iBeams vs PAD Footing
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
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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.
PAD Footing
This structural design tool analyzes single-column footings for vertical loads and bending moments. It's based on a long-standing program, offering reliable engineering calculations for structural analysis.
- Analyzes single-column footings
- Resists vertical loads (Y-direction)
- Handles bending moments (X & Z directions)
- Based on established engineering software
- Structural analysis calculations
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PAD Footing is a structural design tool used to analyze simple, single-column footings to resist vertical loads in the Y-direction and bending moments in the X & Z directions. PAD-98 was originally written in 1998 and subsequently included in the Foot2000 program release which is still in publication today.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: iBeams at Free against PAD Footing's $1.99. iBeams also leads on device support (3 vs 1). PAD Footing's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 17 months). 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
iBeams is free to download; PAD Footing costs $1.99 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 — 3.5 for iBeams against 3.5 for PAD Footing. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 2 respectively.
iBeams ships an update every 17 months, PAD Footing fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 5, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | iBeams | PAD Footing |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $1.99 |
| Rating | 3.5 (2 ratings) | 3.5 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 53.3% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 17 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 5 MB | 86 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Norm Schuster | Charles Roberts |
Customer experience
iBeams
PAD Footing
In-app purchases
iBeams
No in-app purchases
PAD Footing
No in-app purchases
