SDR Receivers GuideFor the radio hobby · worldwide

Chapter 10 · The software directory

The SDR software field guide — every major program, honestly mapped.

An independent tour of the programs that turn raw radio into something you can see, hear and decode — written for the curious newcomer and the seasoned operator alike.

Independent. We don't sell software or receivers. Every link below is a plain, unpaid link to the maker's own page.

Before we start — a word on how to read this

The radio is only half the story. A software-defined radio receiver hands your computer a river of raw samples; it is the software that turns that river into a waterfall you can read, audio you can hear, and data you can decode. Two operators with the identical dongle and antenna can have completely different experiences depending on the program driving it.

This guide is a directory, not a league table. We are not going to tell you that one program "beats" another, because that is rarely how it works in practice — most experienced operators keep two or three installed and reach for whichever suits the job in front of them. What we will do is describe each program honestly: who makes it, what it is genuinely good at, how it is licensed, and which computers it runs on. Then you can choose for yourself.

A few things we believe are worth knowing up front, and which shape the whole field:

  • "Free" can mean several different things. Some programs are free and open-source (you can read and modify the code). Some are free to download but closed-source. Some are free only when paired with the maker's own hardware. We flag which is which, because it matters for your freedom to tinker and for the long-term life of the software.
  • Licensing is not pedantry. When a program is built on the GPL (the GNU General Public License), its source is open and community-extendable — a tremendous strength — but that same licence places conditions on anyone who wants to build a commercial product around it. When a program uses clean-room, independently written code, the author has built the decoders and DSP from published specifications rather than from existing licensed source. Both approaches are legitimate and modern.
  • Credit where it's due. Almost every program here exists because one person, or a small group, poured years of unpaid evenings into it. We name them. The amateur radio software world runs on that generosity.
TL;DR for the whole guide: There has never been more good SDR software, and most of it is free. For Windows newcomers, SDR# and SDR Console are the traditional first stops. For a modern cross-platform desktop experience, SDR++ and GQRX lead. For sheer decoder count, SDRangel is extraordinary. For SDRplay hardware, SDRconnect and SDRuno are the official homes. For browser-based and remote listening, OpenWebRX and the KiwiSDR/Web-888 ecosystem rule. And for a driverless, web-based route that runs on almost anything with a Chromium browser, SDRcom is the newer arrival.

The desktop all-rounders

These are the programs most people picture when they think "SDR software": a window with a spectrum display up top, a waterfall scrolling beneath, a tuning dial, and a panel of controls down the side. You install them on the computer your radio is plugged into, and you operate them directly.

SDR# (SDRSharp)

Maker: Youssef Touil ("prog"), the software behind Airspy. · Licence: Free to download, closed-source. · Runs on: Windows (.NET).

SDR# — said aloud as "SDR Sharp" — is, for a great many listeners, the program they started with. It has anchored the Windows SDR world for over a decade. It is the software provided by Airspy, and while intended for Airspy devices, it also supports a number of third-party SDRs including the RTL-SDR. It is widely recommended as the first program to try with a low-cost dongle.

Its reputation is for being fast, light and deeply customisable through a large ecosystem of plugins. One long-standing community guide, maintained by Paolo Romani (IZ1MLL) and hosted on Airspy's own download page, memorably describes it as "the most complete, performing, lightweight... customizable software, with plugins for every need." That is one enthusiast's view, but it captures why SDR# has stayed popular for so long.

SDR# also gave the hobby SpyServer, its companion streaming server. SpyServer is a Windows-based streaming server for Airspy devices, somewhat similar to what rtl_tcp is for RTL-SDR devices — it lets you put the radio in one place and listen from another over a network.

  • Best loved for: a mature, polished Windows experience; the deepest plugin library in the hobby; excellent RDS and DSP.
  • Good to know: it is Windows-native; Mac and Linux users typically run it through compatibility layers or choose another program.
  • Credit & licensing: authored by Youssef Touil; closed-source and free to download from airspy.com/download.

SDR++

Maker: Alexandre Rouma. · Licence: Free and open-source (GPL-3.0). · Runs on: Windows, Linux, macOS — and more.

If SDR# is the established veteran, SDR++ is the modern cross-platform challenger that has won a huge following in just a few years. It is a cross-platform and open-source SDR program from Alexandre Rouma. Its interface will feel instantly familiar to SDR# users — that was deliberate — but it is built fresh in C++ and runs natively on all the major desktop systems.

The design goals were squarely modern: a general-purpose SDR receiver with features like multi-VFO and multi-platform support, supporting hardware including SDRplay, HackRF, RTL-TCP and more. The multi-VFO capability — tuning several signals at once within the captured bandwidth — is a particular favourite among active listeners. It is notably light on resources, which has made it a darling of Raspberry Pi and low-power setups.

  • Best loved for: one identical, modern interface across Windows, Linux and macOS; multi-VFO; low resource use; runs beautifully on a Pi.
  • Good to know: as a newer project it has a leaner built-in decoder set than the decode-everything programs, though it covers the everyday modes well and is actively developed.
  • Credit & licensing: created by Alexandre Rouma; open-source under GPL-3.0 at github.com/AlexandreRouma/SDRPlusPlus.

GQRX

Maker: Alexandru Csete (OZ9AEC). · Licence: Free and open-source (GPL, with some BSD-licensed portions). · Runs on: Linux and macOS.

GQRX is the program many Mac and Linux operators reach for first, and for good reason — it has long offered clean native builds on both. It is an open-source software-defined radio receiver by Alexandru Csete OZ9AEC, built using the GNU Radio and Qt graphical toolkits. It is licensed under the GNU General Public License, with some source files adopted from Cutesdr by Moe Wheatley under a BSD license.

Under the hood it leans on the formidable GNU Radio engine, which gives it solid, dependable demodulation. It supports a wide range of SDR devices including RTL-SDR, HackRF, Airspy, BladeRF and more via gr-osmosdr, handles AM, FM, SSB and other modulation types with high-quality audio, and provides an FFT spectrum-analysis mode. One nice touch for tinkerers: it can interact with external applications through network sockets, so you can wire it into your own projects.

  • Best loved for: rock-solid native macOS and Linux support; a clean, uncluttered interface; the reliability of the GNU Radio core.
  • Good to know: it sits deliberately between raw GNU Radio and the browser-based receivers — a focused receiver rather than a decode-everything suite.
  • Credit & licensing: written by Alexandru Csete (OZ9AEC); open-source at github.com/gqrx-sdr/gqrx.

CubicSDR

Maker: Charles J. Cliffe. · Licence: Free and open-source. · Runs on: Windows, Linux, macOS.

CubicSDR is the cross-platform open-source receiver with a distinctive, fluid visual style — its spectrum-and-waterfall presentation has a character all its own. It is an open-source package by Charles J. Cliffe that uses the liquid-dsp and SoapySDR libraries. Because it builds on SoapySDR, it speaks to a broad sweep of hardware through the same driver layer that many other tools use.

  • Best loved for: a genuinely cross-platform install; an approachable, visual way to explore the spectrum; wide hardware reach via SoapySDR.
  • Credit & licensing: created by Charles J. Cliffe; open-source and cross-platform.

The decode-everything powerhouses

Some programs aim not just to receive, but to decode the astonishing variety of signals filling the spectrum — aircraft, satellites, digital voice, weather images, pagers and far more — all from one window.

SDRangel

Maker: Edouard Griffiths (F4EXB) and the SDRangel team. · Licence: Free and open-source (GPL-3.0). · Runs on: Windows, Linux, macOS, Android.

If your idea of fun is decoding as many different signal types as possible, SDRangel is in a class of its own. It is a free, open-source program compatible with many SDRs including RTL-SDRs, and it is set apart from other programs by its huge swath of built-in demodulators and decoders.

The built-in list is genuinely remarkable. It ships with decoders for ADS-B aircraft positions plotted on a map, NOAA APT weather-satellite images, and DVB-S/DVB-S2 digital television, among many others. The Android build is nearly as capable as the desktop one: it includes AM, FM, broadcast FM and DAB, AIS, ADS-B, digital voice (DMR, dPMR, D-Star, FreeDV), video (DVB-S, DVB-S2, NTSC, PAL), VOR, LoRa, M17, packet (AX.25), pager (POCSAG), radiosonde and time-signal decoders. It is one of the few hobby programs that also supports transmit on capable hardware.

  • Best loved for: the widest built-in decoder collection in the hobby; runs on Android; transmit support; true all-in-one ambitions.
  • Good to know: with so much capability, there is more to learn — it rewards the operator who enjoys exploring. It is GPL-3.0 throughout, which is part of why its decoders are so numerous and community-driven.
  • Credit & licensing: led by Edouard Griffiths (F4EXB); open-source under GPL-3.0 at github.com/f4exb/sdrangel.

GNU Radio

Maker: Originally Eric Blossom; now the GNU Radio community. · Licence: Free and open-source (GPL-3.0-or-later). · Runs on: Cross-platform.

GNU Radio is less a "program you tune" and more the engine room beneath much of the hobby — including GQRX. It is a free software development toolkit that provides signal-processing blocks to implement software-defined radios and signal-processing systems, used widely in hobbyist, academic and commercial settings. You build "flowgraphs" — chains of signal-processing blocks connected together, written in either C++ or Python — to create exactly the radio you want, or even to experiment with no hardware at all in a simulation environment.

  • Best loved for: total flexibility; the foundation for serious DSP experimentation and research; the substrate many other tools are built on.
  • Good to know: it has the steepest learning curve here by design — it is a toolkit for building radios, not a ready-made receiver. That is exactly its strength for the right user.
  • Credit & licensing: originated by Eric Blossom, maintained by the GNU Radio community; open-source at gnuradio.org.

The feature-rich operator's console

SDR Console (SDR-Radio.com)

Maker: Simon Brown (G4ELI). · Licence: Free to use (no licence fee), closed-source. · Runs on: Windows.

SDR Console is the program of choice for a great many serious listeners and satellite operators, and it carries a distinguished pedigree. Its author, Simon Brown (G4ELI), is also known for his original work on Ham Radio Deluxe and runs SDR-Radio.com Ltd. The program is designed for a broad audience — the commercial, government, amateur radio and short-wave listener communities — and requires no licence to use.

What sets it apart is the sheer depth of operator-focused features. It is one of the most feature-rich packages available, with advanced DSP and noise-reduction options, frequency favourite lists, IQ recording and playback with reverse and fast-forward, a built-in CW Skimmer and satellite tracker, independent receiver control with matrix view, signal-history export, a recording scheduler and a remote server. That recording scheduler in particular is beloved of medium-wave DXers who set up unattended overnight captures. Simon Brown's work on SDR Console for satellite work — especially the QO-100 geostationary satellite — earned him the RSGB's Luis Varney Cup in 2020.

  • Best loved for: depth — advanced DSP, scheduling, satellite tracking, a polished remote server, multi-receiver matrix view.
  • Good to know: it is Windows-based and free, though not open-source.
  • Credit & licensing: authored by Simon Brown (G4ELI); free, from sdr-radio.com.

The SDRplay pair — official homes for RSP hardware

SDRplay makes the well-regarded RSP range of receivers, and supports them with two of its own free programs. Note that SDRplay's software is designed for use with SDRplay's own hardware.

SDRconnect

Maker: SDRplay Ltd. · Licence: Free of charge (for use with SDRplay hardware). · Runs on: Windows, macOS (Intel and Apple Silicon), Linux — including Raspberry Pi.

SDRconnect is SDRplay's modern, ground-up cross-platform program, and as of 2024 it is the official supported multi-platform software for SDRplay RSP products. SDRplay built it fresh rather than porting the older SDRuno, explaining that re-developing SDRuno as a true cross-platform solution was practically unfeasible, so they commenced a completely new, ground-up solution — a highly modular piece of software with a UI much better suited to the wide range of modern computing platforms, many of which feature touch-screens.

A standout is its networking. It offers a remote server with two streaming modes across both LAN and internet: a full-IQ mode, and an audio mode that provides a very efficient way of displaying a large spectral bandwidth across a network with limited data throughput. Recent releases have added a tabulated frequency manager, audio pre-roll recording, and an MPX view for broadcast FM.

  • Best loved for: native operation across Windows, Mac and Linux/Pi; an efficient remote-listening mode; an actively growing modular feature set.
  • Credit & licensing: developed by SDRplay; free for use with SDRplay hardware at sdrplay.com/sdrconnect.

SDRuno

Maker: SDRplay Ltd (with roots in Studio1). · Licence: Free of charge (for use with SDRplay hardware). · Runs on: Windows.

SDRuno is SDRplay's long-established Windows program, and it remains supported alongside SDRconnect. It is a state-of-the-art SDR application engineered specifically for SDRplay's range of receivers, combining a user-friendly interface with advanced features including a powerful spectrum analyser, a configurable IF filter and notch filter, and audio-processing tools such as a parametric equaliser and a noise-reduction filter. It supports custom presets for quick recall of favourite settings, and a documented API lets developers build their own demodulators around it.

  • Best loved for: a deep, mature Windows feature set tuned tightly to RSP hardware; strong DSP and filtering.
  • Good to know: Windows-only; SDRplay's newer cross-platform energy is going into SDRconnect, while SDRuno continues to be supported.
  • Credit & licensing: developed by SDRplay; free for use with SDRplay hardware at sdrplay.com/sdruno.

The browser-based and remote receivers

A whole branch of the hobby lives in the web browser: you connect to a receiver — yours or someone else's, anywhere in the world — and listen with nothing installed but the browser you already have.

OpenWebRX

Maker: Originally András Retzler; now led by Jakob Ketterl (DD5JFK) and a community. · Licence: Free and open-source (AGPL). · Runs on: a Linux server; listened to from any modern browser.

OpenWebRX turns a receiver into a multi-user web station that anyone can tune from a browser. It is free and open-source under the GNU AGPL license, developed by Jakob Ketterl (DD5JFK) and a community of contributors; it is fully open-source, supports modern SDR hardware, has built-in digital decoders, and is straightforward to self-host. The lineage is a lovely example of open-source resilience: after the original author discontinued it, code contributor Jakob Ketterl was able — thanks to the open-source licence — to continue developing it and take over as lead developer, shipping a major release that moved the project to Python 3 and added decoders for DMR, D-Star, YSF, NXDN, FT8, FT4, WSPR, JT65, JT9, APRS and Pocsag.

  • Best loved for: sharing a receiver with the world; multi-user access; a generous built-in decoder set; easy self-hosting on a Pi or small Linux box.
  • Credit & licensing: originated by András Retzler, now maintained by Jakob Ketterl (DD5JFK); open-source under AGPL at github.com/jketterl/openwebrx.

KiwiSDR and Web-888

KiwiSDR maker: John Seamons (KF6VO). · Web-888: RX-888-family network receiver. · Listened to from: any modern browser.

The KiwiSDR is the receiver that, more than any other, populated the world map of public web SDRs you can tune from your armchair. It and the newer Web-888 are web/audio receivers: in their normal firmware they serve their own browser interface directly, so you simply point a browser at them. As our network-receivers chapter notes, these speak their own Kiwi/web protocol rather than presenting a SoapySDR device, so they are their own little ecosystem — and a wonderful one for HF listening, time-difference-of-arrival direction finding, and casual worldwide tuning.

  • Best loved for: the enormous network of public receivers; effortless browser listening; HF and direction-finding strengths.
  • Owner references: kiwisdr.com · rx-888.com/web.

SDRcom — the driverless, web-based route

It would be incomplete to write a software directory and leave out the newer arrival that takes a deliberately different path. In the interest of full disclosure, SDRcom is published by the same people behind this guide's host network — so treat what follows as the maker describing their own approach, and judge it on the same honest terms as everything above.

Where most programs on this page are desktop applications you install, SDRcom runs in your web browser. There is nothing to install and no driver to flash: open a Chromium-based browser, connect a supported receiver, and you are listening. Because it is a web application, it runs anywhere a modern Chrome/Chromium browser does — Windows, macOS, Linux, Raspberry Pi, and Android, where you connect the receiver by OTG USB (that is exactly the setup behind the screenshots in this guide). It also runs on an iPad today; direct USB connection to a receiver on iPad is only now becoming possible, so that part is early — watch this space. The intent is simple access without giving up expert control — full hands-on operation of your equipment, through a page rather than an installer.

A note on engineering approach, since we have flagged it for every other program: SDRcom's decoders are independently written, clean-room implementations built from published specifications — the FT8, FT4 and ADS-B/Mode S engines among them — rather than reused from existing licensed code.

Two ways in today:

  • SDRcom Red Lite — free, forever. A free edition hosted within HamDash at hamdash.com. Try it, use it, keep using it at no cost.
  • SDRcom Red Pro — $9.99 for a one-year licence (one-time, no auto-renewal). The most refined receiver in the range, adding ADS-B aircraft tracking, SSTV image reception, CW (Morse) decoding, enhanced waterfalls and DSP, and a situationally-aware random-access tuning scanner that watches the whole IQ stream at once — instantly identifying qualifying signals and bringing them to you, rather than making you sweep sequentially through megahertz to find them. A single one-time payment for the year; it does not renew automatically.

We are not going to claim SDRcom is "better" than any program above — every program here is excellent at what it sets out to do, and the right choice depends entirely on you. But if nothing to install, runs in the browser, works the same on every machine appeals, there is a free version one click away.

  • Best loved for: zero installation; one experience across every operating system; a free tier with no time limit; clean-room decoders.
  • Credit & licensing: developed by the SDRcom team; clean-room, independently authored code. Free edition at hamdash.com.

Choosing how to listen — own it, or take it anywhere

When the paid editions are in play, the choice comes down to how — and where — you like to listen:

  • Own it outright — the $24.99 downloadable (arriving with the July 2026 release). A one-time purchase you keep and use for the year on your own Mac or Windows machine. This is the full package: it bundles Red Pro, the free Green network edition, and the Blue SDRplay-compatible side that works alongside SDRplay's own SDRconnect application. The trade-off is in the name: it is tied to the computer you install it on. That suits a fixed listening post beautifully, but you are at that desk.
  • Take it anywhere — $9.99 a month, web-based (available now). A separate, optional subscription for the person who wants the world in a browser tab. No download, no drivers: open a Chromium-based browser — Chrome, Edge, Opera — on a phone, a tablet or any operating system, and tune. Because it isn't tied to one machine, this is the option that gives you genuine freedom — radio from the picnic table to the airline seat, anywhere you have internet. For hours-on-end listening that moves with you, it is comfortably the most popular choice.

The two are independent — one is a downloadable you own and run in one place, the other is a go-anywhere web convenience — so you pick whichever fits how you actually listen. Every SDRcom purchase carries a seven-day money-back guarantee.

Coming soon — a downloadable SDRcom (planned July 2026)

Alongside the browser editions, the team has a downloadable binary for Mac and Windows planned for July 2026. It packages three full receivers into one application:

  • SDRcom Blue ($24.99) — the full package. Compatible with recent SDRplay receivers, Blue is the complete downloadable: it includes Red Pro and the free Green network edition, and adds SDRplay-compatible operation that works in conjunction with SDRplay's own SDRconnect application. SDRcom is an independent product — not official, and not endorsed or sponsored by SDRplay.
  • SDRcom Green (Network Edition) — bundled free of charge with the downloadable release, Green connects to over a thousand online receivers worldwide across the Web-888 and KiwiSDR networks. The appeal: you keep one SDRcom running — your own memory banks, S-meter, VFO dial and waterfall choices — and hop between receivers around the globe without ever leaving your own interface or learning each remote site's built-in SDR. Your settings and your experience stay constant while the world changes underneath them.
  • SDRcom Red Pro — the full Pro feature set, delivered as a downloadable binary.

As this is unreleased, treat the July 2026 date as a plan rather than a promise — software timelines move. We mention it only so the picture is complete.

Choosing — a friendly cheat-sheet

There is no single "best." But if you'd like a nudge, here is how operators tend to sort it out:

  • "I'm brand new and on Windows." Start with SDR# or SDR Console — both free, both mature, both forgiving. Or try SDRcom Red Lite in your browser with nothing to install.
  • "I'm on a Mac or Linux and want a proper desktop app." GQRX and SDR++ are the natural homes; both are native and excellent.
  • "I want one program on every machine I own." SDR++ (install) or SDRcom (browser) both give you one experience across platforms.
  • "I want to decode everything under the sun." SDRangel — nothing else comes close on built-in decoder count.
  • "I own an SDRplay RSP." SDRconnect (cross-platform) or SDRuno (Windows) are the official, free homes for your hardware.
  • "I want to listen to receivers around the world, or share my own." OpenWebRX to host; the KiwiSDR / Web-888 network to roam.
  • "I want to build my own radio from blocks." GNU Radio is your workshop.
  • "I love a specific mode — ADS-B, SSTV, CW." Several programs here decode these; SDRcom Red Pro bundles them as a one-time $9.99 upgrade if the browser route suits you, and SDRangel decodes a vast range natively for free.

A closing thought

The remarkable thing about this hobby in the present day is how much of this is free, and how much of it springs from individuals who simply wanted to share what they built. Youssef Touil, Alexandre Rouma, Edouard Griffiths, Simon Brown, Alexandru Csete, Charles Cliffe, Jakob Ketterl, John Seamons, the GNU Radio community, the team at SDRplay — between them they have given the listening world an embarrassment of riches. Whichever program you choose, you are standing on the generosity of people who loved radio enough to write the software and give it away or sell it for a song.

Download a couple. Try them side by side. The spectrum is the same for everyone — the joy is in finding the window through which you most like to watch it.

A note on these links and our independence

We are independent. SDR Receivers Guide does not sell receivers or software. None of the links in this article are affiliate links — we earn nothing if you click them or buy anything. Each link points to the maker's own page so you can go straight to the source. Advertising on this site, where it appears, is always clearly labelled and kept separate from the editorial, which is entirely our own.

This is an opinion and advice article intended to help hobbyists navigate their choices. Product details, prices, licences and platform support change over time — always check the maker's own page for the current position. If we've missed a program you love, or got a detail wrong, tell us: this guide is meant to grow.