Master Bender Gold vs Ugly's Electrical References
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Master Bender Gold
This app is a precise conduit bending calculator for electricians, plumbers, and pipe fitters. It simplifies complex calculations for various bend types, supports numerous bending tools, and offers both imperial and metric measurements for accurate conduit layout.
- Conduit bending calculator
- Supports offset, saddle, stub, parallel, segment, and compound bends
- Calculates gain & take-up
- Supports hand, electric, and hydraulic benders
- Customizable for unsupported tools
- Imperial and metric measurements
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Master Bender Gold is the industry's leading and most precise conduit bending app for iPhone and iPad. Master Bender Gold is a conduit bending calculator for electricians. Master Bender Gold can also be used by plumbers and pipe fitters, who can enter their own tools into program. Master Bender Gold aids you in bending conduit raceways. It takes the math out of bending and allows you to concentrate on the task at hand. Master Bender Gold uses a more precise conduit bending algorithm than the cosecant method that is commonly used in the industry. This gives you more accurate bends with less waste. Master Bender Gold supports the following types of bends: * offset bends and rolling offset bends * three and four point saddle bends * stub 90° bends * parallel bends * segment bends * compound 90° bends Master Bender Gold contains information about: * gain & take-up * conduit layout * conduit weight & sizes * trig functions * fractions * bender methods * safety Master Bender Gold can bend and calculate most all types of conduit bends used today by electricians. Master Bender Gold supports numerous popular bending tools. Master Bender Gold supports hand benders, electric bender ie. sidewinder, 555, triple nickel, and hydraulic bending tools. Have a tool that is not supported? No problem! Master Bender Gold can work with any bending tool. Just tell Master Bender Gold the bending radius for your tool and you are ready to bend. Master Bender Gold computes bends using both feet/inches and metric measurements. Master Bender Gold makes it easy to bend pipes and conduit raceways regardless of whether you are a seasoned professional, studying to be in the electrical, electronic, engineering, plumbing, pipe fitting professions, or an hobbyist who needs to bend a few pipes. If you like Master Bender Gold, you may want to take a look at our other app: Master Electrician Reference™ (MER™). It includes a 29 page conduit bending manual. We also have a free version: MER™ Lite. More information is available at MasterSparky.com.
Ugly's Electrical References
This app provides electricians and electrical professionals with up-to-date digital information based on the National Electrical Code. It includes formulas, wiring diagrams, conduit bending guides, and calculators for various electrical calculations. The app is designed for on-the-job reference and works offline.
- NEC 2026 updates
- Mathematical formulas and calculators
- Conduit bending guide with videos
- Ampacity and conduit fill information
- Wiring diagrams
- Conversion tables
- Works offline
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The Ugly's Electrical References App has been updated to reflect changes to the 2026 National Electrical Code (NEC) and the 2026 Edition of our popular Ugly’s Electrical References book. The Ugly’s App offers the most pertinent, up-to-date digital information for electricians, including table change information, mathematical formulas; National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) wiring configurations; a conduit bending guide with videos, ampacity and conduit fill information, transformer and control circuit wiring diagrams, and conversion tables. The 2026 Edition: * Reflects changes to the 2026 NEC * Features expanded coverage of the following topics: * Full-load currents for 3-phase transformers * Maximum number of conductors in electrical metallic tubing for trade sizes 5 and 6 * Equipment grounding conductors * General lighting loads for non-dwelling occupancies * Overview of important NEC code changes from 2020, 2023 and 2026 Electricians and electrical professionals have used ‘Ugly’s Electrical References’ book as their on-the-job reference for over 35 years. This app will serve you even better in the field today. FEATURING Calculators and Interactive Features • Ohm’s Law Calculator • Voltage Drop Calculator • Ampacity Calculator • To Find: Amps, Watts, Horsepower, KVA • To Find: Inductance, Impedance, Reactance • Three-phase AC Motor Data: Starter, Breaker, Heater, Wire, and Conduit Size • Power Factor Correction • Full Load Current for Motors and Transformers • Locked-Rotor Current Calculator • Offset Bending Calculator • Conduit Fill Calculator • Conversions for Area, Length, Temperature, Time, Volume, and Weight • NEMA Wiring Configurations *Pinch & Zoom for improved readability *Conduit Bending Video Tutorials *Search function helps you quickly find what you need to know *NEC Updater outlines and explains changes to the National Electrical Code© *Electrical Safety including definitions, boundaries, procedures, PPE guidance, and life-saving *First aid procedures *Blueprint symbol identifier *Bookmark your commonly used screens *High-definition images and interactive tables that can be zoomed in for detail *Works offline *Great for electricians, students, engineers, contractors, maintenance workers, and military Interested in a buying more than one copy of the Ugly’s Electrical Reference app for your commercially owned devices? Please email info[at]uglys[dot]net for details on volume purchases. Privacy Policy - http://www.jblearning.com/privacy/ Terms of Service - http://www.jblearning.com/use/ Support – http://www.uglys.net/appsupport The Ugly’s Electrical Reference app is part of the popular Ugly’s Professional Reference® series, which is an imprint of Jones & Bartlett Learning. National Electrical Code and NFPA 70 are registered trademarks of the National Fire Protection Agency and are not associated with Ugly’s Electrical References in any way.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Ugly's Electrical References at every 3 months against Master Bender Gold's every 19 months. Ugly's Electrical References also leads on chart position (#6 vs #194) and review sentiment (47% vs 36%). Master Bender Gold's advantage is price ($9.99 vs $12.99) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 17). On rating, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Master Bender Gold costs $9.99 and Ugly's Electrical References $12.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Master Bender Gold against 4.4 for Ugly's Electrical References. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 435 and 1.5K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 36% of Master Bender Gold's written reviews are positive against 47% of Ugly's Electrical References's.
Master Bender Gold ships an update every 19 months, Ugly's Electrical References every 3 months. Both last shipped on October 13, 2026.
| Parameter | Master Bender Gold | Ugly's Electrical References |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9.99 — better | $12.99 |
| Rating | 4.5 (435 ratings) — better | 4.4 (1.5K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 35.7% of reviews | 47.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 435 | 1.5K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 19 months | Every 3 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #194 | #6 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 17 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 76 MB | 63 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | PawEng, LLC | Informed Publishing |
Customer experience
Master Bender Gold
Ugly's Electrical References
User reviews
Master Bender Gold
From 435 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Makes explaining to an apprentice easier
- 👍 Great step-by-step instructions
- 👍 Complete bending guide
- 👍 Good app overall
Room to improve
- 😞 Not practical for work
- 😞 Overly complicated
- 😞 Annoying measurement input
- 😞 Terrible app for bending conduit
- 😞 Confusing to use
Ugly's Electrical References
From 1.5K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Quick reference
- 👍 Helpful for apprentices and journeymen
- 👍 Convenient to have on phone
- 👍 Useful calculators
- 👍 Great resource
Room to improve
- 🐛 Videos/audio not working
- 🐛 Bookmarking issues
- 🐛 Glitchy navigation
- 🐛 Difficult to find information
- 🐛 Annoying review pop-up
Bugs and requests
Master Bender Gold
Reported bugs
1 issue- Cannot change any dimensions
Requested features
3 requests- Spanish language option
- Include method of measuring distance between two fixed points for master bends
- Basic offset calculation without requiring distance and width
Ugly's Electrical References
Reported bugs
4 issues- Videos not playing
- Bookmarks not working correctly
- Navigation issues causing app crashes
- Incorrect calculation results
Requested features
5 requests- Zoom functionality
- Better search capabilities
- Spanish language support
- Offline access to full content
- Improved bookmarking system
In-app purchases
Master Bender Gold
No in-app purchases
Ugly's Electrical References
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Master Bender Gold free?
Is Ugly's Electrical References free?
Which has better reviews, Master Bender Gold or Ugly's Electrical References?
Do Master Bender Gold or Ugly's Electrical References have ads?
Which is updated more often, Master Bender Gold or Ugly's Electrical References?
Which is more popular, Master Bender Gold or Ugly's Electrical References?
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