Comparison

Home Builder Pocket Reference vs Electrician Handbook

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

Head to head
About

Home Builder Pocket Reference

Access essential home construction information with over 1,500 illustrations and 100 guides for energy-efficient building. Includes 30 calculators for understanding and applying construction principles, covering topics from concrete to finishing.

Highlights
  • 1,500+ illustrations
  • 100 energy-efficient building guides
  • 30 construction calculators
  • Woodworking tools and materials
  • Concrete and masonry guides
  • Estimating and scheduling tools
  • Bonus project management sections
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Home Builder Pocket Reference puts home construction information you need to know at your finger tips. The app includes over 1,500 illustrations, 100 guides to building energy efficient buildings and 30 calculators to help you understand and apply the information. The topics covered include construction administration and safety; drawings and specifications; woodworking tools, materials and methods of woodworking; leveling and grading; concrete; placing concrete; masonry; and planning, estimating and scheduling; floor and wall construction; roof framing; exterior and interior finishing; plastering, stuccoing, and ceramic tile; and paints and preservatives. In addition, there are now four free bonus sections: * Project Dates & Times * Project Estimator * Sensor Angle * Unit Conversions

About

Electrician Handbook

This app provides electricians, students, and installers with essential electrical theory, interactive diagrams, and practical calculators. It includes a community forum for users to share knowledge and seek advice, all accessible offline without ads or subscriptions.

Highlights
  • Electrical theory topics
  • Interactive circuit diagrams
  • Calculators and formulas
  • Community forum
  • Offline access
  • No ads or subscriptions
Features
Read full description

Electrician’s Handbook — an app for electricians, students, and installers. Theory, diagrams, and calculators in one place. Works offline. No ads. No subscriptions. — Theory A variety of topics in electrical engineering: from basic concepts to grounding and lighting diagrams. Some topics include exercises with answers for self-check. — Diagrams Interactive electrical diagrams. You can interact with elements to better understand how they work. — Calculators A section with calculators, formulas, and useful reference tables. — Community A section where users can ask questions, share experience, and get advice from other members. — Contents of the "Theory" section: Basic concepts • Voltage, current, resistance, power • Ohm’s Law, Kirchhoff’s rules • Parallel and series connections • Short circuits, safety precautions • Electrical engineering terms Electromechanical converters • Transformer, generator, electric motor • Connecting a three-phase motor using a capacitor Protection and automation devices • Circuit breaker, RCD, RCBO • Voltage monitoring relay, contactor, fuses • Surge protection devices Cables and wires • Wire connection methods • Selecting cross-section by current and power • Color coding • Electrical panel Power stations and substations • Nuclear, thermal, solar, hydro, wind, and geothermal power stations Measuring instruments • Voltmeter, ammeter, ohmmeter, multimeter • Clamp meter • Electricity meter Grounding • Types of grounding systems • Equipotential bonding system Lighting • Incandescent, LED, and other types of lamps • Lamp holders, bases, lumens, lux • Color temperature • LED strip Work execution • Socket repair • Installation of flush-mounted and surface-mounted sockets • Switch installation Additional information • Power supply categories • Surge overvoltages • IP protection rating • Electrician’s tools • Types of outlets and plugs, voltages in different countries • Joule’s Law, Coulomb’s Law • Right-hand and left-hand rules — Contents of the "Diagrams" section: • Switch (1 and 2 gang) • Three-gang switch • Two-way switch • Two-way switch with intermediate switch • Outlets and switch in one block • Lighting with dimmer • Motion sensor lighting • Relay with light sensor • Lighting with impulse relay • Fluorescent lamp wiring • Socket wiring diagrams • Magnetic starter for motor • Star and delta motor connection — Contents of the "Calculators" section: • Basic formula calculator • Electricity cost calculator • SI unit system and metric prefixes • Diameter ↔ cross-section table • AWG to mm and mm to AWG conversion • Electronic component symbols

Screenshots

Home Builder Pocket Reference4 screens
Electrician Handbook4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Electrician Handbook at Free against Home Builder Pocket Reference's $2.99. Electrician Handbook also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 5 months) and ratings volume (1K vs 102). Home Builder Pocket Reference's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and chart position (#200 vs unranked). On rating, review sentiment, ads and monetization model 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

Electrician Handbook is free to download; Home Builder Pocket Reference costs $2.99 up front. Electrician Handbook sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Home Builder Pocket Reference asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Home Builder Pocket Reference against 4.8 for Electrician Handbook. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Electrician Handbook has 1K ratings behind it against 102, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 78% and 79% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Home Builder Pocket Reference ships an update every 5 months, Electrician Handbook every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on October 30, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Home Builder Pocket Reference versus Electrician Handbook: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHome Builder Pocket ReferenceElectrician Handbook
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.7 (102 ratings)4.8 (1K ratings) — better
Positive reviews78.3% of reviews78.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1021K — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank#200 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS9.3 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size220 MB61 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCalculated IndustriesSergey Vavaev

Customer experience

Home Builder Pocket Reference

All ratings103 ratings
Positive95.1%
Neutral1.0%
Negative3.9%
Written reviews23 reviews
Positive78.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative21.7%

Electrician Handbook

All ratings986 ratings
Positive94.8%
Neutral2.4%
Negative2.7%
Written reviews103 reviews
Positive78.6%
Neutral7.8%
Negative13.6%

Bugs and requests

Home Builder Pocket Reference

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Electrician Handbook

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App not launching on certain devices
  • Calculation errors in some modules
  • Inconsistent UI behavior across platforms

Requested features

4 requests
  • More practical examples and tutorials
  • Ability to save and export diagrams
  • Inclusion of industry standards and regulations
  • Integration of testing and simulation tools

In-app purchases

None

Home Builder Pocket Reference

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Electrician Handbook

One-time2
  • Remove ads from application$2.99
  • Unlock all features in app$6.99

Questions

Is Home Builder Pocket Reference free?
Home Builder Pocket Reference costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Electrician Handbook free?
Electrician Handbook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Home Builder Pocket Reference or Electrician Handbook?
Electrician Handbook is rated higher. Home Builder Pocket Reference averages 4.7 out of 5 from 102 ratings, while Electrician Handbook averages 4.8 from 1K ratings.
Do Home Builder Pocket Reference or Electrician Handbook have ads?
Neither Home Builder Pocket Reference nor Electrician Handbook shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Home Builder Pocket Reference or Electrician Handbook?
Home Builder Pocket Reference ships an update every 5 months, and Electrician Handbook every 2 weeks. Most recently, Home Builder Pocket Reference was updated on October 30, 2026 and Electrician Handbook on October 30, 2026.

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