# CicadaTAK vs Nelos

The clearest difference is price: Nelos at Free against CicadaTAK's $2.99. CicadaTAK's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1). On update cadence, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Nelos is free to download; CicadaTAK costs $2.99 up front. Nelos sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. CicadaTAK asks for nothing beyond the download.

CicadaTAK ships an update every 3 days, Nelos every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | CicadaTAK | Nelos |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $2.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cicadatak/id6763765541/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **1** | — |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 days** | Every 5 days |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Size | 29 MB | 73 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | 15.1 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | +4 | 12+ |
| Developer | [Merbella Studios Inc](https://appshunter.io/developer/1869014492) | [The Quyen Le](https://appshunter.io/developer/1602478574) |

## What reviewers say

### CicadaTAK

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cicadatak/id6763765541)

This app transforms your phone into a live tactical display for areas without cell service or internet. It connects to custom-built mesh radio nodes to create a self-healing network for real-time location sharing, encrypted chat, and push-to-talk voice communication.

**Highlights:** Live tactical display without cell service, Self-healing mesh network with custom radio nodes, Real-time teammate location and breadcrumb trails, Encrypted team chat and photo sharing, Push-to-talk voice communication, Offline map browsing and layer downloads, Node setup and management from the app

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### Nelos

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nelos/id6777224613)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Nelos Pro Lifetime | $24.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is CicadaTAK free?

CicadaTAK costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Nelos free?

Nelos is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Do CicadaTAK or Nelos have ads?

Neither CicadaTAK nor Nelos shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, CicadaTAK or Nelos?

CicadaTAK ships an update every 3 days, and Nelos every 5 days. Most recently, CicadaTAK was updated on October 15, 2026 and Nelos on October 25, 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.*