Comparison

xsec vs Mechanical Engineering Toolkit

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

Head to head
About

xsec

Read full description

Beam and column cross-section analysis of reinforced concrete, prestressing etc. Metric or inch-pound. Any shape: input X,Y per corner or bar. Any materials: input a sequence of stress/strain coordinates for each. Any loading; biaxial or not. An innovative cross-section analysis algorithm that is very universal is used. The enterprising design professional can take full advantage of their knowledge of the materials: • to design innovative concrete members, • to assess the remaining strength in irregular shaped surviving parts of deteriorated or damaged beams or columns. The algorithm is described by Thompson, P. J., Discussion of "Ultimate Strength Domain of Reinforced Concrete Sections under Biaxial Bending and Axial Load", ACI Structural Journal, Nov-Dec 2013, pp 1109-1112. There are established computation methods for a variety of cross-section shapes: rectangular, circular and Tee are examples. Also the established methods use a variety of shapes for the stress/strain relationship of concrete: the rectangular stress block, the parabolic stress block, linear, cracked linear are examples. With most of these established methods, if the input to the application is the same as that input to the established method then the results from the application will be the same as those from that established method. Several of the worked examples are taken from previously published articles and illustrate this point. The material description facility is completely general. Material descriptions can be prepared for any locale and any standard design code document. Also once prepared they can be copied from one job to the next. This is one of the benefits of the file read/write facilities in the application. There is a comprehensive user guide and some worked examples on the internet at xsecweb.com.

About

Mechanical Engineering Toolkit

This utility app provides a comprehensive collection of engineering equations and formulas for students and professionals. Easily perform calculations by selecting a formula and inputting variables, with detailed instructions and reference material included.

Highlights
  • Engineering equations and formulas
  • Mechanics of Material calculations
  • Theory of Elasticity formulas
  • Composite Material properties
  • Reference material
  • Variable input for calculations
Features
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Mechanical Engineering Toolkit is a professional engineering calculator for students, researchers, and practicing engineers. Choose a formula, enter your variables, and get instant results — with calculation steps, formulas, diagrams, and unit conversions shown along the way. Switch between SI and Imperial units anytime, save favorites, and find the right tool fast with recommendations by major. Save your inputs as named projects, and export any result as text, image, CSV or PDF. Categories and tools: Mechanics of Material • Moments of inertia of plane areas • Force-displacement relation of a bar • Torsion formula and angle of twist • Flexure formula of a beam • Transverse shear stress • Deflections and slopes of cantilever and simple beams • Plane stress transformation and Mohr's circle • Principal stresses and planes • Spherical shell and thin-walled pressure vessel stresses • Buckling load of a column • Thermal deformation and stress • Combined loading • Bolted / riveted joints • Fatigue safety factor • Shaft power and torque Statics • Centroid of an area • Resultant of a force system • Beam reactions • 2D truss analysis Machine Design • Helical compression springs • Spur gear geometry and stresses • Shaft fatigue design (DE-Goodman) • Bearing L10 life • Belt and chain drives • Bolt preload / torque-tension • Fillet weld strength • Press / shrink-fit interference • Shaft critical speed (Dunkerley) • Beam natural frequency (five end conditions) • Torsional natural frequency (one or two rotors) Fluids & Thermal • Reynolds number and flow regime • Pipe pressure drop (Darcy-Weisbach with Colebrook) • Pump and fan power • Composite wall conduction • Fin efficiency • Heat exchanger sizing by LMTD Theory of Elasticity • Constitutive relation of linear elastic material • Stress/strain of linear elastic material Composite Material • Lamina and laminate stress/strain • Lamina engineering constants • Laminate plane and 3D properties • Rule of mixtures • Failure criteria (Tsai-Hill, Tsai-Wu) Reference Tables • Drill & tap chart (metric and imperial thread series) • ISO 286 fits & tolerances • Standard sections (AISC W, IPE, HEB) • Unit converter No account required. Works offline. Available in English, Chinese, German, French, and Japanese.

Screenshots

xsec4 screens
Mechanical Engineering Toolkit4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Mechanical Engineering Toolkit at Free against xsec's $19.99. Mechanical Engineering Toolkit also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 10 months). xsec's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). On device support and iOS requirement 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

Mechanical Engineering Toolkit is free to download; xsec costs $19.99 up front. Mechanical Engineering Toolkit sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. xsec asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

xsec ships an update every 10 months, Mechanical Engineering Toolkit weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
xsec versus Mechanical Engineering Toolkit: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterxsecMechanical Engineering Toolkit
Price$19.99Free — better
Rating—4.8 (64 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—57.1% of reviews
Number of ratings—64 — better
Update frequencyEvery 10 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Ad-supported
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size30 MB43 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPhillip ThompsonAPPS BAY LIMITED

In-app purchases

None

xsec

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Mechanical Engineering Toolkit

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$2.99

Questions

Is xsec free?
xsec costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Mechanical Engineering Toolkit free?
Mechanical Engineering Toolkit is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do xsec or Mechanical Engineering Toolkit have ads?
Mechanical Engineering Toolkit shows ads; xsec does not.
Which is updated more often, xsec or Mechanical Engineering Toolkit?
xsec ships an update every 10 months, and Mechanical Engineering Toolkit weekly. Most recently, xsec was updated on October 14, 2026 and Mechanical Engineering Toolkit on October 16, 2026.

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