Where we stand, before the list. We publish Covert Mail, a Morse and cipher app for iPhone and iPad, so this is our category. It is last below, and the verdict goes to someone else. We take no referral fee from any app named here.
Most learners should start with Morse Mania. For a radio license, Morse Code Complete goes further, and LCWO.net teaches the same method free in a browser. For a child, pick an app Apple rates 4+, which rules out one of the long-running iPhone apps.
The short answer, by learner
App Store ratings, age ratings and update dates were read on 26 October 2026. Google Play figures and prices are from our reading on 20 October 2026, in the full comparison.
| If you | Use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Want one app that takes you from zero | Morse Mania | 270 levels, no ads, both stores, rated 4+ |
| Want it free with nothing to install | LCWO.net | Koch course in the browser, free account |
| Are studying for a radio license | Morse Code Complete | Callsigns, Q-codes, QSO practice; updated Sep 2026 |
| Use Android and want a Koch receive trainer | IZ2UUF Morse Koch CW | Reads each word aloud, so it works screen-off |
| Want to decode Morse from the microphone | Morse-It | $0.99 on iPhone, iPad and Mac; rated 17+ |
| Want to type in Morse, not hear it | Gboard | A free keyboard layout, built for accessibility |
| Are teaching a child, with codes and ciphers too | Covert Mail (ours) | Spy missions, fifteen ciphers; iPhone and iPad only |
Each pick in a paragraph
Morse Mania
The most-rated Morse app on the App Store, with 8,337 ratings at 4.9, and 1M+ downloads on Google Play. It has 135 receiving levels, 135 sending levels and no ads. Bundles cost $4.99 and $8.99. Its last update was 1 September 2025 on iPhone.
LCWO.net
Learn CW Online, by Fabian Kurz, DJ5CW, runs a Koch course in any browser with a free account. It has speed practice and MP3 files to download, and nothing to buy.
Morse Code Complete
More than 200 lessons, from letters to callsigns, Q-codes and a generated contact, with Farnsworth spacing up to 60 words per minute. It has 89 App Store ratings at 4.8 and was updated on 18 September 2026. The alphabet lessons are free. Full Access is $9.99, paid once.
IZ2UUF Morse Koch CW
An Android receive trainer for radio operators, with 100K+ downloads. You choose the G4FON, LCWO or a custom letter order, and it repeats the letters you miss. We found no iPhone version.
Morse-It
A $0.99 toolkit with 1,149 ratings at 4.7, updated 20 September 2026. It decodes Morse from the microphone and takes a straight key or a paddle. The learning features are $8.99. Apple rates it 17+, so it is not one to hand a child.
Gboard’s Morse input
Google’s keyboard can type in Morse on Android and iPhone once you add Morse code as a language. It teaches your thumbs, not your ears, so it does nothing for a radio exam.
Covert Mail, ours
Free with one banner, and every ad request is marked as directed at children. It teaches Morse by ear with the Koch method, then fourteen other codes from the Caesar shift to Vigenère, inside spy missions. It is on iPhone and iPad only, with 3 ratings so far, averaging 3.7.
What these do better than ours
Morse Mania is a much longer Morse course, with no ads. Morse Code Complete and IZ2UUF go into radio work, callsigns and Q-codes, which ours skips. Morse-It decodes from a microphone. LCWO costs nothing at all. Four of the six are on Android, and ours is not yet. If the goal is a license, start with LCWO and keep Morse Code Complete on your phone.
- App Store — Morse Mania: Learn Morse Code
- Google Play — Morse Mania
- LCWO.net — Learn CW Online
- App Store — Morse Code Complete: Learn CW
- Google Play — Morse Code Complete
- Google Play — IZ2UUF Morse Koch CW
- App Store — Morse-It
- Gboard Help — type in Morse code
- App Store — Covert Mail: Morse & Ciphers, ours