One of the many amazing things about ham radio is the abundance of resources for preparing to get licensed. There are many courses you can take, but today, let’s focus on two of the best. Ham Radio Prep and Ham Study. Recognized throughout the community, both sites offer quick, effective and affordable learning material to get prepared for the FCC exam. But what makes them unique? What do both sides have in common/ what does one do better? Let’s explore. First and foremost, they both offer vastly different study material.
Study Material
When looking at what is on offer on both sites, one main difference presents itself. Ham Radio Prep provides a full fledged multimedia course learning experience, with videos, games, quiz generators and practice exams. Ham Study, while it offers a wider variety of practice tests (like commercial or Canadian ham), provides just that, practice tests. Any additional ham information is relegated to short, drop down explanations to a couple basic ham questions. This difference in the depth of content is the reason Ham Radio Prep charges for their course. That being said, both Ham Radio Prep and Ham Study both offer additional study material on their respective mobile apps. Unlike the websites, both apps only feature practice tests. The main difference here being that HamStudy’s app cost’s money while Ham Radio Prep’s is free.
| Ham Radio Prep | HamStudy | |
| Free Practice Tests | Yes. Offered for Technician - Amateur Extra  |
Yes. Offered for Technician - Amateur Extra, Canadian ham (RAC), and commercial ham |
| Free Mobile App |
Yes. Offers fully functional mobile app for free |
Not free, $3.99  |
| Offers Online Course |
10 lesson multimedia based course |
No course available |
| Offers Learning Games |
Interactive games with a leaderboard system to track fastest time |
No learning games |
| Offers Videos |
Both animated and in person |
No videos |
| Customer Support |
Email 24/7 student support |
Traditional email ticket system  |
Student Support
Another noteworthy difference between the two programs is their student support. Ham Radio Prep offers customer service over live chat with a real person and/or email. Ham Study’s customer service is relegated strictly to email tickets. Nothing wrong with that, but in a field like ham radio, having someone to chat with directly is much easier and quicker than doing it over email. On top of that, it allows Ham Radio Prep to practice excellent customer service, by providing professional but kind assistance to anyone having issues with the program, in real time. Email tickets sometimes can sit for a day or two before being picked up.
Conclusion
Overall, both sites have a lot to offer when it comes to ham radio learning, but they both offer very different things. Ham Study, offers practice tests on each of the license levels, as well as ways to track your proficiency as you retake the tests over and over. Ham Radio Prep provides all that, plus much more in terms of content. The interactivity of Ham Radio Prep allows its students to not only pass the test, but understand it. So when they get their license, they actually know what to do with it.
