can pause the live stream to have a conversation and pick up right where you left off. Or rewind to catch a comment you just missed. • Listen to KALX-FM even while traveling. • Integrated program schedules. • Listen to KALX-FM in the background while browsing the web or catching up on your emails. Program Archives • Access the archived shows easily and quickly. • DVR-like controls. Pause, rewind and fast-forward your show with ease. Additional Features • Support KALX Radio by donating through the app. • View the recently played songs. • Record and send your audio and video comments to KALX Radio. • Easily share KALX Radio with family and friends. • A built in Sleep Timer and Alarm Clock allows you to go to sleep and wake up to the KALX-FM live stream. The KALX Radio app is brought to you by the people at KALX and Public Media Apps. We work to provide our valued listeners with great solutions to find what you want, when you want it, and where you want it. Please support KALX today! https://kalx.berkeley.edu/ https://www.publicmediaapps.com
WPKN
Listen to a diverse range of free-form programming, including music, news, and arts & culture, from an independent community radio station. This non-profit organization supports local artists and provides a platform for volunteers interested in broadcasting.
- Live radio streaming
- Eclectic programming mix
- News and public affairs
- Arts and culture content
- Support for local artists
- Volunteer opportunities
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STREAM WPKN NOW! Cited as “the greatest radio station in the world,” in 2021 by David Owen of The New Yorker, WPKN independent community radio station is a 10,000-watt non-commercial radio station founded in 1963 and established as an independent, 501(c)3 nonprofit organization in 1989. Over the last 60+ years, WPKN has remained true to some basic principles to stand apart from convention and to serve diversity. Its volunteers and programmers have created an institution with depth, importance, and passion, and the listeners have made its continued existence possible. WPKN broadcasts 24 hours a day on frequency 89.5 FM from a 10,000--watt transmitter located on Booth Hill in Trumbull, Connecticut reaching a potential listenership of 1.5 million people. Our signal reaches most of Connecticut, southeastern New York State, the eastern portion of Long Island, southwestern Massachusetts, and southwestern Rhode Island. The wpkn.org stream allows for an unlimited number of global listeners. Operating 24/7 and largely run by volunteers, WPKN offers a unique and eclectic mix of live and recorded music, news, public affairs, spoken word, arts & culture and other free-form programming which defy genre. We are proud to be listener-supported, commercial-free, community-driven radio available to the public at no cost, any time, day or night. WPKN is a community organization that amplifies tri-state area non-profits, artists, musicians. WPKN’s downtown station presence allows volunteers interested in broadcast radio, podcasting, video, and community outreach, to explore and build on their creative interests for free, with all levels of backgrounds and training accepted.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: WPKN at 5.0 against KALX's 4.0. WPKN also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 75%). KALX's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). On price, ratings volume, update cadence 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.
WPKN holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7 and 6 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 75% of KALX's written reviews are positive against 100% of WPKN's.
KALX ships an update every 10 months, WPKN every 18 months. The most recent releases landed on August 18, 2026 and July 27, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | KALX | WPKN |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (7 ratings) | 5.0 (6 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 75.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 7 — better | 6 |
| Update frequency | Every 10 months — better | Every 18 months |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Ad-supported |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 18.2 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 46 MB | 12 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | University of California, Berkeley | Brendan Toller |
Customer experience
KALX
WPKN
In-app purchases
KALX
No in-app purchases
WPKN
No in-app purchases









