Comparison

Refractive vs iPhasematch

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

Head to head
About

Refractive

This application calculates the refractive index of transparent materials based on wavelength. It assists optical design engineers and students by computing transmission properties, angles, and critical values. Users can also define custom materials for their calculations.

Highlights
  • Refractive index calculation by wavelength
  • Light transmission angle calculation
  • Reflection and transmission coefficients
  • Critical angle and Brewster's angle calculation
  • Recall of refraction formulas
  • Custom material definition
Features
Read full description

Refractive is a software that calculates the refractive index of the major transparent materials in accordance to wavelength. Refractive is conceived for Optical design engineers as well as students interested in optics. All that’s needed is to select two materials to calculate their transmission proprieties. Characteristics : - Calculation of the refractive index according to wavelength; - Calculation of light’s transmission angles; - Reflection and transmission coefficients for the two materials in accordance to the angle of incidence; - Calculation of the critical angle and Brewster’s angle,; - Recall of the major refraction formulas; - Possibility to define personalized materials.

About

iPhasematch

Calculate nonlinear optical effects like second-harmonic generation and spontaneous parametric down-conversion. This app provides phasematching orientations, nonlinear coefficients, and tolerance values for various crystals based on Sellmeier equations.

Highlights
  • Phasematching condition calculation
  • Sellmeier equation integration
  • Effective nonlinear optical coefficients
  • Walk-off and angular tolerance
  • Temperature tolerance
  • Supported crystal list
Features
Read full description

iPhasematch allows you to calculate the phasematching condition of nonlinear wavelength conversion such as SHG or SFM based on published Sellmeier equiations. Downconversion (OPO) can be figured out by the reverse of SFM. It is a subset of the 'Qmix' function of a famous Windows software SNLO by Dr. Arlee Smith. This App does some of what SNLO does on your iOS device. It takes the crystal, two input wavelengths, and temperature and gives the phasematching orientations, effective nonlinear optical coefficients, walk-off angles, angular tolerance and temperature tolerance. In case of SHG, it also gives spectral tolerance. In biaxial crystals, it gives only the phasematching orientations in the principal planes, i.e., either theta=90 deg. or phi=0 or 90deg. Currently supported crystals: BBO, BiBO, CBO, CLBO, LB4, LBO, KBBF, KDP, KD*P, KN, KTP, Mg:LN, Mg:sLN, RBBF, RTP, YAB. NOTE: dn/dT data for LB4 was picked up from discrete data points in the reference and linearly extrapolated. Interface should be intuitive, giving phasematching with a tap of "PM" button,refractive index with "index" button and group index with "Gp.Idx" button, for the given condition (crystal, wavelengths, and temperature). DISCLAIMER: I cannot be held responsible for the result of the calculation it gives. I make every effort to make it accurate, and bug-free, but there could be errors in code. Please just use this on your own discretion.

Screenshots

Refractive4 screens
iPhasematch4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Refractive at 10 against iPhasematch's 15.6. On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Refractive against 5.0 for iPhasematch. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 2 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Refractive ships an update every 10 months, iPhasematch every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Refractive versus iPhasematch: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRefractiveiPhasematch
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (3 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings3 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 10 monthsEvery 7 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS10 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size20 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperXavier DaxheletYushi Kaneda

Customer experience

Refractive

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

iPhasematch

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Refractive

No in-app purchases

None

iPhasematch

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Refractive free?
Refractive is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is iPhasematch free?
iPhasematch is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Refractive or iPhasematch?
Refractive and iPhasematch are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 3 and 2 ratings respectively.
Do Refractive or iPhasematch have ads?
Neither Refractive nor iPhasematch shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Refractive or iPhasematch?
Refractive ships an update every 10 months, and iPhasematch every 7 months. Most recently, Refractive was updated on September 29, 2026 and iPhasematch on October 7, 2026.

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