Ugly's Electrical References vs eatDrives
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
eatDrives
Access comprehensive alarm descriptions and troubleshooting guides for Eaton AC drives. Quickly find solutions and links to user manuals for various drive models, aiding in commissioning and service.
- Alarm descriptions
- Troubleshooting guides
- User manual links
- Support for multiple Eaton drive models
- Multilingual alarm descriptions
- Offline access to information
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The 'eatDrives - VFD help' app provides quick access to alarm descriptions of Eaton drives. In a second you get a full alarm description, troubleshooting guide and even a link to the latest user manual. App greatly helps by commissioning and service giving you the necessary information when you need it and where you need it. It is small but really feature-full application. A professional tool for professionals, must have in your First Aid Kit. Currently supported drives: H-MAX, HVX9000, LCX9000, M-MAX, MVX9000, NFX9000, PowerXL DA1, PowerXL DC1, PowerXL DE1, PowerXL DG1, SC9000, SLX9000, SPX9000, SVX9000. The app is in English. For most popular drives the main alarms descriptions are also available in Chinese, French and Spanish. Free version is fully functioning but is limited with only one randomly chosen drive. If you like the app, you can unlock all the drives by means of in-app purchase. DISCLAIMER This app IS NOT affiliated with Eaton Corporation or any of its affiliates.
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Verdict
The clearest difference is price: eatDrives at Free against Ugly's Electrical References's $12.99. eatDrives also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.4) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17). Ugly's Electrical References's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ratings volume (1.5K vs 6). On update cadence, 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
eatDrives is free to download; Ugly's Electrical References costs $12.99 up front. eatDrives sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Ugly's Electrical References asks for nothing beyond the download.
eatDrives holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ugly's Electrical References has 1.5K ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Ugly's Electrical References ships an update every 3 months, eatDrives every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Ugly's Electrical References | eatDrives |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $12.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.4 (1.5K ratings) | 4.8 (6 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 47.1% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 1.5K — better | 6 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Best chart rank | #9 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 63 MB | 9 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Informed Publishing | Evgeny Makarenkov |
Customer experience
Ugly's Electrical References
eatDrives
Bugs and requests
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
eatDrives
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Ugly's Electrical References
No in-app purchases
eatDrives
- All Drives$0.99
Questions
Is Ugly's Electrical References free?
Is eatDrives free?
Which has better reviews, Ugly's Electrical References or eatDrives?
Do Ugly's Electrical References or eatDrives have ads?
Which is updated more often, Ugly's Electrical References or eatDrives?
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