EnergyControl vs Meter Reading
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ with what reviewers say about each.
EnergyControl
Track and analyze your household's energy and water consumption. Easily input meter readings, manage various utilities with flexible meters, and gain insights into your spending with clear charts and forecasts. Understand your usage patterns and predict future costs.
- Flexible meter management for various utilities
- Consumption analysis with charts and tables
- Intelligent cost and consumption forecasts
- Fast meter reading input with estimation
- Cost management with contract date tracking
- CSV import and export of meter data
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How much electricity will I consume this year? What is the difference in heating costs between winter and summer? How much water does my household use per week? How long will the level of my oil tank last? If you can not answer such or similar questions then EnergyControl is your app! *** Simple and Intuitive You do not need to make complicated settings - everything is simple and easy to understand. You have already recorded some meter readings? No problem - import your csv file and off you go. *** Flexible meters You can manage as many meters as you like. Each meter is configurable as you need it - for electricity, oil, gas, water and much more. With virtual meters you can join two meters and evaluate them in combination. If you want, you can give each meter its own color, so you can find it quickly. Entered meter data can be exported to a CSV file at any time. *** Consumption Analysis Analyze your consumption and costs with clear tables and charts. You can view the data in weeks, months, quarters or years. Intelligent forecasts tell you what costs you have to expect in the whole year or how long your fuel tank will last. *** Fast Meter Input With a swipe to the right in the overview you can enter a meter reading without annoying detour. The current meter reading is estimated and preset, so you often have to make only minimal adjustments. *** Cost Management You can manage the costs for each meter. The costs change to January? No problem. Just enter the new contract with the start date and the data will be calculated correctly. *** Free & Ad Free You can download and use EnergyControl completely for free.
Meter Reading
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Tired of surprise utility bills? Meter Reading is the simple utility tracker for your electric, natural gas and water meters. Scan or type your meter readings, see what your usage costs so far, and know before the utility bill arrives whether you are on track or heading for a higher bill. No spreadsheets, no account, no hassle. SCAN YOUR METER IN SECONDS Point your camera at the meter and the app reads the numbers for you, right on your device. Works with digital displays and number wheels on electric, gas and water meters. Older dial meters? Type or speak the reading instead. YOUR UNITS, YOUR WAY kWh, CCF and gallons are preset for US meters. Therms, cubic feet or anything else you can type in yourself, for every meter. Gas meters in cubic meters can be converted to kWh automatically. KNOW YOUR UTILITY BILL BEFORE IT ARRIVES Enter your rate plan: price per kWh, base charge and monthly payments. The app does the math: costs to date, a forecast for the whole year and the expected credit or balance due. Tiered rates, rate changes and a plan comparison are built in, and a reminder tells you before your contract term ends. DASHBOARD: EVERYTHING AT A GLANCE Every meter gets its own dashboard: current reading, this year's usage with forecast, monthly trend, comparison with last year, a heatmap across all years and automatic insights when your usage looks unusual. Pick the cards you want and put them in your order. SOLAR, NET METERING AND HEAT PUMPS Virtual meters calculate what no single meter shows: how much solar power you use yourself, how much you send back to the grid and how much you buy from your utility. Start from a template (solar with grid export, solar with self-consumption, solar with heat pump) or write your own formula. Enter your export credit rate to see what your solar earns, and the heat pump meter shows your seasonal performance factor. BUILT FOR HOMEOWNERS, RENTERS AND LANDLORDS Manage multiple homes, rental units and properties, assign meters to each one and read all meters of a property in one go. Print a QR code for every meter and open the right one with a scan. Create annual statements and utility cost statements for your tenants as PDF. NEVER MISS A READING Set reminders for each meter: daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly. Add up to four photos, notes and tags to every reading, and mark the readings you have reported to your utility. SEE HOW WEATHER DRIVES YOUR BILL Outdoor temperature, rain and sunshine hours right next to your usage. Find out how much a heat wave or a cold snap really costs you in heating and cooling. IMPORT, EXPORT, BACKUP CSV import and export for readings, rate plans, payments and gas conversions. PDF reports to share. Back up your data to a file, with a reminder. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your readings and rate plans stay on your device. No sign-up, no account, no cloud required. Light and dark mode, for iPhone and iPad, in 30 languages. FREE, NO SUBSCRIPTION REQUIRED Every feature is free. Premium only removes the ads and supports further development. SUPPORTED METERS โข Electric meters, including time-of-use (peak/off-peak) and multi-rate meters โข Bidirectional net meters for solar, also with multiple rates โข Solar production meters and grid export meters โข Plug-in energy monitors and prepaid electric meters with balance forecast โข Heat pump meters with seasonal performance factor, district heating meters โข Natural gas meters, heating oil tanks and pellet heating โข Water meters, irrigation and sprinkler submeters (excluded from sewer charges) โข Virtual meters with your own formula Whether you own, rent or manage properties: Meter Reading helps you understand your electricity usage and lower your utility bills. Download for free today. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: EnergyControl at none against Meter Reading's shown. Meter Reading's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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
Both are free to download. EnergyControl sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Meter Reading sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
EnergyControl ships an update every 2 months, Meter Reading every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | EnergyControl | Meter Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Positive reviews | 86.2% of reviews | โ |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 weeks โ better |
| Ads | No โ better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | โ |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 โ better | 15.0 |
| Further details โ not scored | ||
| Size | 20 MB | 244 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ronny Steigemann | Moritz Karrasch |
In-app purchases
EnergyControl
- EnergyControl Premium$3.99
Meter Reading
- Monthly ad-free subscription7 Days trial$0.991 Month
- Yearly ad-free subscription$8.991 Year
- Donation XXS$0.99
- Donation XS$1.99
- Donation S$3.99
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- Donation M$8.99
- Donation L$17.99
- Ad-Free$22.99
- Donation XL$44.99
- Donation XXL$89.99
Questions
Is EnergyControl free?
Is Meter Reading free?
Do EnergyControl or Meter Reading have ads?
Which is updated more often, EnergyControl or Meter Reading?
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