# HackRF One

10 Hacker News commenters recommended HackRF One and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 7 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Popular software defined radio for hobbyists, valued for its wide bandwidth and transceiver capability. The main caveat is weak receiving, and new units cost more than they used to.

## Why people recommend it

- Popular with hobbyists and ham radio (2 comments): "if you want a popular hobbiest platform you could check out the HackRF line" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48894381)) "The coolest modern ham stuff is happening on SDRs like hackRF." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45920346))
- Relatively cheap, capable transceiver (2 comments): "relatively cheap, pretty good transceiver, lots of crappy clones" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48215287)) "less expensive than a flipper and more capable in every way" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48214422))
- Go-to software defined radio (2 comments): "HackRF is the gold standard, but definitely not cheap" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50076244)) "Better use a software defined radio like hackrf" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49513793))

## What people warn about

- Poor receiver performance (1 comments): "HackRF is not as good at listening -- a bit deaf -- but does provide much larger bandwidth" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50069877))
- Expensive for what it is (2 comments): "HackRF is the gold standard, but definitely not cheap" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50076244)) "new ones are selling for $400 ($100 more than the kickstarter in 2013!)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47182701))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Scale RF QuadRF](https://hackerapproved.com/p/quadrf.md): 19 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=HackRF+One+Great+Scott+Gadgets&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Official site](https://greatscottgadgets.com/hackrf/)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "HackRF One", https://hackerapproved.com/p/hackrf/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).