Comparison

BuildCalc vs Chippy Tools

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

Head to head
About

BuildCalc

This app enhances traditional construction calculators with advanced functions for layout, material estimation, and complex calculations. It offers interactive features, customizable material sizes, and streamlined results presentation to reduce complexity and improve accuracy for professionals.

Highlights
  • Advanced baluster and stair layout
  • Fence post and material estimation
  • Interactive calculation adjustments
  • Customizable material sizes
  • Miter saw vs. protractor rafter calculations
  • Streamlined results display and saving
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

What if you could take the best construction calculator and fix it. That’s right ... you love it, it has served you well, and you stand by it ... but could it do more? Could it be easier to use? After testing by pros from around the world, BuildCalc is ready to give you more - more function and more answers with less complexity, less hassle, and less confusion. MORE FUNCTIONALITY: • Advanced Baluster Function: Complete layout of railing and staircase balusters with less guess work - and with all the flexibility you need for every custom job. • Advanced Stair function: Stair layouts for professional results - including dimensioned drawings of your Stringer, Stringer Installation, and Finished Staircase. And you can email a PDF of these drawings right from BuildCalc so you can print them or share them. • Fence Function: Give BuildCalc a fence row length and it will tell you how many posts, rails, pickets, and or panels you need. • Interactive Functions: The Stair, Baluster, Compound Miter, and Rafter functions are now fully interactive. Want to change input values? Change the Run? Switch between Regular and Irregular Hip Roof analysis? You can do this and your results will be updated automatically - without you needing to remember what key to press. MORE ANSWERS: • You are no longer tied down to: only one brick, block or tile size for the masonry function; a fixed number of drywall sheet sizes; only one footer cross sectional area; or one size of shingles and sheathing. If you don’t see the size you want, you can add as many as you need. And for area input, you can store your custom sizes in Length x Width format, so you won’t have to do mental gymnastics to figure out what was the dimensions for that last size you stored. • Want to cut your hip roof rafter using a miter saw ... or a circular saw using a hand-held protractor? With a tap of a button, BuildCalc will automatically switch between Miter Saw and Protractor results. BuildCalc can do this for Compound Miters, too. • Sheathing Angles, Purlin Angles, Gable Area, Backing Angles, Plan Angles, Rough vs. Finished Stair Layout Dimensions, Stringer Throat, Stringer installation dimensions ... and a lot more not found on other construction calculators. LESS COMPLEXITY AND LESS HASSLE: • Tired of having to press and press and press buttons to get the results of a calculation? BuildCalc puts an end to this. For all advanced functions, you get ALL of your results in list form with just one or two key taps. • And, rather than having to write down those results, all advanced functions allow you to save your results - as many times as you want with a label you choose - so you can recall the complete results at your convenience. Now you can do a calculation today and two days, two weeks or two years later, it is there for you. • Less “quirks”. Have you been annoyed by arcane key stroke sequences on other construction calculators? We are too. BuildCalc 2.1 streamlined the keystrokes to do a better job of giving you less “errors” and more results. Don’t remember what you have to enter before a Hip Rafter or Stair calculation? Well, now you don’t have to. BuildCalc will provide you with a check list of inputs and on-the-spot help to get it right. • Drywall and Masonry “Room Mode”: If you have stored a Length, Width and Height for a room, BuildCalc will give you the Drywall or Masonry required for the walls and the ceiling / floor - with only a tap of the Drywall or Masonry button. No more pondering over complex key sequences ... it just works. NOW WITH ADVANCED STAIRS, BALUSTER, AND HIP/VALLEY FUNCTIONS Get more results than you ever could before - including dimensioned Stringer, Stringer Installation and Finished Staircase Drawings. Drawings can then be emailed to others or printed at your convenience. Email us and we'll send you an example!

About

Chippy Tools

This app simplifies complex calculations for construction professionals. It offers a variety of tools for tasks like spacing, measurements, and material estimation, helping to reduce errors and save time on job sites. Available on iPhone and iPad, it aims to be an essential tool for tradespeople.

Highlights
  • Baluster spacing calculator
  • Flat run attached baluster calculator
  • Square calculator
  • Concrete calculator
  • Stair calculator
  • Supports millimeters, feet, and inches
Features
Read full description

Chippy Tools is the must-have calculator for carpenters and handy folks looking to simplify math on the job. Whether you're on your iPhone or iPad, Chippy Tools is for you. Its user-friendly design lets you focus on carpentry while the app handles the math. Perfect for architects, builders, carpenters, construction workers, contractors, designers, engineers, tradespeople, and woodworkers of all kinds, Chippy Tools speeds up common calculations with precision. Save time and cut costs by reducing site errors. WHAT IS A CHIPPY? In Australia, carpenters are often called Chippy. WHY CHIPPY TOOLS? Our mission at Chippy Tools is to redefine top-notch apps for carpenters. We aim to develop a sustainable business model, adding new calculations to keep saving you time and money. FEATURES • Baluster spacing calculator - Quickly calculate spacing for flat runs. • Flat run attached baluster calculator - Simple, fast calculations for attached balusters. • Supports millimeters, feet, and inches. PREMIUM FEATURES (Requires Subscription) • Square calculator - Ensure structures are perfectly square. • Concrete calculator - Calculate concrete needed for slabs and posts. • Dumpy level calculator - Find relative level from benchmarks. • Equal spacing calculator - Calculate even spacing effortlessly. • Gravel calculator - Determine gravel volume needed. • Pitch calculator - Calculate pitch with rise and run. • Raked wall calculator - Measure raked walls using height or pitch. • Running calculations - Enter start number and interval. • Soil calculator - Find soil volume for landscaping. • Stair calculator - Calculate going, stringer, and rise for stairs. • Triangle calculator - Solve triangle measurements with ease. FEEDBACK Want a new calculator? Email us at feedback@chippy.tools. NO ADS EVER We promise no ads in Chippy Tools. Enjoy the best experience for your purchase. SUPPORT Got questions or feedback? Contact us for free tech support at support@chippy.tools. If Chippy Tools aids you, please leave an App Store review to help others find it. Subscription Terms of Service: https://chippy.tools/terms/ Proudly made in Brisbane, Australia.

Screenshots

BuildCalc4 screens
Chippy Tools4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Chippy Tools at Free against BuildCalc's $24.99. Chippy Tools also leads on update cadence (every 8 days vs every 3 weeks) and ratings volume (905 vs 71). BuildCalc's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and review sentiment (87% vs 55%). On ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

Chippy Tools is free to download; BuildCalc costs $24.99 up front. Chippy Tools sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. BuildCalc asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

BuildCalc holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chippy Tools has 905 ratings behind it against 71, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 87% of BuildCalc's written reviews are positive against 55% of Chippy Tools's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BuildCalc ships an update every 3 weeks, Chippy Tools every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
BuildCalc versus Chippy Tools: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBuildCalcChippy Tools
Price$24.99Free — better
Rating4.7 (71 ratings) — better4.5 (905 ratings)
Positive reviews87.4% of reviews — better55.2% of reviews
Number of ratings71905 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 8 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFreemium — better
Best chart rank#44 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.016.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB46 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer42nd ParallelPeth Pty Ltd

Customer experience

BuildCalc

All ratings71 ratings
Positive91.5%
Neutral1.4%
Negative7.0%
Written reviews95 reviews
Positive87.4%
Neutral1.1%
Negative11.6%

Chippy Tools

All ratings905 ratings
Positive88.6%
Neutral3.0%
Negative8.4%
Written reviews58 reviews
Positive55.2%
Neutral5.2%
Negative39.7%

Bugs and requests

BuildCalc

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Chippy Tools

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Square check feature not working
  • Measurements disappear after partial use

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add more construction-related calculators
  • Improve stair and rafter tools
  • Include material quantity estimations
  • Add support for metric and imperial units

In-app purchases

None

BuildCalc

No in-app purchases

9 purchases

Chippy Tools

Subscriptions8
  • Chippy Tools Pro - Weekly1 Month trial$2.997 Days
  • Chippy Tools Pro - Weekly3 Days trial$3.997 Days
  • Chippy Tools Pro - Quarterly3 Months trial$4.993 Months
Show 5 more
  • Chippy Tools Pro - Monthly$5.991 Month
  • Chippy Tools Pro - Monthly1 Month trial$5.991 Month
  • Chippy Tools Pro - Annual3 Days trial$19.991 Year
  • Chippy Tools Pro - Annual1 Year trial$19.991 Year
  • Chippy Tools Pro - Annual$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • One Time Purchase2 variants$85.00

Questions

Is BuildCalc free?
BuildCalc costs $24.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Chippy Tools free?
Chippy Tools is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, BuildCalc or Chippy Tools?
BuildCalc is rated higher. BuildCalc averages 4.7 out of 5 from 71 ratings, while Chippy Tools averages 4.5 from 905 ratings.
Do BuildCalc or Chippy Tools have ads?
Neither BuildCalc nor Chippy Tools shows ads.
Which is updated more often, BuildCalc or Chippy Tools?
BuildCalc ships an update every 3 weeks, and Chippy Tools every 8 days. Most recently, BuildCalc was updated on September 23, 2026 and Chippy Tools on September 24, 2026.

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