Ham Radio Toolbox vs BLE Buddy
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Ham Radio Toolbox
This app provides essential tools for amateur radio enthusiasts, including real-time propagation data, a DX cluster viewer, and a dipole calculator. It offers a streamlined interface for checking band conditions and planning communication strategies.
- Real-Time Propagation Data
- DX Cluster Viewer
- Dipole Calculator
- Band Maps
- No Account Needed
- No Personal Data Collected
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Ham Radio Toolbox is the all-in-one utility app built for amateur radio enthusiasts. Designed with both simplicity and power in mind, it combines the most essential ham tools into a single sleek interface. Whether you're chasing DX, tuning a new dipole, or just checking propagation conditions, Ham Radio Toolbox has you covered. Features: - Real-Time Propagation: Live solar and geomagnetic data to guide your QSO strategies. - DX Cluster Viewer: Stay informed of active DX spots from around the world. - Dipole Calculator: Quickly determine wire lengths based on band and frequency. - Band Maps: Visual overview of who’s on the air and where. Built by ham radio operators for ham radio operators, this app offers a professional, distraction-free experience with powerful tools at your fingertips. Perfect for operators who want everything in one place — portable, field, or shack use. No account needed. No personal data collected. Just pure radio utility.
BLE Buddy
Explore nearby Bluetooth Low Energy devices and view their metadata. This tool is designed for educational and development purposes, allowing you to inspect device states and communicate directly with compatible BLE devices.
- Discover nearby BLE devices
- Display enumerable device metadata
- View device state
- Establish terminal connection
- Communicate directly with BLE devices
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Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) explorer. Discovers nearby bluetooth devices and displays any enumerable metadata. Designed for educational and development purposes. BLE Buddy is able to display device state and lets you browse the (often hidden) metadata published by common devices, such as location trackers, health and fitness devices, wireless headphones, and much more. For devices that support it, a terminal connection can be established to communicate directly with the BLE device.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: BLE Buddy at 100% against Ham Radio Toolbox's 33%. BLE Buddy also leads on ads (none vs shown) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). Ham Radio Toolbox's advantage is price (Free vs $2.99) and update cadence (every 6 days vs every 2 months). On in-app purchases and device support 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
Ham Radio Toolbox is free to download; BLE Buddy costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
BLE Buddy holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ham Radio Toolbox has 194 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 33% of Ham Radio Toolbox's written reviews are positive against 100% of BLE Buddy's.
Ham Radio Toolbox ships an update every 6 days, BLE Buddy every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Ham Radio Toolbox | BLE Buddy |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $2.99 |
| Rating | 4.7 (194 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 33.3% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 194 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 days — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 35 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nuno Facha | Richard Stokes |
Customer experience
Ham Radio Toolbox
BLE Buddy
In-app purchases
Ham Radio Toolbox
No in-app purchases
BLE Buddy
No in-app purchases
