# Hacktivate vs iCTF

The clearest difference is price: iCTF at $3.99 against Hacktivate's $19.99. iCTF also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 18.5). Hacktivate's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months). On ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Hacktivate costs $19.99 and iCTF $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Hacktivate ships an update weekly, iCTF every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 10, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Hacktivate | iCTF |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $19.99 | **$3.99** |
| Rating | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hacktivate-education-edition/id6754342195/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **1** | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Size | 184 MB | 24 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.5 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Hudson Heavy Industries](https://appshunter.io/developer/1727337256) | [Jeremy Laratro](https://appshunter.io/developer/1864044207) |

## What reviewers say

### Hacktivate

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hacktivate-education-edition/id6754342195)

Engage in cybersecurity challenges with 240 real-world hacking technique missions. Progress through a global map, learning encryption, steganography, and more. Designed for educational use, it offers scalable difficulty and comprehensive tutorials.

**Highlights:** 240 graded cybersecurity missions, Real-world hacking techniques, Global progression map, Hacker's Toolbox (hashing, encryption, XOR), Unix terminals and web browsers, Scalable difficulty, Cross-platform sync (iPhone, iPad, Mac)

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### iCTF

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ictf/id6756991047)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Hacktivate free?

Hacktivate costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is iCTF free?

iCTF costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Hacktivate or iCTF have ads?

Neither Hacktivate nor iCTF shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Hacktivate or iCTF?

Hacktivate ships an update weekly, and iCTF every 2 months. Most recently, Hacktivate was updated on September 10, 2026 and iCTF on September 24, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*