Comparison

PokeTool vs Sparky's Black Book

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

Head to head
About

PokeTool

Features
Read full description

The best battle companion app you can find! It will help you with type strength and weaknesses. Featuring the complete list of natures. You will have the perfect partner for each battle! Help us improve and tell us what you miss in the app.

About

Sparky's Black Book

This app provides over 58 NEC-grounded calculators for electrical work, functioning entirely offline. It offers real-time compliance flags and automatically sizes up components when out of spec. Additional field tools are available through an optional subscription.

Highlights
  • 58+ NEC-grounded calculators
  • Offline functionality
  • Pass/fail compliance flags
  • Automatic component sizing
  • Conduit bending math
  • Torque specs
  • Built-in level, compass, flashlight
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Every number you calculate in the field is either code or it isn't. Sparky's Black Book gives you 58+ NEC-grounded calculators that run completely offline — in the basement, the MDF room, the rooftop, wherever the job takes you. THE NEC, NOT AN APPROXIMATION Sparky's Black Book uses the actual tables. 310.16 and 310.17 for ampacity. 430.247, 430.248, and 430.250 for motor branch circuits. Chapter 9 Tables 1, 4, 5, and 8 for conduit fill. 314.16 for box fill. 250.66 and 250.122 for grounding electrode and equipment grounding conductors. Real values from the code — not estimates from memory or a third-party website. Every result comes back with a pass/fail compliance flag. If your selection is out of spec, the app automatically sizes up to the next compliant conductor, conduit, or device. You see the answer and you see why. 58+ CALCULATORS FOR THE WORK YOU DO Voltage drop, conduit and box fill, motor branch circuit sizing, service and feeder load calculations (NEC 220), grounding electrode conductors, equipment grounding, and bending math. Enter what you know. Get the answer. Move on. WORKS WHERE YOU WORK No network. No account. No cloud dependency. Sparky's Black Book is 100% on-device. It runs the same in a basement with zero bars as it does in your truck. FREE TO USE The calculators, conduit bending, torque specs, the Black Book reference tables, OSHA safety reference, and the built-in level, compass, and flashlight are all free. SPARKY PRO Upgrade to Sparky Pro to unlock the heavy-duty field tools: - Field Lab: motor nameplate OCR scanner, AR tape measure, and Voice Calc - Job Pack Generator: compile calcs, photos, and docs to a shareable PDF - BOM Builder: materials, quantities, and pricing with save and export - Time & Notes: GPS-tagged clock in and out logging Sparky Pro is an auto-renewable subscription: - Monthly: $4.99 per month - Yearly: $29.99 per year Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel your subscription in your Apple Account settings after purchase. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.capitolsafetytechnologies.com/privacypolicy BUILT FOR THE JOB SITE The hi-vis fluorescent theme is readable in truck bays, crawlspaces, attics, and direct sunlight. Touch targets are sized for gloves. Every screen gets you to the calc you need in two taps or less. If you're a journeyman, master electrician, or apprentice doing real commercial, industrial, or residential work, this is the calc tool you put on your phone and trust on every job.

Screenshots

PokeTool3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is device support: PokeTool at 2 against Sparky's Black Book's —. PokeTool also leads on iOS requirement (11.0 vs 18.0). On price, update cadence 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

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 10 days. Both last shipped on October 19, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
PokeTool versus Sparky's Black Book: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPokeToolSparky's Black Book
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—2 — better
Update frequencyEvery 10 daysEvery 10 days
AdsNo—
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhone, iPod — better—
Requires iOS11.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB15 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperIvan Cabezon OrjalesChris Snider

In-app purchases

None

PokeTool

No in-app purchases

None

Sparky's Black Book

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PokeTool free?
PokeTool is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Sparky's Black Book free?
Sparky's Black Book is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which is updated more often, PokeTool or Sparky's Black Book?
PokeTool ships an update every 10 days, and Sparky's Black Book every 10 days. Most recently, PokeTool was updated on October 19, 2026 and Sparky's Black Book on October 19, 2026.

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