Bluebeam vs KStrong Compass™
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Real-time PDF collaboration
- Markup and annotation tools
- Offline file access
- Document syncing
- Studio Project management
- Live session joining
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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.
KStrong Compass™
This app helps manage fall protection equipment by tracking inspections, maintenance, and user assignments. It uses QR codes, RFID tags, and label scanning to provide critical product data and reminders for safety compliance.
- Automated Inspection Reminders (AIR system)
- Equipment issuance and user accountability
- QR code, RFID, and label scanning
- Access to product critical data
- Knowledge Tree for industry-specific equipment selection
- Cloud-based asset management
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KStrong®, Unrivaled Safety KStrong has been successfully manufacturing fall protection components and systems globally for over 20 years and is now poised to become the preeminent brand of choice in the USA! Full Body Harnesses - Lanyards - Self-Retracting Lifelines - Connectors - Anchors - Confined Space Rescue Retrieval Equipment - Engineered Vertical and Horizontal Lifeline Systems Fall protection products are lifesaving devices, and the mere procurement for your workforce does not guarantee complete safety. After making an investment in your fall protection equipment, it is critical that the end user is properly trained on its inspection and use, and is aware of the periodic maintenance process that requires that all personal protective equipment (PPE) be inspected in accordance to the requirements of employers, governmental codes and ANSI standards. Your Fall Protection Equipment Can Now Speak To You! Introducing KStrong Compass™, the fall protection industry’s first “free at your fingertips” mobile application for fall protection equipment asset management. KStrong Compass™ is a cloud-based software app which relieves the user from a mountain of paper records. The unique AIR system (Automated Inspection Reminder system) reminds a user of a pending competent person inspection that is required to minimize accidents that may happen due to equipment that has not been properly inspected. The KStrong Compass™ user management system allows equipment to be issued to individuals, thus ensuring accountability towards the upkeep of the equipment. The mobile app provides each user vital information on inspection and periodic maintenance needs and helps in increasing the life of the equipment. Using KStrong Compass™ is a wise decision to cut down costs on PPE. Identifying a product through labels throughout its service life is difficult. The labels get damaged often making them difficult to read or become missing altogether over time. KStrong Compass™ has the unique ability to read QR codes, RFID tags, and can even directly scan product labels. Thus, identifying a product and its user is a click away. What Does An End-User Need to Start Using KStrong Compass™? If you have an IOS device, that is all you need. Simply open the camera on your phone or device and scan the QR code, Label or RFID tag that is included with every KStrong product, register when prompted, and you are now ready to see that products critical data including: Date of Manufacture - Serial Number - Batch Number - Pre use inspection tips and actions steps - User Manual - Specification Sheet - Declaration of Conformity (DoC) - Date of last Competent Person inspection and future inspection reminder setting options - Product Pics, Videos, PowerPoints, and more. The KStrong Compass™ Knowledge Tree feature will assist you in choosing the proper fall protection most commonly used by specific industries. If all of those benefits are not enough, features that are in development and coming soon include the KStrong Compass™ Work Permit System which will not only make work permits digital, but it will also capture images of the site, user and equipment as evidence of compliance. The KStrong Compass™ Work Permit System will take safety to yet another higher level. KStrong Compass™ will continue to add on new innovations as we truly believe: – “Technology saves Precious Human Lives” Please scan the Red QR Code for a demonstration and/or Scan the Black QR Code to get Registered. Check out our website at KStrong.com for upcoming KStrong Compass™ webinars! Please reach out to any of our distribution partners for more information or contact our Customer Service department at customerservice@KStrong.com or give us a call 1-833-KSTRONG (578-7664).
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: KStrong Compass™ at 50% against Bluebeam's 3%. KStrong Compass™ also leads on rating (3.8 vs 1.5) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). Bluebeam's advantage is ratings volume (392 vs 5). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
KStrong Compass™ holds the better App Store score, 3.8 against 1.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bluebeam has 392 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 3% of Bluebeam's written reviews are positive against 50% of KStrong Compass™'s.
Bluebeam ships an update monthly, KStrong Compass™ every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Bluebeam | KStrong Compass™ |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.5 (392 ratings) | 3.8 (5 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 3.0% of reviews | 50.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 392 — better | 5 |
| Update frequency | Monthly — better | Every 6 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 288 MB | 148 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Bluebeam, Inc. | Arresto Solutions Private Limited |
Customer experience
Bluebeam
KStrong Compass™
Bugs and 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
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- 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
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- 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
KStrong Compass™
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Bluebeam
No in-app purchases
KStrong Compass™
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Bluebeam free?
Is KStrong Compass™ free?
Which has better reviews, Bluebeam or KStrong Compass™?
Do Bluebeam or KStrong Compass™ have ads?
Which is updated more often, Bluebeam or KStrong Compass™?
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