# Ruler vs Daily Small Step

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Ruler at none against Daily Small Step's 5. Ruler also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.6). Daily Small Step's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 14 months). On price and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Daily Small Step sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Ruler asks for nothing beyond the download.

Ruler ships an update every 14 months, Daily Small Step fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Ruler | Daily Small Step |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.2 (421 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ruler/id1555214809/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **421** | — |
| Positive reviews | 15.2% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 14 months | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | — |
| Size | 6 MB | 31 MB |
| Requires iOS | **13.0** | 17.6 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Matrix Software Co.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1457004046) | [南京组团趣信息科技有限公司](https://appshunter.io/developer/1352887517) |

## What reviewers say

### Ruler

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ruler/id1555214809)

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.

**Highlights:** 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

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Basic caliper and spirit level included
- ✅ Option to opt-out of data selling/sharing
- 👌 Accurate measurements (Arabic review)

**What reviewers complain about**

- 📏 Inaccurate measurements
- 💥 Frequent app crashes
- 💸 Limited free functionality (5" limit)
- 🚫 Cannot switch to metric (cm)
- 🤷 Unclear AR mode usage

**Reported bugs**

- 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

**Requested features**

- Fix crashing issues
- Enable switching to metric (cm)
- Improve AR mode usability
- Add save and print functionality
- Provide usage instructions


### Daily Small Step

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/daily-small-step/id6776571820)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (5)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly | $0.99 | per month |
| Yearly | $9.99 | per year |
| 150 uses | $0.59 | one-time |
| 750 uses | $1.99 | one-time |
| 2,500 uses | $6.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Ruler free?

Ruler is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Daily Small Step free?

Daily Small Step is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Do Ruler or Daily Small Step have ads?

Ruler shows ads; Daily Small Step does not.

### Which is updated more often, Ruler or Daily Small Step?

Ruler ships an update every 14 months, and Daily Small Step fortnightly. Most recently, Ruler was updated on November 11, 2026 and Daily Small Step on November 5, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*