BuildCalc vs Crown Calc Elite
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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!
Crown Calc Elite
This app simplifies crown molding calculations for both DIYers and professionals. It provides precise bevel and miter angles, along with cut-specific illustrations, to ensure accurate cuts and minimize material waste. Input your corner details and saw type to get instant results.
- Calculates bevel and miter angles
- Illustrations for saw positioning
- Supports inside and outside corners
- Adjustable for different saw types
- Multiple angle unit options (degrees, radians, gradians)
- Calculates edge to fence and side to keep
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Crown Calc Elite is designed to simplify the task of solving and cutting crown mold angles. Whether you are a do-it-yourselfer or professional tradesman, you'll find this app saves you time and reduces wasted material. This app includes illustrations for getting your compound miter saw in the right position for each cut you need to make. It takes the guesswork out of finding the bevel and miter angles so you can get the cut right the first time. Inputs: -Spring Angle (angle between wall and crown molding) -Wall Angle (angle between two wall that form the corner) -Corner Type (Inside or Outside) -Corner Side (Select left or right piece to calculate) Outputs: -Bevel Angle (Tilt on top of saw blade) -Miter Angle (Rotation angle of front of saw blade) -Edge to Fence -Side to Keep Preference Settings: -Compound Miter Saw Type (Left, Dual, Right) -Angle Type (Degree, Radian, Gradian) Help descriptions are provided in the app to give more information on various inputs and outputs if needed. If you are not 100% satisfied with this calculator please email us at techsupport@cyberprodigy.com so we can make things right before posting any negative reviews. We read all emails. We are also open to any suggestions you may have for future enhancements to this app.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Crown Calc Elite at $4.99 against BuildCalc's $24.99. Crown Calc Elite also leads on iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). BuildCalc's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 22 months) and review sentiment (87% vs 69%). On rating, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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
BuildCalc costs $24.99 and Crown Calc Elite $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for BuildCalc against 4.8 for Crown Calc Elite. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 74 and 119 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 87% of BuildCalc's written reviews are positive against 69% of Crown Calc Elite's.
BuildCalc ships an update every 3 weeks, Crown Calc Elite every 22 months. Both last shipped on November 6, 2026.
| Parameter | BuildCalc | Crown Calc Elite |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $24.99 | $4.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.6 (74 ratings) | 4.8 (119 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 87.4% of reviews — better | 69.2% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 74 | 119 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 22 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #35 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 15 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | 42nd Parallel | Cyberprodigy LLC |
Customer experience
BuildCalc
Crown Calc Elite
In-app purchases
BuildCalc
No in-app purchases
Crown Calc Elite
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is BuildCalc free?
Is Crown Calc Elite free?
Which has better reviews, BuildCalc or Crown Calc Elite?
Do BuildCalc or Crown Calc Elite have ads?
Which is updated more often, BuildCalc or Crown Calc Elite?
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