Comparison

inchCALC vs Pipe Calc Elite

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

Head to head
About

inchCALC

This app serves as an entry-level construction calculator designed for users who frequently work with feet, inches, and fractions. It simplifies complex calculations involving these dimensions, transforming your device into a handy tool for builders, designers, and DIY enthusiasts.

Highlights
  • Calculates feet, inch, and fraction dimensions
  • Simplifies addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division
  • Inputs and outputs dimensions like a tape measure
  • Useful for builders, contractors, and DIYers
  • Transforms device into a construction calculator
Features
Read full description

ENTRY LEVEL [FOOT • INCH • FRACTION] CALCULATOR MACWORLD **** "inchCALC's ease of use coupled with its advanced features make this an uncommonly good addition to a crowded genre." 3/9/09 inchCALC is an entry level construction calculator for people who work with the FEET• INCH• FRACTION dimensions used common rulers and tape measures. These dimensions are shear drudgery when you have to manually add or subtract them --- let alone multiply or divide. If you are a builder, contractor, sub-contractor, architect, engineer, artist, designer, student, homemaker or DIYer, you know the importance of working with accurate dimensions. inchCALC™ tranforms your iPhone / iPod Touch into an easy to use FT• IN• FRACTION construction calculator that inputs and outputs dimensions exactly as they appear on a tape measure. With inchCALC you can inexpensively perform the functions of expensive dedicated calculators on your iPhone / iPod Touch. Click on our website below to see feature details. If you like what you see, the full version, inchCALC+, has many more features, including conversion to METRIC & built-in TRIANGLE SOLVING. Look up inchCALC+ in iTunes

About

Pipe Calc Elite

An advanced calculator for pipe trade professionals, offering quick access to pipe data, dimensions, and complex calculation solutions. It handles fractions and unit conversions, making it an essential tool for plumbers and fabricators on the job site.

Highlights
  • Pipe data and dimensions
  • Pressure loss calculations
  • Offset and cutback calculations
  • Fraction and unit conversions
  • 7 pipe material options
  • Detailed pipe data lookup
Features
Read full description

Pipe Calc Elite is the pipe trades calculator for pipefitters, plumbers, steamfitters, welders and sprinkler fitters. Solve simple and rolling offsets, take-outs and cut lengths in feet, inches and fractions, look up pipe data for seven materials, and work out pressure loss through pipe, valves and fittings. One purchase. No subscription, no ads, no account, and no data collected. Everything, including the full user's manual, works with no signal on the job site. On the App Store since 2013. OFFSETS AND FITTINGS • Simple and rolling offsets: offset, run, travel, roll and advance • Take-out and cut length for butt-weld long and short radius, field-cut, and threaded Class 150, 300, 3000 and 6000 elbows • Thread make-up by pipe size, or enter your own • Welder's gap, cutbacks, arc lengths and odd-angle fittings • Enter your own take-out when your fittings differ from the standard • When the fittings are longer than the centerline allows, the cut length shows how much you are short • Slope, grade, drop per foot and fitting angle PIPE DATA • Steel, Stainless Steel, Cast Iron, Aluminum, Brass, PVC and Copper, 1/8" to 42", with dimensions per ASME B36.10 and B36.19 and the ASTM copper and PVC standards • Schedules 10 to 160, Standard, Extra Strong and Double Extra Strong; stainless 5S to 160S; PVC Schedule 40, 80, 120 and SDR 21 to 41; copper Type K, L, M, DWV, Medical and ACR • Inside and outside diameter, wall thickness, internal area, volume per foot, and dry and filled weight per foot, with a cross-section drawing • Filled weight for water or any fluid density you set FLOW AND PRESSURE LOSS • Pressure loss by flow rate or velocity, per foot or over a run • Darcy-Weisbach with Colebrook-White friction • Ten valves and fittings, with loss coefficients from the ASHRAE Handbook by size and by threaded or welded joint • Water temperature from 32 to 212°F sets the viscosity • Answers in psi, psf, feet of head, inches of mercury, kPa and bar, with the Reynolds number and friction factor used • Flow, velocity, force, pressure and area solved from each other CALCULATOR AND CONVERSIONS • Add, subtract, multiply and divide feet, inches and fractions, down to 1/64, with meters and millimeters mixed in • Areas and volumes carry their units: 5 in x 5 in is 25 square inches • Conversions for length, area, volume, weight, flow, velocity, pressure, force and temperature • Sine, cosine, tangent and their inverses, degrees-minutes-seconds, powers and roots, and percent • Store values and recall them later, even after the app is closed The full user's manual, with worked examples, is built in: hold Offset, Convert or any other function key to open it at that key's section. Technical support is free. If you have questions, suggestions for improving this app, or find a bug, please email us at techsupport@cyberprodigy.com and we will respond as soon as possible. Pipe Calc Elite™ is not associated with Pipe Trades Pro™ and Cyberprodigy LLC is not affiliated with Calculated Industries, Inc.

Screenshots

inchCALC4 screens
Pipe Calc Elite4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: inchCALC at $1.99 against Pipe Calc Elite's $19.99. inchCALC also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 24 months) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.6). Pipe Calc Elite's advantage is rating (4.8 vs 3.9) and ratings volume (152 vs 15). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

inchCALC costs $1.99 and Pipe Calc Elite $19.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pipe Calc Elite holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pipe Calc Elite has 152 ratings behind it against 15, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 53% of inchCALC's written reviews are positive against 64% of Pipe Calc Elite's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

inchCALC ships an update every 2 months, Pipe Calc Elite every 24 months. Both last shipped on October 19, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
inchCALC versus Pipe Calc Elite: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterinchCALCPipe Calc Elite
Price$1.99 — better$19.99
Rating3.9 (15 ratings)4.8 (152 ratings) — better
Positive reviews53.1% of reviews63.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings15152 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 24 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB9 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRiver StudioCyberprodigy LLC

Customer experience

inchCALC

All ratings15 ratings
Positive73.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative26.7%
Written reviews81 reviews
Positive53.1%
Neutral6.2%
Negative40.7%

Pipe Calc Elite

All ratings152 ratings
Positive94.7%
Neutral3.3%
Negative2.0%
Written reviews11 reviews
Positive63.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative36.4%

In-app purchases

None

inchCALC

No in-app purchases

None

Pipe Calc Elite

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is inchCALC free?
inchCALC costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Pipe Calc Elite free?
Pipe Calc Elite costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, inchCALC or Pipe Calc Elite?
Pipe Calc Elite is rated higher. inchCALC averages 3.9 out of 5 from 15 ratings, while Pipe Calc Elite averages 4.8 from 152 ratings.
Do inchCALC or Pipe Calc Elite have ads?
Neither inchCALC nor Pipe Calc Elite shows ads.
Which is updated more often, inchCALC or Pipe Calc Elite?
inchCALC ships an update every 2 months, and Pipe Calc Elite every 24 months. Most recently, inchCALC was updated on October 19, 2026 and Pipe Calc Elite on October 19, 2026.

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