MorseCAT vs Morse ICR Trainer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ with what reviewers say about each.
MorseCAT
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Learn Morse code the way high-speed operators actually hear it: as sounds, not dots and dashes. MorseCAT is an Instant Character Recognition (ICR) trainer. Every character is sent at real speed from day one โ you never count elements, you learn the sound. Then you answer the way an operator would: key it back. LEARNING IS FREE. FOREVER. โข The full guided path โ every letter, number, and prosign, in the proven CW Academy order โข Listen & Learn โ hear each character introduced as pure sound โข Listen & Say โ say the character out loud and MorseCAT grades you by ear โข Free Practice โ your speed, your character set, whenever โข Word Patterns and weekly LICW class groups โ drill exactly what your class covers โข Progress that means something: a per-character mastery heatmap, recognition-time tracking, a copy-ceiling benchmark, streaks, and a proficiency rank ANSWER LIKE AN OPERATOR Hear a character, key it back. Use the on-screen straight key, the touch paddle, or plug in real hardware โ Bluetooth MIDI keyers and paddles (TinyMIDI, HaliKey, VBand-style interfaces) take over automatically the moment they connect. Motor memory in, guesswork out. REAL SPEED, HONEST NUMBERS Characters always sound at your character speed (default 32 wpm, floor 25) โ fast enough that there's no time to count elements, which is the whole point. Difficulty comes from closing the gaps, Farnsworth-style, never from slowing the code down. MorseCAT measures your time-to-recognize on every single character, so you always know which ones are instant and which ones still make you think. MORSECAT PRO โ ONE PURCHASE, YOURS FOREVER A single one-time unlock (no subscription, ever) opens the arcade and the airwaves: โข Key Invaders โ read the falling words, shoot them by keying them โข Ice Dash โ an arcade sprint for your sending hand โข The full QSO simulator โ realistic contest and club exchanges: SST, POTA hunting, CWT, SKCC, and LICW scenarios, with band noise and fading if you want it โข Advanced push drills โ the Miss Drill and Send Sprint Code Invaders, single-caller QSOs (5 a day), and every learning tool stay free โ and the whole arcade opens free for ten minutes every day, so you can try it before you decide. NO NONSENSE โข No account. No ads. No tracking. โข Works offline โ practice on a plane, in a park, anywhere โข Your progress lives on your phone, nowhere else Whether you're prepping for your first POTA hunt, keeping up with your LICW class, or chasing 40 wpm head-copy, MorseCAT meets your ear where it is and pushes it โ one instantly-recognized character at a time. 73, and happy keying.
Morse ICR Trainer
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Morse ICR Trainer Morse ICR Trainer is an interactive training tool for ham radio operators who want to develop true Instant Character Recognition โ the ability to copy Morse code in their head, instinctively and effortlessly, without writing anything down. And it's free! โข How It Works The app plays Morse code characters one at a time. Your goal is to say each character aloud before the computer announces the answer. When you respond correctly within the recognition window, you beat the round. When time runs out, the computer's voice speaks the answer โ so you always know what you heard, even when you couldn't place it. This tight feedback loop โ hear it, say it, confirm it โ is the fastest known path from conscious decoding to automatic, reflexive character recognition. โข Training Controls * Speed (WPM) โ Set character playback speed from comfortable beginner rates to contest-grade copying speeds and higher. * Recognition Time โ Control how long you have to respond before the computer speaks. Shorten the window as your recognition improves. * Extra Gap โ Add silence between characters to give yourself breathing room at higher speeds. * Character Set โ Focus on specific letters, numbers, or punctuation marks you need to practice most. Mix and match as you choose. โข Session Tracking The app captures every session's results, and with speech recognition enabled (experimental), automatically tracks which characters you recognized and which you missed. The Focus page shows your problem characters using a heat map, so you can target your practice where it matters most. Use the "Focusizer" slider to automatically select characters starting with your most challenging. Adjust it to include progressively easier ones. "Percentage correct" is automatically calculated to keep you in the learning zone. Automatically created session logs can be annotated and exported in standard CSV file format for your own records or to share progress with an Elmer. Each session is saved to a Training Log screen that automatically captures date/time, duration, focus characters, WPM, recognition time, and extra gap. A freeform notes box is available for the session. Your total training time is calculated on the Training Log page. Logs can be exported using the standard share-sheet, in CSV format for easy spreadsheet import. โข Speech Recognition and Voice Morse ICR Trainer listens for your spoken responses using on-device speech recognition โ no network connection required. Because the microphone stays open continuously during a session, wired or Bluetooth headphones are required when Speech Recognition is enabled for best performance. The computer voice can be switched off completely for "missing fast" training. The app automatically selects the highest-quality voice available on your device โ Enhanced or Premium if you have downloaded one in iOS Settings โ Accessibility โ Spoken Content โ Voices. Spoken announcements are pre-rendered at session start for consistent, low-latency playback throughout your training. โข Countdown Timers Set a session length and train against the clock. The countdown keeps sessions focused and makes it easy to build a daily practice habit. Three programmable timers are available. โข Background Audio Train with your screen off. Morse ICR Trainer continues playing in the background with lock-screen controls (play/pause), so you can practice hands-free, no matter where you are. Pop in your earbuds, launch the app, and let 'er rip! --... ...-- K3CDY
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Morse ICR Trainer at none against MorseCAT's 1. Morse ICR Trainer also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 2 weeks). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS
Both are free to download. MorseCAT sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Morse ICR Trainer asks for nothing beyond the download.
MorseCAT ships an update every 2 weeks, Morse ICR Trainer every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on September 18, 2026 and September 16, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | MorseCAT | Morse ICR Trainer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 3 days โ better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No โ better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | 15.0 โ better |
| Further details โ not scored | ||
| Size | 37 MB | 20 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Aspen Ventures, LLC | William Cody |
In-app purchases
MorseCAT
- MorseCAT Pro$4.99
Morse ICR Trainer
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is MorseCAT free?
Is Morse ICR Trainer free?
Do MorseCAT or Morse ICR Trainer have ads?
Which is updated more often, MorseCAT or Morse ICR Trainer?
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