A vs Open Channel Flow Lite
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
A
This application simplifies the design of RC beams, offering detailed calculation steps for confidence in results. It initially supports ACI 318 building codes in US and Metric units, with plans to add more design codes.
- Simplified RC beam design
- Detailed calculation steps
- ACI 318 Building Code support
- US and Metric units
- Future design code additions
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The A-Beam+ is the extension of the previous A-Beam app that make the design of the RC beam easy and as simple as using the normal calculator. But behind the simplicity the app also provide the very details of the calculation in every step to make you confident with the calculation result. The initial version support for the "ACI 318" Building Code both US & Metric (SI-Metric and MKS-Metric) units with more other design codes will be added.
Open Channel Flow Lite
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Open Channel Flow Lite is the free edition of Open Channel Flow Pro. It has every feature of the Pro version, for small channels. CHANNEL SHAPES • Rectangular • Trapezoidal • Circular • Natural (irregular cross-section, with overbank roughness) • Triangular • Parabolic SOLVE FOR • Discharge, water depth, bed slope, and the channel width or pipe diameter, using Manning's equation RESULTS • Flow area, wetted perimeter, hydraulic radius, velocity, Froude number and flow regime • Critical depth, specific energy, alternate and sequent depths • Discharge rating curve and specific energy charts MORE TOOLS • Water surface profiles by the direct step method, from a control depth • Efficient Section: size the best section for a design discharge • Manning's n picker • Metric and English units • Worksheets to save and reopen your calculations • PDF reports to share • Built-in documentation and usage manual • iPhone and iPad LIMITS OF THE LITE VERSION • Discharge up to 0.5 m³/s (17.65 ft³/s) • Water depth in a circular channel up to 0.6 m (1.96 ft) • Trapezoidal side slope of 1:1 only Open Channel Flow Pro removes these limits. No account and no ads. Your worksheets stay on your device.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Open Channel Flow Lite at Free against A's $4.99. Open Channel Flow Lite also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.6). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases 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
Open Channel Flow Lite is free to download; A costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
A ships an update every 9 months, Open Channel Flow Lite every 13 months. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | A | Open Channel Flow Lite |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 1.0 (2 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 60.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 2 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 9 months — better | Every 13 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 53 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Jutarus Ratanasethakul | Alexius Academia |
In-app purchases
A
No in-app purchases
Open Channel Flow Lite
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is A free?
Is Open Channel Flow Lite free?
Do A or Open Channel Flow Lite have ads?
Which is updated more often, A or Open Channel Flow Lite?
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