Rafter Help vs RoofCalc
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Rafter Help
This app simplifies roof construction by calculating rafter lengths and related measurements. It supports various input formats for pitch and length, offering both quick calculations for gable roofs and advanced control for more complex needs.
- Calculate rafter length and associated values
- Determine roof pitch, rafter lengths, and ridge height
- Supports gable roofs
- Advanced calculation options
- Multiple input formats for pitch (radians, degrees, DMS, rise/run)
- Flexible length units (mm, cm, inches, feet)
- Customizable decimal places
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Rafter Help is the easiest way to calculate rafter length and associated values when building! Quickly find roof pitch, rafter lengths and ridge height for gable roofs, based on room and ridge width. Or calculate length values with more control from the Advanced tab. Features Include: - Accurately solve rafter equations - Enter pitch steepness in radians, decimal degrees or degrees, minutes, seconds (DMS) or rise/run (e.g. 8/12) - Enter lengths in mm, cm, inches or feet - Select your preferred number of decimal places
RoofCalc
This app assists roofing and framing carpenters with complex calculations for various roof types and stud walls. It offers metric and imperial unit conversion, a standard calculator, and the ability to share results via email or message. Optimized for iPhones and iPads, it's designed for ease of use by construction professionals.
- Hipped, gabled, and single-pitch roof calculations
- Stud wall calculations and estimating
- Metric and imperial unit conversion
- Standard calculator and quick converter
- Print, email, or message results
- Default value settings
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Roofing and Framing carpentry Calculator. Developed by carpenters and used by professional carpenters, contractors, builders and other construction professionals around the world. An indispensable roof tool for roofing construction. Easy to use - no complex steps to remember. Set default values for the most commonly used values. Metric and imperial at the touch of a button. CALCULATIONS INCLUDE : Hipped, gabled and single-pitch roofs: ◆ Lengths ; ◆ Angles; ◆ Heights; ◆ layout; ◆ Birdsmouth ◆ Pitch (various); ◆ Roof Pitch Factor; ◆ Adjust calculations for a plate higher on one side; ◆ Roof surfaces ; ◆ Stud Wall Calculations & Estimating ; ◆ Other timber layouts ; ALSO:- ◆Easy-to-use standard calculator - common functions for quick calculation. ◆ Quick converter - lengths, areas, volumes: Metric and US/Imperial ◆ Print, email or message lists and even take notes on the first ; Optimised for all iPhones and iPads in portrait mode. INFOGUIDE : Infoguide is part of a small construction company based in Western Australia and this app was created by a former carpenter for our team of carpenters. We use it and believe it will be as useful to other carpenters as it has been to us. Terms of Service: http://www.apple.com/legal/itunes/appstore/dev/stdeula
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: RoofCalc at Free against Rafter Help's $1.99. RoofCalc also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 5 months). Rafter Help's advantage is rating (4.5 vs 3.8) and in-app purchases (none vs 2). On ads and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
RoofCalc is free to download; Rafter Help costs $1.99 up front. RoofCalc sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Rafter Help asks for nothing beyond the download.
Rafter Help holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Rafter Help has 214 ratings behind it against 12, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 40% of Rafter Help's written reviews are positive against 20% of RoofCalc's.
Rafter Help ships an update every 5 months, RoofCalc monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Rafter Help | RoofCalc |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.5 (214 ratings) — better | 3.8 (12 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 40.0% of reviews — better | 20.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 214 — better | 12 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 10.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 6 MB | 21 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Armchair Engineering | Infoguide Pty Ltd |
Customer experience
Rafter Help
RoofCalc
Bugs and requests
Rafter Help
Reported bugs
4 issues- Cannot add 1/4 inch
- Missing decimal point on keypad
- Major error in basic gable drawing
- App won't open, says 'waiting'
Requested features
8 requests- Add 1/4 inch input
- Provide cut angles
- Include decimal point on keypad
- Support hip rafters
- Correct drawing error for basic gable
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- Include HAP calculation
- Include rafter width
- Accept angles in degrees and pitch-in-12
RoofCalc
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Rafter Help
No in-app purchases
RoofCalc
- Monthly$1.991 Month
- Annual$12.991 Year
