Push-to-talk apps for crane crews for signal persons and riggers in 2026

Push-to-talk apps for crane crews compared for signal persons and riggers: OperatorLink, Zello, Voxer, GroupTalk, and Peak PTT.

By 2Dig · 2026-10-09

2Dig is published by the makers of OperatorLink, which is compared here alongside other tools.

Signal persons and riggers need push-to-talk tools that pass voice and direction signals and hold them visible until the crew registers them. OperatorLink shows STOP, HOLD and SLOW to the jobsite crew in a phone browser ^[1]. HOLD and SLOW stay on until the last person leaves, and STOP releases every held direction on every phone with a full-screen alert ^[1]^[1]. OperatorLink is free to use, and no paid plan is built yet ^[1]. Zello Work costs $8.00 per user per month, or $6.80 with an annual subscription ^[2]. Voxer's Personal plan is free ^[3]. GroupTalk offers a free 14-day trial ^[4]. Peak PTT radio service is $24.95 per month per radio ^[5]. Compare how long a signal stays up, who can join, coverage, and price.

Option	Up-front cost	Monthly cost	Device and join
OperatorLink	Free, no paid plan built yet ^[1]	Free ^[1]	Phone browser, no app install; crew joins from a shared link or QR code ^[1]^[1]
Zello	Free 14-day trial, no credit card required ^[2]	From $8.00 per user per month, $6.80 with annual subscription ^[2]	Runs on iOS, Android, Windows, and Mac ^[6]
Voxer	Personal plan free ^[3]; 14-day business trial ^[7]	Not published	Not published
GroupTalk	14-day free trial ^[4]	Not published	Private cloud or on-premises deployment ^[4]
Peak PTT	$229 per radio plus $19.95 activation fee ^[8]	$24.95 per month per radio for unlimited nationwide push-to-talk ^[5]	LTE radio hardware transmitting over AT&T's nationwide network ^[8]

What signal persons and riggers need from push-to-talk apps for crane crews

A signal person gives the operator direction for moves that cannot be seen from the cab, and a rigger attaches and guides loads. Both work close to moving loads and can lose sight of one another. A missed call can stop a lift mid-swing. The tools they need carry one or two strong direction signals and hold them steady until every person on the crew has registered them. Voice matters for checking in, but direction signals need to stay visible rather than depend on the next sentence. Crew members keep gloves on and eyes on the load, so the tool needs large buttons and clear alerts. A crew should compare how each tool passes a signal, how long a signal stays up, who can join, what each person must do to get started, and whether the tool reaches the parts of the site where the crew works.

OperatorLink for signal persons and riggers

OperatorLink is made by the team that publishes this site. It runs in a phone browser, so no app install is needed. ^[1] It passes button presses, chat and voice between phones in a browser. ^[1] STOP releases every held direction on every phone and shows a full-screen alert to everyone else. ^[1] HOLD and SLOW stay on for everyone in the jobsite and are cleared when the last person leaves. ^[1] Holding a move button keeps sending that move to the other phones; if it stops arriving for 2 seconds, they drop it. ^[1] One-tap radio-style calls such as Go Ahead, Copy That and All Clear are sent as chat messages. ^[1] Anyone who joins can take part in a voice call run from the phone browser. ^[1] The person who starts a jobsite shares a link or QR code, and the crew joins from it. ^[1] A jobsite link stops working 12 hours after the first person joins it. ^[1] A jobsite with nobody in it is wiped after 3 idle hours. ^[1] OperatorLink is currently free to use, and no paid plan is built yet. ^[1]

Zello for signal persons and riggers

Zello offers its product free for first responders. ^[6] Zello Work costs $8.00 per user per month, or $6.80 with an annual subscription. ^[2] Education and non-profit organizations get an additional 10% off annual subscriptions, for 25% total. ^[2] Subscriptions can be changed or cancelled any time without penalty. ^[2] Zello supports payment by wire transfer, ACH, or check besides credit card. ^[2] Zello Enterprise Server can be deployed on-premise. ^[6]

Voxer for signal persons and riggers

Voxer offers a 14-day free trial for business. ^[7] Voxer integrates with Procore contacts to create groups. ^[9] Voxer's Personal plan is free. ^[3] Beyond those points the facts say little more, so a crane crew should ask Voxer directly what devices it supports and what its paid plans cost per user.

GroupTalk for signal persons and riggers

GroupTalk offers a free 14-day trial. ^[4] The page also offers a sales contact. ^[10] GroupTalk's push-to-talk and personal alarm functionality enables secure, real-time communication across all personnel and workgroups. ^[10] Separate PTT groups can be set up for different roles, functions, areas, or tasks. ^[10] GroupTalk says its cloud-based PTT system offers unlimited range. ^[10] Personal alarms report incidents immediately to nearby colleagues and central management. ^[10] The tool also integrates live location tracking, alarms, and group communication for construction sites. ^[10] GroupTalk is named as the choice of construction companies including NCC, Veidekke, and YIT. ^[10]

Peak PTT for signal persons and riggers

Peak PTT is push-to-talk radio hardware rather than a phone app. The PTT-84G is priced at $229, with a $19.95 activation fee and $24.95 per month for unlimited push-to-talk, with no contracts. ^[8] The radios include access to a GPS Tracking Portal with 90-day location history, geofencing, and real-time crew visibility. ^[8] Both radios are backed by a lifetime hardware warranty with an active service plan. ^[8] Peak PTT describes itself as having sub-300-millisecond latency, no dead zones, no repeaters, and no FCC licensing. ^[8] A single flat monthly rate covers unlimited nationwide push-to-talk on Tier-1 U.S. carrier networks, with 60-second GPS tracking included. ^[5] PeakPTT supports multiple simultaneous talk groups on one platform. ^[8] The optional dispatch seat add-on costs $12 per month per seat. ^[5]

Matching the tool to the job

Holding a direction until every person registers it suits the signaller's job: OperatorLink keeps STOP, HOLD and SLOW on for everyone until the last person leaves. ^[1] A full-screen STOP alert on every phone gives a signal person a clear way to halt a lift. ^[1] A rigger who needs to check in can send one-tap radio-style replies without typing. ^[1] A rigger working alone or out of sight can use GroupTalk's personal alarm to alert nearby colleagues and central resources. ^[10]^[10] Voice check-ins between lifts suit Zello, whose Work plan is priced per user. ^[2] For a crew spread across a large site, GroupTalk offers unlimited range and separate groups for different roles or areas. ^[10]^[10] A rigger already carrying a radio can use Peak PTT's bundled GPS tracking to show where crew members are. ^[5] For a short job, OperatorLink shares a link or QR code the crew joins from, and the link works for 12 hours. ^[1]^[1]

Questions to ask before you choose

Does a direction stay on every screen until each person confirms it, or does it clear the moment a finger lifts? Can a crew member join from a link, or does a manager need to set up accounts and groups first? What happens to a signal when a phone loses connection for a few seconds? On which devices can each person receive the tool, and are they the phones the crew already carries? Is the coverage enough for the parts of the site where the crew works, or are there dead spots? Who pays, and is the price per user, per radio, or per month, and does it change on an annual plan? How long does a free trial run, and what must be shared to start one? If a lone rigger needs an alarm, does the tool have one, and who does it reach? Can the tool run more than one group at once so the signal crew and the rigging crew do not talk over each other?

Frequently asked questions

Do push-to-talk apps work for crane signals on a phone?

A push-to-talk tool carries voice, and some also pass direction signals. OperatorLink shows STOP, HOLD and SLOW to the jobsite crew in a phone browser; HOLD and SLOW stay on until the last person leaves, and STOP releases every held direction with a full-screen alert. ^[1]^[1]^[1] Ask each provider how far its tools reach on the site before relying on one.

Is there a free push-to-talk app for a crane crew?

Yes. OperatorLink is currently free to use, and no paid plan is built yet. ^[1] Zello offers its product free for first responders. ^[6] Voxer's Personal plan is free. ^[3] GroupTalk offers a free 14-day trial. ^[4] Compare how long a signal stays visible before relying on any free option.

What does push-to-talk cost per month?

Zello Work costs $8.00 per user per month, or $6.80 with an annual subscription. ^[2] Peak PTT charges $24.95 per month per radio for unlimited nationwide push-to-talk, on top of a $229 per-radio price and a $19.95 activation fee. ^[5]^[8] OperatorLink is currently free, with no paid plan built yet. ^[1] Voxer and GroupTalk pricing is not published here, so ask them what they charge per user.

Can a signal person hold a STOP that everyone on the crew sees?

Some tools keep a direction visible rather than drop it when a finger lifts. OperatorLink keeps STOP, HOLD and SLOW on for everyone in the jobsite and clears them when the last person leaves, and STOP releases every held direction and shows a full-screen alert to everyone else. ^[1]^[1] For other tools, ask how long a direction stays on screen and whether it clears when the person stops holding it.

What device is needed for push-to-talk?

OperatorLink runs in a phone browser with no app install and can be added to a phone's home screen. ^[1]^[1] Check which devices the rest of the crew already carries, and ask each provider what its tool runs on before the crew relies on it.

OperatorLink is currently free to use, and no paid plan is built yet. ^[1]

Try OperatorLink