Comparison

Knots 3D vs CAT

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

CAT

This app fosters a global community to share information and increase awareness about explosive hazards. By pooling knowledge, users contribute to saving lives and improving safety worldwide.

Highlights
  • Collate information on explosive hazards
  • Raise awareness of global explosive threats
  • Connect the EOD community
  • Contribute to saving lives
  • Improve safety through shared knowledge
Features
Read full description

Together our knowledge saves lives. We aim to bring together the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) community to collate information and raise awareness of Explosive Hazards currently distributed worldwide.

Screenshots

Knots 3D4 screens
CAT4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: CAT at Free against Knots 3D's $5.99. CAT also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.0). Knots 3D's advantage is ratings volume (13K vs 2) and chart position (#3 vs unranked). On rating, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

CAT is free to download; Knots 3D costs $5.99 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 CAT. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Knots 3D has 13K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Knots 3D ships an update every 2 weeks, CAT every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Knots 3D versus CAT: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKnots 3DCAT
Price$5.99Free — better
Rating4.9 (13K ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews97.8% of reviews—
Number of ratings13K — better2
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank#3 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size523 MB28 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperNynixCAT-UXO LTD

Customer experience

Knots 3D

All ratings12,943 ratings
Positive98.3%
Neutral0.9%
Negative0.8%
Written reviews636 reviews
Positive97.8%
Neutral0.9%
Negative1.3%

CAT

All ratings2 ratings
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

CAT

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Knots 3D

No in-app purchases

None

CAT

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Knots 3D free?
Knots 3D costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is CAT free?
CAT is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Knots 3D or CAT?
CAT is rated higher. Knots 3D averages 4.9 out of 5 from 13K ratings, while CAT averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Knots 3D or CAT have ads?
Neither Knots 3D nor CAT shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Knots 3D or CAT?
Knots 3D ships an update every 2 weeks, and CAT every 9 days. Most recently, Knots 3D was updated on November 6, 2026 and CAT on November 4, 2026.

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