Comparison

Engineering Cookbook vs Steel Profiles

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

Head to head
About

Engineering Cookbook

A handy reference guide for mechanical designers, offering quick access to essential information on fan basics, system and duct design, motors, heating, refrigeration, and conversion factors.

Highlights
  • Fan Basics
  • System Design
  • Duct Design
  • Motors & Drives
  • Heating & Refrigeration
  • Formulas & Conversion Factors
Features
Read full description

The Engineering Cookbook is a convenient reference guide for mechanical designers. It provides "fingertip" access to frequently needed information, including: • Fan Basics • System Design • Duct Design • Motors & Drives • Heating & Refrigeration • Formulas & Conversion Factors

About

Steel Profiles

Access a vast library of steel section properties for structural engineers and construction professionals. Browse over 5,000 steel shapes across international standards, compare profiles, and calculate weights. Includes advanced filtering and unit conversion tools.

Highlights
  • Browse 5,000+ steel shapes
  • Compare up to 3 profiles
  • Weight calculator with project organization
  • Advanced property filters
  • Equivalent section finder
  • Unit converter
Features
Read full description

Steel Profiles is the steel section reference for structural engineers, fabricators, detailers and contractors. Look up nearly 10,000 sections from six international standards, check them to Eurocode 3 or AISC 360, and keep your take-offs in sync across iPhone, iPad and Mac. NEW IN 6.0 - Design checks to EN 1993-1-1 and AISC 360-22: classification, axial force, bending, shear, flexural and lateral-torsional buckling, beam-column interaction, with every formula shown - Section Builder: welded I and box sections, built-up channels, tees and angles, plated beams, with full properties - Bolts: metric M8 to M64 and imperial 1/2" to 1 1/2", with shear, tension, bearing and slip resistance - Steel grades: EN 10025, EN 10210/10219, ASTM, CSA, AS/NZS and JIS, with strengths by thickness - iCloud sync of favorites, projects and saved sections - Bulb flats (HP) to EN 10067 - PDF and CSV export, imperial fractions and smarter search (HEA 200, HEA200, W10x49) SECTION PROPERTIES - Complete geometric and structural properties with descriptions and a cross-section drawing - Filters by area, weight, moment of inertia, section moduli and radii of gyration - Favorites, Spotlight search and Siri TOOLS - Equivalent Finder: the closest section in another standard, optionally from the same shape family - Comparator: up to three sections side by side - Weight lists organized in projects and folders, exported to CSV - Unit converter for engineering units LIBRARIES USA: AISC 16 and AISC 16 SI (16th Edition), AISC 14 and AISC 14 SI (14th Edition) Canada: CISC 92 Europe: IPE, HE (HEA, HEB, HEM, HEAA), HD, HL, HP, IPN, UPE, UPN, angles, tees, bulb flats, hot-finished and cold-formed hollow sections United Kingdom: UB, UC, UBP, J, PFC, T, angles, hollow sections Australia / New Zealand: AS/NZS FREE AND PAID The free download includes dimensions for every library, the weight calculator, Section Builder, bolts, steel grades, the unit converter and iCloud sync. Unlock a library to see its full properties and run design checks on its sections, or get All Libraries for everything. Results are design aids for preliminary sizing and must be verified by a qualified engineer.

Screenshots

Engineering Cookbook2 screens
Steel Profiles4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Engineering Cookbook at none against Steel Profiles's 7. Engineering Cookbook also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.0). Steel Profiles's advantage is update cadence (every 10 days vs every 34 months) and ratings volume (334 vs 6). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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. Steel Profiles sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. Engineering Cookbook asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Steel Profiles holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Steel Profiles has 334 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 73% and 72% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Engineering Cookbook ships an update every 34 months, Steel Profiles every 10 days. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Engineering Cookbook versus Steel Profiles: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEngineering CookbookSteel Profiles
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (6 ratings)4.7 (334 ratings) — better
Positive reviews72.7% of reviews — better72.2% of reviews
Number of ratings6334 — better
Update frequencyEvery 34 monthsEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS13.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size45 MB30 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLoren Cook CompanyMatteo Rossi

Customer experience

Engineering Cookbook

All ratings6 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%
Written reviews11 reviews
Positive72.7%
Neutral9.1%
Negative18.2%

Steel Profiles

All ratings331 ratings
Positive93.4%
Neutral2.7%
Negative3.9%
Written reviews18 reviews
Positive72.2%
Neutral5.6%
Negative22.2%

In-app purchases

None

Engineering Cookbook

No in-app purchases

7 purchases

Steel Profiles

One-time7
  • AS/NZS$2.99
  • CISC92$2.99
  • UK$2.99
Show 4 more
  • EU$2.99
  • AISC 14$2.99
  • AISC 16$2.99
  • All libraries$6.99

Questions

Is Engineering Cookbook free?
Engineering Cookbook is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Steel Profiles free?
Steel Profiles is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Engineering Cookbook or Steel Profiles?
Steel Profiles is rated higher. Engineering Cookbook averages 4.5 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while Steel Profiles averages 4.7 from 334 ratings.
Do Engineering Cookbook or Steel Profiles have ads?
Neither Engineering Cookbook nor Steel Profiles shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Engineering Cookbook or Steel Profiles?
Engineering Cookbook ships an update every 34 months, and Steel Profiles every 10 days. Most recently, Engineering Cookbook was updated on November 1, 2026 and Steel Profiles on November 1, 2026.

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