Comparison

Knots 3D vs Select 3M

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

Head to head
About

Knots 3D

Master over 220 essential knots with detailed 3D animations and offline access. This app is perfect for learning rope work for activities like fishing, climbing, and boating, offering interactive tutorials and customizable organization features.

Highlights
  • 225+ knots in 12+ categories
  • Offline access, no internet required
  • Interactive 3D knot animations
  • Rotate and scrub through knot tying
  • Customizable knot categories
  • Add personal notes and keywords
  • ABOK number cross-reference
Features
Read full description

Learn to tie over 240 knots for fishing, climbing, boating, sailing, camping, scouting and other ropework. Knots 3D is the original 3D knot-tying app, first released in 2011 and rated 4.9 by tens of thousands of users worldwide. Choose a knot app with care, as your safety may depend on it. Watch each knot tie itself in 3D, slow it down, and turn it around until it makes sense. Browse by category or type, search by name, common synonym or Ashley Book of Knots (ABoK) number, or describe what you need the knot to do. Save your favorite knots for quick review. Features: - 241 knots in over a dozen categories, with new knots added regularly - No ads, no subscriptions and no in-app purchases. Ever! - Completely OFFLINE and self-contained. No additional downloads or internet access required! - Watch knots tie themselves and pause or adjust the speed of the animation at any time - Rotate knots in 360-degree, 3D views to study them from any angle with a swipe of a finger - "Scrub" over the knot with a finger to advance or rewind the animation - Mirror (left-hand) mode, zoom, and rotate the view to match how you hold the rope - Describe a task in your own words, like "tie a boat to a dock", to find the right knots for the job - High-res graphics with photorealistic rope textures - Dark mode and light mode - List, Card and Icon view options - Create your own custom categories to group knots, such as "Mastered", "Practice" or "Top Ten" - Add personal notes, links and your own search keywords to any knot - Share a knot link by text message, email, social media and more - ABoK numbers for cross-reference to The Ashley Book of Knots Includes the knots people look for most: Bowline, Clove Hitch, Figure Eight, Trucker's Hitch, Square Knot, Sheet Bend, Prusik, Taut Line Hitch, Cleat Hitch, Palomar Knot, Uni Knot, Double Fisherman's Knot, Alpine Butterfly, Monkey's Fist, Munter Hitch and many more. Every knot comes with a description of what it is for and a list of common uses. Most also include the other names the knot goes by, strength and reliability notes, structure, related knots, ABoK numbers and history. Available in 25 languages: Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Ukrainian and Vietnamese Categories: - Essential Knots - Arborist - Boating - Camping - Caving - Climbing - Decorative - Diving - Fire & Rescue - Fishing - Military - Neckties - Pioneering - Rope Care - Scouting - Theatre & Film Types: - Bends - Binding - Coils - Friction Hitches - Hitches - Lashings - Loops - Mats - Multi-Loop - Quick Release - Stoppers - Whippings The complete list of knots: https://knots3d.com/en/complete-list Missing a knot? Suggest one from inside the app. Knots 3D is a learning reference. Learn from a skilled instructor if you plan to use ropes or knots in a situation where failure could cause property damage, injury, or death.

About

Select 3M

This app digitally displays 3M graphic film colors, allowing designers and professionals to select and apply them to images. It helps find the exact color reference and RGB values, and can compare similar shades for efficient project planning.

Highlights
  • Digital display of 3M graphic film colors
  • Apply selected colors to images
  • View reference numbers and RGB values
  • Compare nearest color shades
  • Works with COLORCATCH NANO
Features
Read full description

« SELECT 3M » the first Digital Colour Specifier for 3M Graphic Films. « SELECT 3M » shows the most important Coloured Graphic Films from 3M in digital form. Exclusive software, especially developed for designers, graphic manufacturers, sign makers, architects, stand builders etc… allows to select any 3M Graphic Film colour and to apply it instantly to a picture. Selected colour shows up on the screen of iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, including its reference number and RGB values (this doesn’t apply to metallic colors). 3M colours can instantly be applied to a picture (text inscription, car, logo etc…) taken by an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch or a camera. « SELECT 3M » not only saves professionals and clients considerable time when searching for the right colour among the various 3M Graphic Films. It can even compare and list the nearest color shades by order of proximity. What’s more, « SELECT 3M » App for iPhone can also work with COLORCATCH NANO! COLORCATCH NANO incorporates a revolutionary new technology to accurately measure the color of smooth, structured or patterned surfaces to determine the corresponding color of the preselected swatch. NANO reads and measures 50'000 pixels separately. During reading it eliminates automatically all non-dominant colors such as shade effects and dirty surfaces. 3M Commercial Graphics Division manufactures translucent, opaque and reflective vinyl and polyester graphic films that can be imaged using traditional solvent or UV screen printing, electronic cut graphic decoration, and digital printing.These films are marketed under the 3M™, Scotchcal™, Scotchlite™, Controltac™, Scotchprint™, and Comply™ trademarks . These materials are widely used by sign companies, screen printers, and graphic manufacturers. Disclaimer: Due to technical limitations colours shown on screen may slightly vary from the true colour of the adhesive film. Please obtain a vinyl sample for final colour approval. Colourcards and colourswatches with real product samples are available from 3M distributors.

Screenshots

Knots 3D4 screens
Select 3M4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Knots 3D at fortnightly against Select 3M's every 4 months. Knots 3D also leads on ratings volume (13K vs 1) and price ($5.99 vs $9.99). On rating, review sentiment, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Knots 3D costs $5.99 and Select 3M $9.99 up front. 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 — 4.9 for Knots 3D against 5.0 for Select 3M. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Knots 3D has 13K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 98% of Knots 3D's written reviews are positive against 100% of Select 3M's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Knots 3D ships an update fortnightly, Select 3M every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Knots 3D versus Select 3M: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKnots 3DSelect 3M
Price$5.99 — better$9.99
Rating4.9 (13K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews97.9% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings13K — better1
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
Best chart rank#2 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size511 MB60 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNynixColorix SA

Customer experience

Knots 3D

All ratings12,715 ratings
Positive98.3%
Neutral0.9%
Negative0.8%
Written reviews625 reviews
Positive97.9%
Neutral0.8%
Negative1.3%

Select 3M

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Knots 3D

Reported bugs

1 issue
  • Favorites list disappearing after updates

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add more splices and advanced knots
  • Implement step-by-step instructions and ability to pause/rewind animations
  • Add a continuous loop option for the knot animations
  • Introduce a game mode or practice feature

Select 3M

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Knots 3D

No in-app purchases

None

Select 3M

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Knots 3D free?
Knots 3D costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Select 3M free?
Select 3M costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Knots 3D or Select 3M?
Select 3M is rated higher. Knots 3D averages 4.9 out of 5 from 13K ratings, while Select 3M averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Knots 3D or Select 3M have ads?
Neither Knots 3D nor Select 3M shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Knots 3D or Select 3M?
Knots 3D ships an update fortnightly, and Select 3M every 4 months. Most recently, Knots 3D was updated on September 25, 2026 and Select 3M on September 14, 2026.

Other comparisons