Comparison

Area vs BoxHelper

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

Head to head
About

Area

Precisely measure distances and areas on a map using your device's GPS. Digitize points, lines, and areas with detailed labeling and export options. Save and share your measurements easily.

Highlights
  • Precisely digitize points, lines, and areas
  • View position, length, and area values
  • Label lines with segment lengths and angles
  • Label areas with size in acres or square meters
  • Measure distances and areas without saving
  • Create points from coordinates or text files
  • Output drawings and coordinates to PDF
Features
Read full description

A popular application of the handheld devices is to make use of the built-in Map to measure distances and areas. You may have been resigned to accepting the rough results for the lines and areas you digitize by using your finger tip or a capacitive stylus. Now, you can experience exciting digitization precision with the “Area - Distance” app. You will be able to do the following using the Area - Distance app on your iPAD, iPhone or iPod touch: * Precisely digitize Points, Lines and Areas over the built-in Map and save them as Features in WGS 84 LLA system. * View position, length or area values for the saved Features. * Label the Lines with segment lengths and directions as well as corner angles. * Label the Areas with size in acres and square feet or hectares and square meters. * Measure distances and areas without saving the shapes. * Move existing nodes to fine-tune the map drawing. * Create Points from entered coordinates. * Create Points from an imported text file. * Create a Point or record a node by picking the GPS location. * Search a location by address or by coordinates. * Save the job data file for later use. * Output the drawing and the coordinates to PDF. * Email the job data files and the PDF files to your colleagues. The Area - Distance app comes with a detailed built-in help document. Please note: Location data depends on the GPS receiver used. Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life. This app will let you easily toggle the built-in GPS on or off.

About

BoxHelper

Easily manage your belongings by organizing boxes, items, and locations. Use QR codes to quickly identify contents without opening containers. Search your inventory by various criteria and back up your data securely.

Highlights
  • Create boxes, items, and locations
  • Organize with custom lists and photos
  • Generate and scan QR codes for boxes
  • Advanced search by boxes, items, locations, and tags
  • Local data storage and backup/restore
  • Export/import data via CSV
  • Support for app shortcuts and actions
Features
Read full description

Take control of your boxes items and storage with my app. It helps you keep track of what you own where it is and how to find it again anytime. Create boxes items and locations in the way that fits your life. Add photos organize everything with custom lists and sort your inventory so it stays clear across your home office basement or storage unit. With the QR code feature you can create and print a unique code for every box. Scan it anytime and instantly see what is inside without opening it. Search is built to go deeper than just names. You can find things through boxes items locations tags and even linked content so hidden stuff is much easier to track down. Your data stays on your device and under your control. With the built in backup feature you can create ZIP backups export them share them restore older versions and import your data again whenever you need. You can also export and import CSV files for boxes items and locations. The app also supports photos for boxes items and locations which makes visual organization much easier. If you like to automate things you can use shortcuts and app actions to speed up recurring tasks. My goal is simple. I want to make organizing feel easier more personal and a lot less chaotic.

Screenshots

Area4 screens
BoxHelper4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: BoxHelper at Free against Area's $9.99. BoxHelper also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 35 months). Area's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 76%) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.0). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

BoxHelper is free to download; Area costs $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 — 5.0 for Area against 5.0 for BoxHelper. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 2 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 100% of Area's written reviews are positive against 76% of BoxHelper's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Area ships an update every 35 months, BoxHelper every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Area versus BoxHelper: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAreaBoxHelper
Price$9.99Free — better
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better75.8% of reviews
Number of ratings12 — better
Update frequencyEvery 35 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB39 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCORVALLIS MICROTECHNOLOGY, INC.TOBIAS MICHAEL RUDOLF HEINE

Customer experience

Area

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

BoxHelper

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews33 reviews
Positive75.8%
Neutral15.2%
Negative9.1%

Bugs and requests

Area

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

BoxHelper

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • QR code generation/printing not working
  • Location entry shows 'Default'
  • Cannot change box name after creation
  • Cannot upload photos from album
  • Watermark cannot be removed

Requested features

20 requests
  • Add iCloud synchronization
  • Rename existing boxes
  • Move contents to other boxes
  • Assign boxes to different rooms
  • Add rooms retroactively
Show 15 more
  • Edit rooms
  • Print all QR codes at once
  • Account creation and sharing within household
  • Different QR code colors per room
  • Edit existing boxes (location, name)
  • Move photos to choose title image
  • Enter quantity of objects
  • Change location info later
  • Share boxes with multiple people
  • Assign different colors to rooms/boxes
  • Share app with family members
  • Ability to move boxes between rooms
  • Ability to move items between boxes
  • Ability to use with multiple people/share
  • Remove watermark

In-app purchases

None

Area

No in-app purchases

None

BoxHelper

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Area free?
Area costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is BoxHelper free?
BoxHelper is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Area or BoxHelper?
Area and BoxHelper are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 2 ratings respectively.
Do Area or BoxHelper have ads?
Neither Area nor BoxHelper shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Area or BoxHelper?
Area ships an update every 35 months, and BoxHelper every 5 days. Most recently, Area was updated on October 19, 2026 and BoxHelper on October 17, 2026.

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