iSlipstick RF vs Circuit Laboratory
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
iSlipstick RF
This app provides a comprehensive suite of calculators and converters specifically designed for radio frequency (RF) engineers and technicians. It includes tools for path loss, antenna gain, intermodulation, and standard electrical calculations, along with various unit conversions.
- RF-specific calculators
- Standard electrical calculators
- Unit converters
- Path loss calculation
- Intermodulation analysis
- Antenna gain and beamwidth
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iSlipstick RF iSlipstick RF contains all of the functionality of the standard iSlipstick plus many functions specifically for RF work. RF Calculators included with iSlipstick RF are: PATH LOSS – Enter all of the RF link parameters such as transmitter output power, antenna gain, cable loss, distance and frequency to find the actual RF level at the receiver. MICROWAVE DISH BEAMWIDTH & GAIN – Enter the dish size, frequency and efficiency to find the 3 dB beamwidth and antenna gain. WAVELENGTH – Metric & U.S. RETURN LOSS / VSWR – Enter forward and reflected power to find VSWR, reflection coefficient and return loss. FRESNEL ZONE – Enter link distance, obstacle distance and frequency to find the 60% and 80% zone radii. This calculator also provides a visual display of ground clearance. VELOCITY FACTOR (VOP) – Enter the dielectric constant of a coax to find the Velocity of Propagation and enter the cable length to find the propagation delay. This calculator can also find the necessary cable length for a given delay and VOP. INTERMODULATION – Enter up to six frequencies to find the 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 7th intermod products that can be created. A 'hit' window can be set to eliminate out of band results. I.F. FREQUENCY – Enter the incoming carrier frequency and 1st local oscillator frequency to find the resulting I.F. and whether the spectrum is inverted or normal. This is a great calculator when working with up/down converters. INTERCEPT POINT – Once you have determined the levels of fundamental and intermodulation tones in a system, you can enter those values into this calculator to find either IP2 or IP3. Standard Calculators included in iSlipstick RF are: OHM'S LAW – Find voltage, current, resistance and power. REACTANCE – Find inductive and capacitive reactance by entering frequency and capacitance or inductance. RESONANCE – Find the resonant frequency of an inductor – capacitor pair. VOLTAGE DIVIDER – Enter the voltage into a resistor divider network to find the output voltage. PARALLEL RESISTOR – Enter up to six resistor values to find the resultant parallel resistance. SERIES and PARALLEL RLC – Enter R, C and L of a series or parallel circuit to find the impedance and phase angle. OP-AMP – Find the gain of either an inverting or non-inverting op-amp circuit. TIME CONSTANT - Find the first 5 time constants of both RC and RL circuits. Standard Converters included in iSlipstick RF are: RESISTOR COLOR CODE – Enter a resistor value to find the color code or enter the color code to find the resistor value. SMD RESISTOR – Enter 3 digit or 4 digit SMD codes to find the resistance value. Also does EIA-96 conversion. VOLTAGE CONVERTER – Convert between RMS, average, peak and p-p values. dB CONVERTER – Convert dBm, dBV, dBW and dBuV to absolute values and vice-versa in 50, 75 and 600 ohm load. TEMPERATURE – Convert between four popular scales. PERIOD – FREQUENCY – Convert waveform period to frequency and vice-versa. LENGTH, AREA, VOLUME, CAPACITY and WEIGHT – Convert from metric to U.S. and vice-versa. Also convert within same standard. A help page is also available as a quick function guide. Tested with iOS 12.0 thru iOS 15.1
Circuit Laboratory
Analyze electronic circuits with DC, AC, multifrequency AC, and transient analysis. Draw circuits graphically, modify component parameters, and view voltage and current graphs. Supports various components and offers video tutorials for each.
- DC, AC, Multifrequency AC, and Transient Analysis
- Graphical circuit drawing
- Component parameter editing
- Voltage and current graphing
- Support for diverse electronic components
- Circuit saving and sharing
- Video tutorials for components
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Circuit Lab is an electronic circuit analysis tool based on the modified node analysis method. Four kind of analysis may be conducted: - DC: linear and non linear circuits with continuous voltage and current sources; - AC: linear e non linear circuits with sinusoidal voltage and current sources; - Multifrequency AC Analysis: linear and non linear circuits with sinusoidal voltage and current sources. It allows to analyze the circuit behavior in a range of frequencies. Useful to study the bandwidth of the circuit; - Transient: linear and non linear circuits, with sinusoidal and pulse voltage sources (available as In App Purchases). User can graphically draw the circuit and then the circuit can be analyzed. Circuit may be controlled by means of the following gestures: - Drag: to move the circuit into the desired position - Tap on a component: to modify the component's parameters - Pinch: to zoom in and out - Double Finger Double Tap: to reset position and zoom level to the original values Tapping DC button, user gets voltage at each circuit's node. Tapping AC button, user gets voltage phasors at each circuit node or the bode graph of the voltage at each circuit node (see BJT 16 - Common Emitter). Phasor graphs may be controlled by means of the following gesture: - Drag: to move the graph into the desired position - Pinch: to zoom in and out - Double Finger Double Tap: to reset position and zoom level to the original values Pressing Transient button, user can analyze circuit's behavior during time and get graphs of voltages and currents function of time. Each circuit can contain: - Resistors - Capacitors - Inductors - Mutual Coupled Inductors - Independent sinusoidal voltage generators - Independent pulse voltage generators - Independent sinusoidal current generators - Controlled voltage generators - Controlled current generators - Operation Amplifier - Diodes - Zener Diodes - Bjt NPN and PNP - Channel-N and Channel-P JFet - Channel-N and Channel-P Mosfet For each component, a short video is available to demonstrate how to insert it into the circuit and edit it's characteristics. Circuits may be easily stored and reused. User can print: - Circuits and component's list - Transient Analysis graphs Circuits can be easily shared through iCloud, by mail in the internal format so that can be reused by other users (on iPad too) and in PDF format. Visit my site for video tutorials and details about operational amplifier's internal model and diode's internal model.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: iSlipstick RF at 100% against Circuit Laboratory's 0%. iSlipstick RF also leads on price (Free vs $5.99) and rating (4.7 vs 3.0). Circuit Laboratory's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.6). On ratings volume, update cadence, 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
iSlipstick RF is free to download; Circuit Laboratory costs $5.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
iSlipstick RF holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 2 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of iSlipstick RF's written reviews are positive against 0% of Circuit Laboratory's.
iSlipstick RF ships an update every 10 months, Circuit Laboratory every 12 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | iSlipstick RF | Circuit Laboratory |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $5.99 |
| Rating | 4.7 (3 ratings) — better | 3.0 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 3 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 10 months — better | Every 12 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 43 MB | 128 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Sam Virgillo | Fabrizio Boco |
Customer experience
iSlipstick RF
Circuit Laboratory
In-app purchases
iSlipstick RF
No in-app purchases
Circuit Laboratory
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is iSlipstick RF free?
Is Circuit Laboratory free?
Which has better reviews, iSlipstick RF or Circuit Laboratory?
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