Ruler vs Life
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Ruler
Measure objects and distances with an on-screen ruler and augmented reality. Supports inches and centimeters, with features for linear sizes, angles, area, volume, and more. Save your measurements for later use.
- On-screen ruler for small objects
- Augmented Reality (AR) measuring
- Measure linear sizes in cm/inches
- Calculate angles, area, and volume
- Save measurements
- Generate plan projections
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Measure everything with a beautiful on-screen ruler. Choose between inches and centimeters. Tap the screen to start using the best multi-touch measuring system and find the size of all curious objects around you. Also with your camera measure everything accurate by using Augmented Reality (AR) feature. 1) Allows to tape measure linear sizes in cm, inches 2) With Bubble meter allows you to level objects horizontal 3) Save measurments 4) Allows to tape measure distance from device camera to a fixed point on the detected 3D plane. 5) Angle – allows to tape measure corners on 3D planes. 6) Area and Perimeter – allows to tape measure perimeter and area of the room. 7) Volume – allows to tape measure size of 3D objects. 8) Path – allows to calculate the length and area of the path. 9) Height – allows to tape measure height relative to the recognized surface. 10) Plan – generates plan projection for drawn objects and exports it . 11) On-screen Ruler app – measure small objects directly on the smartphone’s screen.
Life
Transform your smartphone into a precise measuring tool. This utility app allows you to measure lengths and distances directly on your screen. It's a convenient digital ruler for everyday tasks.
- Smartphone as a ruler
- Measure lengths
- Digital measuring tool
- Precise measurements
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This app turns your smartphone into a ruler.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Life at 100% against Ruler's 15%. Life also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 14 months). Ruler's advantage is rating (4.2 vs 3.3) and ratings volume (422 vs 6). On price, in-app purchases and device support 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.
Ruler holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ruler has 422 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 15% of Ruler's written reviews are positive against 100% of Life's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Ruler ships an update every 14 months, Life every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Ruler | Life |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (422 ratings) — better | 3.3 (6 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 15.2% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 422 — better | 6 |
| Update frequency | Every 14 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 6 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Matrix Software Co. | Jumpei Adachi |
Customer experience
Ruler
Life
Bugs and requests
Ruler
Reported bugs
8 issues- App crashes on iPhone 17 and iPad
- App crashes within 1 minute
- AR mode not functional
- Cannot switch to cm
- Measurements are out of scale
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- Centimeter measurement is wrong
- Ruler markings are wrong (10ths instead of 16ths)
- iPhone 14 Pro Max measured as over 9 inches
Requested features
7 requests- Fix crashing issues
- Enable switching to metric (cm)
- Improve AR mode usability
- Add save and print functionality
- Provide usage instructions
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- Ensure accurate scaling for all devices
- Fix ruler marking divisions
Life
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Ruler
No in-app purchases
Life
No in-app purchases
