Comparison

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.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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.

About

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.

Highlights
  • NEC 2026 updates
  • Mathematical formulas and calculators
  • Conduit bending guide with videos
  • Ampacity and conduit fill information
  • Wiring diagrams
  • Conversion tables
  • Works offline
Features
Read full description

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

Master Bender Gold4 screens
Ugly's Electrical References4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Master Bender Gold ships an update every 19 months, Ugly's Electrical References every 3 months. Both last shipped on October 13, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Master Bender Gold versus Ugly's Electrical References: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMaster Bender GoldUgly's Electrical References
Price$9.99 — better$12.99
Rating4.5 (435 ratings) — better4.4 (1.5K ratings)
Positive reviews35.7% of reviews47.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings4351.5K — better
Update frequencyEvery 19 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
Best chart rank#194#6 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS11.0 — better17
Further details — not scored
Size76 MB63 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperPawEng, LLCInformed Publishing

Customer experience

Master Bender Gold

All ratings435 ratings
Positive88.7%
Neutral2.8%
Negative8.5%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive35.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative64.3%

Ugly's Electrical References

All ratings1,495 ratings
Positive84.9%
Neutral5.7%
Negative9.4%
Written reviews172 reviews
Positive47.1%
Neutral16.9%
Negative36.0%

User reviews

Master Bender Gold

From 435 App Store ratings

What 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 ratings

What 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

None

Master Bender Gold

No in-app purchases

None

Ugly's Electrical References

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Master Bender Gold free?
Master Bender Gold costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Ugly's Electrical References free?
Ugly's Electrical References costs $12.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Master Bender Gold or Ugly's Electrical References?
Master Bender Gold is rated higher. Master Bender Gold averages 4.5 out of 5 from 435 ratings, while Ugly's Electrical References averages 4.4 from 1.5K ratings.
Do Master Bender Gold or Ugly's Electrical References have ads?
Neither Master Bender Gold nor Ugly's Electrical References shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Master Bender Gold or Ugly's Electrical References?
Master Bender Gold ships an update every 19 months, and Ugly's Electrical References every 3 months. Most recently, Master Bender Gold was updated on October 13, 2026 and Ugly's Electrical References on October 13, 2026.
Which is more popular, Master Bender Gold or Ugly's Electrical References?
Master Bender Gold currently peaks at #194 in the App Store charts, and Ugly's Electrical References at #6. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

Other comparisons