VisualRuler vs Maculate
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ with what reviewers say about each.
VisualRuler
Transform any card in your wallet into a precision measuring tool using your iPhone camera. Simply place a card next to an object, and the app instantly calibrates to measure dimensions from a photo. It's a professional-grade measurement solution accessible to everyone.
- Measure from photos
- Uses wallet card as reference
- Instant auto-detection
- Metric and imperial units
- Photo library support
- No special hardware needed
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VisualRuler turns any bank-card-sized card into a ruler for your photos. Place a card next to what you want to measure, take a picture and read real dimensions in millimeters, centimeters or inches. No LiDAR, no AR scanning, no subscription. HOW IT WORKS 1. Lay any standard card (bank, transit, loyalty or library card) flat next to the object. 2. Take a photo, or choose one from your library. 3. Drag the four corner handles onto the card. A zoom loupe helps you place them precisely. 4. Add lines or rectangles and read the measurements instantly. Standard cards are all the same size, 85.6 ร 54 mm. VisualRuler uses that known size to correct for perspective, so you don't have to hold your phone perfectly straight. WHAT PEOPLE MEASURE โข Furniture, shelves and frames before buying โข Boxes and parcels for shipping labels โข Clothing, shoes and fabric for online orders โข Screens, books, artwork and hardware parts โข DIY and craft projects at home or in a store WHY VISUALRULER โข Works on iPhone and iPad, no LiDAR or depth sensor needed โข Measures from one still photo, so nothing drifts while you work โข Line and rectangle tools, as many as you need on one photo โข Switch between mm, cm and inches at any time โข Save the measured photo to Photos or share it in one tap โข A clean Liquid Glass design PRIVATE BY DESIGN No account, no ads, no tracking. Photos are processed entirely on your device and are never uploaded. FOR BEST RESULTS Keep the card and the object on the same flat surface, shoot from above when you can, and make sure each corner handle sits exactly on a corner of the card. For flat objects, results are typically within a few millimeters.
Maculate
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Maculate is a native frontend for Qalculate, an advanced calculator program with support for units. It supports just about anything you could imagine, and then some: - Hundreds of units and dozens of constants - Unit conversions - Solve for unknown values - Factorize equations - Calculus: Differentiate and Integrate - Calculate in different base systems - Calculate with time - Uncertainty Propagation - Economics - Matrices and Vectors - Combinatorics - Complex Numbers - Variable Assignment For a full list of features, refer to the Qalculate documentation. Please note that Maculate does not currently support plotting, dataset i/o, and realtime currency conversion.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: VisualRuler at $0.99 against Maculate's $4.99. Maculate's advantage is iOS requirement (18.2 vs 26.6). On ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS
VisualRuler costs $0.99 and Maculate $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
| Parameter | VisualRuler | Maculate |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0.99 โ better | $4.99 |
| Positive reviews | 13.4% of reviews | โ |
| Update frequency | Every 6 days | โ |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | โ |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 26.6 | 18.2 โ better |
| Further details โ not scored | ||
| Size | 11 MB | 10 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | altaibayar tseveenbayar | Toastcat LLC |
Bugs and requests
VisualRuler
Reported bugs
15 issues- Automatic card detection does not work
- App does not detect the card
- App does not measure objects
- Measurements are always the same (8.6cm x 5.4cm)
- Camera orientation issues
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- Numbers of size cannot be changed
- Login screen freezes
- Incompatible with older devices
- App uses cellular data
- App does not work correctly
- Cannot add measurements
- Confusing user interface
- Inaccurate measurements
- App crashes
- App drains battery
Requested features
7 requests- Automatic object detection
- Automatic card detection improvement
- Manual adjustment improvement
- Add ruler and distance markings
- Support upright correction
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- Improve translation
- Flash for better detection
Maculate
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
VisualRuler
No in-app purchases
Maculate
No in-app purchases









