Comparison

Mike Holt's Electrical Toolbox vs Starfish Smart Lighting

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

Head to head
About

Mike Holt's Electrical Toolbox

This app provides essential calculations for electricians, inspectors, contractors, and engineers. It helps determine conductor sizing, circuit protection, race sizing, and grounding conductor sizes for various electrical equipment and services.

Highlights
  • Conductor sizing
  • Voltage drop limitations
  • Circuit protection sizing
  • Race sizing
  • Equipment grounding conductor sizing
  • Dwelling-unit service calculations
Features
Read full description

Mike Holt, the industry leader in the electrical industry (MikeHolt.com) has created an amazing, practical and useful app for the electrician, inspector, instructor, contractor and engineer. The app contains conductor sizing (including voltage drop limitations), circuit protection sizing, race sizing, equipment grounding conductor sizing for electric heating equipment (commercial and Residential), air-conditioning equipment (commercial and Residential), motors (commercial and Residential), Transformers (commercial) , and dwelling-unit service calculations and sizing.

About

Starfish Smart Lighting

Control your home lighting remotely and create custom scenes for atmosphere, security, and convenience. Integrate with voice assistants for hands-free operation and manage access for family and guests.

Highlights
  • Remote lighting control
  • Custom scene creation
  • Voice assistant integration
  • Multi-user access
  • Guest access control
  • Scheduling and automation
  • Color changing options
Features
Read full description

Satco’s STARFISHTM app brings you a simple, scalable, smart lighting solution! STARFISHTM Smart lighting connects life and home together helping enhance convenience, security, atmosphere and wellness. The STARFISHTM app synchronizes your life and home using mobile and activated devices. Transition daily routines, add light for safety, color the atmosphere, STARFISHTM connects your home and life. COMPATIBILITY The STARFISHTM app integrates with Hey Google, Siri, and Alexa for voice control. STARFISHTM is also compatible with SmartThingsTM for total home integration. CONNECT ANYONE Your STARFISHTM home allows for secure multi-device and multi-user access. The whole family can connect, set scenes and personalize their space. When you have guests they can enjoy the freedom of smart light control and you can set the parameters. Allow for control of a room through "device" selection, or give them control of the entire home. Guests can operate STARFISHTM without disrupting your settings or you can allow them to create their own settings—it's up to you. CONNECT ANYWHERE Access your home through the STARFISHTM app with your secure login anywhere in the world. You will never be out of touch. SECURITY Whether lighting your way for a sure-footed path or gaining peace of mind while you’re away, STARFISHTM adds that extra layer of security though automations and control of your home using voice activation and mobile technology. ATMOSPHERE Create the mood. Dynamic scene setting with millions of colors strike up just the right atmosphere. Tone the room, dim the lights, own that personal space! Combine color changing products, light settings, groupings and electronics to personalize the moment. CONVENIENCE Set up your home to transition with your daily activities. Adjust the intensity of light to coincide with a task. Make certain your lights are off when you leave. Schedule your light so you return in the evening to a safe and well-lit home. You can voice activate lighting in an emergency. WELLNESS When you wake, set your lighting to gently follow the sleep/wake cycle, correlate color temperatures to adjust with natural daylight, match your lighting to seasonal patterns. Natural and human centric lighting are thought to enhance wellness and positivity.

Screenshots

Mike Holt's Electrical Toolbox4 screens
Starfish Smart Lighting4 screens

Verdict

The call

Mike Holt's Electrical Toolbox and Starfish Smart Lighting both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 77% of Mike Holt's Electrical Toolbox's written reviews are positive against 52% of Starfish Smart Lighting's. Starfish Smart Lighting's advantage is ratings volume (1K vs 197). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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

Both are free to download. 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 — 4.6 for Mike Holt's Electrical Toolbox against 4.7 for Starfish Smart Lighting. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Starfish Smart Lighting has 1K ratings behind it against 197, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 77% of Mike Holt's Electrical Toolbox's written reviews are positive against 52% of Starfish Smart Lighting's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mike Holt's Electrical Toolbox ships an update every 3 months, Starfish Smart Lighting every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Mike Holt's Electrical Toolbox versus Starfish Smart Lighting: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMike Holt's Electrical ToolboxStarfish Smart Lighting
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (197 ratings)4.7 (1K ratings) — better
Positive reviews76.7% of reviews — better51.6% of reviews
Number of ratings1971K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 months — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.014.0
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB264 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperMike Holt EnterprisesSatco Products, INC

Customer experience

Mike Holt's Electrical Toolbox

All ratings197 ratings
Positive90.4%
Neutral1.5%
Negative8.1%
Written reviews30 reviews
Positive76.7%
Neutral6.7%
Negative16.7%

Starfish Smart Lighting

All ratings1,001 ratings
Positive94.0%
Neutral2.8%
Negative3.2%
Written reviews31 reviews
Positive51.6%
Neutral9.7%
Negative38.7%

User reviews

Mike Holt's Electrical Toolbox

From 197 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great app for electricians
  • 💡 Provides code article references
  • 👍 Useful for on-the-spot reference
  • 👍 Excellent for verifying calculations
  • 👍 Helpful for exam preparation

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Emailing results not working
  • 🐛 Outdated information
  • 🐛 Load calc a little clunky
  • 🐛 Content setup needs overhaul
  • 🐛 Video series lacks completion system

Starfish Smart Lighting

From 1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 👍 Great app and products
  • 👍 Awesome features
  • 👍 Bright and functional lights
  • 👍 Affordable and best in the market

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Difficult to connect and setup
  • 🐛 Frequent disconnections and crashes
  • 🐛 Not intuitive or user-friendly
  • 🐛 Missing key features like color control
  • 🐛 Compatibility issues with iOS 16

Bugs and requests

Mike Holt's Electrical Toolbox

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Cannot email results
  • Video player widescreen exit bug
  • Previous calculation data not erased
  • App content is outdated

Requested features

6 requests
  • Increase transformer capacity to 225kva
  • Add option to print load calc
  • Update to NEC 2020
  • Add completion system for video series
  • Refine user interface for better usability
Show 1 more
  • Add more features, willing to pay extra

Starfish Smart Lighting

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Lights turning on unexpectedly after power outages
  • Inconsistent color settings after turning lights on/off
  • App freezing and unresponsive
  • Inability to connect new devices after router upgrade

Requested features

4 requests
  • Localized sunset/sunrise support for scheduling
  • Native HomeKit support
  • Improved documentation and app localization
  • Better power outage handling

In-app purchases

None

Mike Holt's Electrical Toolbox

No in-app purchases

None

Starfish Smart Lighting

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Mike Holt's Electrical Toolbox free?
Mike Holt's Electrical Toolbox is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Starfish Smart Lighting free?
Starfish Smart Lighting is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Mike Holt's Electrical Toolbox or Starfish Smart Lighting?
Starfish Smart Lighting is rated higher. Mike Holt's Electrical Toolbox averages 4.6 out of 5 from 197 ratings, while Starfish Smart Lighting averages 4.7 from 1K ratings.
Do Mike Holt's Electrical Toolbox or Starfish Smart Lighting have ads?
Neither Mike Holt's Electrical Toolbox nor Starfish Smart Lighting shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Mike Holt's Electrical Toolbox or Starfish Smart Lighting?
Mike Holt's Electrical Toolbox ships an update every 3 months, and Starfish Smart Lighting every 5 months. Most recently, Mike Holt's Electrical Toolbox was updated on November 2, 2026 and Starfish Smart Lighting on November 3, 2026.

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