Steel Sections vs Polygon
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Steel Sections
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Steel Sections is a practical and fast-to-use tool designed to assist in the structural design of steelwork. The application, conceived and developed by Fondazione Promozione Acciaio and tested by leading executive design firms, architectural practices, and structural engineers, features a comprehensive database of over 9,000 steel profiles: IPE, IPN; HE, HD, HL, HLZ, HP; T-sections; UPN, UPE, U channels; equal and unequal leg angles; hot-finished and cold-formed circular, square, and rectangular hollow sections; plates; sheet piling; cold-formed steel (CFS) sections and sandwich panels. Key Features and Functionality: • Commercial Availability: Real-time data on profile availability, procurement lead times, and minimum order quantities. • Profile Search & Geometric Data: Quick and advanced search via category-specific filters. • Beam Verification: Calculation of stresses and deflections for single-span beams, including Ultimate Limit State (ULS) resistance checks and Serviceability Limit State (SLS) deformation checks. Calculations are adaptable based on boundary conditions, span length, loading types, profile arrangement, and steel grade. • Plate Verification: Thickness-based assessment. • Mass and Surface Area: Calculation per unit length. • Critical Load: Evaluation of the buckling load for members. • Design Resistance: Calculation of cross-sectional design strength. • Structural Analysis: Calculation of internal forces and deflections for both statically determinate and indeterminate beams. • User Customization: A "Favorites" section to save up to 50 profiles and a "Compare" function to evaluate different profile characteristics side-by-side. Future updates will integrate additional products and advanced functionalities.
Polygon
Calculate complex properties of any polygonal figure, including centroids, moments of inertia, and perimeter. Simply input vertex coordinates for instant results, saving significant time on tedious calculations.
- Polygon Centroids
- Moments of Inertia (Ix, Iy, Ixy)
- Polar Moment of Inertia
- Radius of Gyration
- Principal Moments of Inertia
- Area and Perimeter
- Side Lengths
- Hollow Sections
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Polygon will allow you to calculate complex and tedious calculations related to any polygonal figure, whether concave or convex, regular or irregular, in a simple and instantaneous way: - Polygon Centroids - Moments of Inertia Ix, Iy, Ixy - Polar Moment of Inertia - Radius of gyration - Principal Moments of Inertia (Iu, Iv and their respective angles) - Area and Perimeter of the polygon - Length of each side of the polygon - Even incorporate hollow sections - Rotate the axes to a custom angle - Define new custom axes at any point - and much more You just have to enter the coordinates of the vertices of your polygon and press the button and it will immediately calculate all the previous properties, saving valuable time. Subscription Terms: Payment will be charged to Itunes Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turnerd off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hour prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal. Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Setting after purchase. No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during active subscription period. For in-app purchases and subscriptions, see Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Steel Sections at none against Polygon's 4. Steel Sections also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). Polygon's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 3 months). On price, ads 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. Polygon sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Steel Sections asks for nothing beyond the download.
Steel Sections ships an update every 3 months, Polygon weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Steel Sections | Polygon |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 3.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Number of ratings | — | 1 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | — | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 63 MB | 29 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Fondazione Promozione Acciaio | Adrian Caballero |
In-app purchases
Steel Sections
No in-app purchases
Polygon
- Pro Access$2.991 Month
- Pro Access$4.996 Months
- Pro Access$6.991 Year
- Pro Access$9.99
Questions
Is Steel Sections free?
Is Polygon free?
Do Steel Sections or Polygon have ads?
Which is updated more often, Steel Sections or Polygon?
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