Comparison

Deflection Pro vs Bluebeam

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Deflection Pro

This advanced structural analysis calculator assists engineers with beam, truss, and frame design. It generates load combinations based on American and European standards and performs detailed beam column capacity checks. Results are presented intuitively, with options to export to PDF and save files.

Highlights
  • Beam, truss, and frame analysis
  • Load combination generation (US & EU standards)
  • Beam column capacity checks (flexure, shear, tension, compression)
  • Detailed design checks for various buckling types
  • PDF export
  • Save to external file
Features
Read full description

Deflection Pro is an advanced structural analysis calculator for beam, truss, and frame design. The software is designed to be simple, intuitive, and useful for structural engineers worldwide. Like our other apps, it is designed to run on all your devices. LOAD COMBINATIONS Deflection Pro generates common load combinations based on American and European standards. Simply select a desired design method in the settings page and assign a category to each load. The results are seamlessly aggregated and integrated into the same charts and interface as if you were designing a simple beam case. BEAM COLUMN CAPACITY CHECKS Deflection Pro calculates beam column strength capacity for flexure, shear, tension, and compression based on the AISC specification. The software accurately reproduces tabulated values in steel construction manuals. Flexure Design • Yielding • Lateral torsional buckling • Local buckling • Flange local buckling • Compression flange local buckling • Web local buckling • Compression tee stem local buckling Shear Design • Web shear strength • Web shear strength, considering field action Tension Design • Yielding tensile strength • Rupture tensile strength Compression Design • Flexural buckling • Torsional buckling OTHER FEATURES Since this is our latest and greatest structural analysis app, we are actively improving it and adding new functionality. It receives more frequent updates than other tiers of our software. Other advanced functionality include the ability to directly export to PDF and to save to an external file for backup and sharing. CONTACT We like to hear from you! Please email contact@ketchep.com if you have any issues, questions, or comments.

About

Bluebeam

Access and collaborate on PDF documents directly from your mobile device. Communicate project updates with markups and work offline by syncing files. Seamlessly join live collaboration sessions and manage document revisions from the field.

Highlights
  • Real-time PDF collaboration
  • Markup and annotation tools
  • Offline file access
  • Document syncing
  • Studio Project management
  • Live session joining
Features
Read full description

Bluebeam for iOS keeps you connected to your teams and documents, so you can quickly access the information you need in the field and capture what matters for the office. - Communicate with markups using tools like callouts, text, clouds, and status indicators - Import your team's custom Tool Sets from Revu, so your standardized markups are ready to go in the field, even offline - Attach photos captured in the field directly to a markup, so supporting documentation stays organized without cluttering your drawings - Open your files stored on your device, Studio Projects, or Studio Sessions - Join Studio Sessions for live collaboration. If your connection drops, your changes sync when you're back online - Check out files in Studio Projects to make edits, then check them back in when you're ready - Work offline by syncing Project files ahead of time or opening PDFs stored on your device Whether you’re reviewing submittals, placing markups in the field, or tracking revisions with your team, Bluebeam gives you the flexibility to get the job done from anywhere.

Screenshots

Deflection Pro4 screens
Bluebeam4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Deflection Pro at 69% against Bluebeam's 3%. Deflection Pro also leads on rating (4.7 vs 1.5) and device support (4 vs 2). Bluebeam's advantage is price (Free vs $19.99) and ratings volume (392 vs 16). On update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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

Bluebeam is free to download; Deflection Pro costs $19.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Deflection Pro holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 1.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bluebeam has 392 ratings behind it against 16, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 69% of Deflection Pro's written reviews are positive against 3% of Bluebeam's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Deflection Pro ships an update every 5 weeks, Bluebeam monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Deflection Pro versus Bluebeam: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDeflection ProBluebeam
Price$19.99Free — better
Rating4.7 (16 ratings) — better1.5 (392 ratings)
Positive reviews69.2% of reviews — better3.0% of reviews
Number of ratings16392 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size163 MB288 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBlue KetchepBluebeam, Inc.

Customer experience

Deflection Pro

All ratings16 ratings
Positive87.5%
Neutral6.3%
Negative6.3%
Written reviews13 reviews
Positive69.2%
Neutral15.4%
Negative15.4%

Bluebeam

All ratings392 ratings
Positive9.9%
Neutral2.0%
Negative88.0%
Written reviews237 reviews
Positive3.0%
Neutral3.0%
Negative94.1%

Bugs and requests

Deflection Pro

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Bluebeam

Reported bugs

28 issues
  • Markups fail to load or display correctly
  • App deletes markups instead of saving them
  • Documents wipe clean when reopened
  • Files uploaded disappear from app
  • Corrupted file errors when opening PDFs
Show 23 more
  • Keyboard disappears during login
  • Selection boundaries too large, preventing precise markup selection
  • Apple Pencil input stops working intermittently
  • Pen tool produces no line output despite input
  • App crashes when opening large file sets
  • Session documents fail to load
  • Blank PDF pages displayed
  • Scaling doesn't work properly
  • Blue screen errors
  • Markups missing after checkout and checkin
  • Incomplete markups syncing between devices
  • App freezes during document checkin
  • Unable to add users to sessions
  • Projects not showing up in app
  • App crashes when opening Studio sessions
  • Drawings won't load or open
  • Markup placement doesn't correspond to tap location
  • PDF goes blank when inserting callouts
  • Constant logout requiring re-authentication
  • Links to details don't work
  • App crashes on older iOS versions
  • Audio communication issues
  • File synchronization failures

Requested features

25 requests
  • Restore measurement and scaling tools
  • Add custom toolsets and tool libraries
  • Implement bookmarks for document navigation
  • Enable image embedding in callouts
  • Add undo/redo functionality
Show 20 more
  • Support multiple PDF tabs simultaneously
  • Create stamp library with standardized markups
  • Add dimension markup capabilities
  • Allow local PDF file access and import
  • Full Studio session integration
  • Improve Apple Pencil responsiveness and precision
  • Add eraser tool for pen markups
  • Enable photo capture and attachment to markups
  • Support Dropbox and cloud storage integration
  • Add form field editing capabilities
  • Implement punch list and defect tracking
  • Add RFI creation functionality
  • Support for custom columns and data fields
  • Reset viewpoints feature
  • Pen width and cloud shape customization
  • Settings menu for preferences
  • Better pen and drawing mechanics like Notability
  • Ability to download session documents to device
  • Support for opening PDF attachments from desktop
  • Batch file upload capability

In-app purchases

None

Deflection Pro

No in-app purchases

None

Bluebeam

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Deflection Pro free?
Deflection Pro costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Bluebeam free?
Bluebeam is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Deflection Pro or Bluebeam?
Deflection Pro is rated higher. Deflection Pro averages 4.7 out of 5 from 16 ratings, while Bluebeam averages 1.5 from 392 ratings.
Do Deflection Pro or Bluebeam have ads?
Neither Deflection Pro nor Bluebeam shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Deflection Pro or Bluebeam?
Deflection Pro ships an update every 5 weeks, and Bluebeam monthly. Most recently, Deflection Pro was updated on October 4, 2026 and Bluebeam on October 15, 2026.

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