iBeams vs steelyard
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
iBeams
This tool helps structural engineers visualize and analyze beam behavior. It displays reaction, shear, moment, and deflection diagrams for various configurations. Users can edit load and geometric values for custom analysis.
- Beam and load configuration display
- Reaction, shear, moment, deflection diagrams
- Editable load values
- Editable geometric values
- Structural engineering analysis
Read full descriptionHide full description
iBeams is a tool for structural engineers. The app displays various beam and load configurations along with the corresponding reaction, shear, moment, and deflection diagrams. Load and geometric values can be edited.
steelyard
This app quickly calculates the weight of steel sections from various international standards. It supports both metric and imperial units and offers offline functionality for convenience. Save your settings and calculations for easy access.
- Steel section weight calculation
- Supports EU, USA, Japanese, KOREA standards
- Metric and Imperial units
- Offline functionality
- Save calculations and settings
- Advanced search system
Read full descriptionHide full description
Steelyard: The Ultimate Metal Mass & Cost Calculator Precision matters. Whether you’re a structural engineer, a metal fabricator, or a scrap dealer, Steelyard turns your smartphone into a heavy-duty industrial scale. Stop guessing and start calculating with the most intuitive interface on the market. iron, aluminum, copper, brass, density, structural, engineer, fabrication, rebar, tube, kg, lbs, construction, gauge, volume, materials, h-beam, u-beam From standard sheets to complex industrial sections, Steelyard handles: Structural Beams: I-Beam, H-Beam, U-Channel, and T-Bars. Tubes & Pipes: Round, square, and rectangular hollow sections. Rods & Bars: Hexagonal, round, and flat bars. Custom Profiles: Input your own dimensions for specialized sections. Massive Material Database: metals including Steel, Aluminum, Copper, Brass, Titanium, and Lead. Live Price Estimator: Input the price per unit to get instant total project costs. Dual Unit Support: Seamlessly toggle between Metric (kg, mm, m) and Imperial (lbs, in, ft). History Log: Save your previous calculations for quick reference later. Offline Mode: Works in the workshop or on-site without an internet connection. "Steelyard is built for the floor, not just the office. Big buttons, high-contrast text, and zero fluff."
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: steelyard at 4.7 against iBeams's 3.5. steelyard also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 17 months) and ratings volume (297 vs 2). iBeams's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1). On price, review sentiment, ads and device support 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
Both are free to download. steelyard sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. iBeams asks for nothing beyond the download.
steelyard holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: steelyard has 297 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 53% of iBeams's written reviews are positive against 56% of steelyard's.
iBeams ships an update every 17 months, steelyard every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 18, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | iBeams | steelyard |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.5 (2 ratings) | 4.7 (297 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 53.3% of reviews | 55.6% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 297 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 17 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 16.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 5 MB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Norm Schuster | Mohamed Saad |
Customer experience
iBeams
steelyard
In-app purchases
iBeams
No in-app purchases
steelyard
- Ad Blocker$9.99









