Comparison

Hydraulic vs Ugly's Electrical References

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

Head to head
About

Hydraulic

Perform essential hydraulic calculations for cylinders, pumps, and fluid lines. Solve for forces, speeds, torque, power, and pressure drop. Supports metric and imperial units, with advanced features unlocked via in-app purchase.

Highlights
  • Cylinder force and speed calculations
  • Pump displacement, flow, and pressure calculations
  • Hydraulic line fluid velocity and pressure drop
  • Orifice flow and pressure calculations
  • Speed, torque, and power calculations
  • Metric and imperial unit support
  • Copy results to clipboard
Features
Read full description

The Hydraulic Calculator includes many basic hydraulic calculations. Cylinder calculations can be done to solve for extension / retraction forces or speeds. Pump calculations can also be done by entering combinations of displacement, oil flow and pressure to determine values for speed, torque and power. Both mechanical and volumetric efficiencies can be used in these calculations. Hydraulic line calculations can also be done for fluid velocity, cross sectional area, Reynolds number and pressure drop. The free version is limited to 1” or 25mm line diameters. Orifice calculations can also be made using three parameters: Oil Flow, Orifice Diameter and Pressure Drop. Enter any two values and have the third calculated. Speed - Torque - Power page: Enter any two values have the third calculated. Unit conversions built into the page. Calculations can be done in either metric or imperial units. Basic unit conversions are also available. With the in-app purchase, all features from the Hydraulic Calculator will become active: Cylinder characteristics can be entered in a number of different ways. Enter hydraulic flow, cylinder velocity, or stroke time and calculate the other two. User can also enter Hydraulic pressure, extend force or retract force and have the other two calculated. One application for this is to measure the stroke time of a cylinder. By entering this with the bore diameter and stroke length, the system flow is calculated. Full motor & pump calculation page. The motor & pump calculator are flexible tools in which the user can enter any three known values to have the remaining values calculated. Values include: displacement, oil flow, pressure, rotational speed, torque, and motor power. Both mechanical and volumetric efficiency values are used. Results can be copied to the clipboard in a text format for use in e-mails, messages, or other documentation.

About

Ugly's Electrical References

This app provides electricians and electrical professionals with up-to-date digital information based on the National Electrical Code. It includes formulas, wiring diagrams, conduit bending guides, and calculators for various electrical calculations. The app is designed for on-the-job reference and works offline.

Highlights
  • NEC 2026 updates
  • Mathematical formulas and calculators
  • Conduit bending guide with videos
  • Ampacity and conduit fill information
  • Wiring diagrams
  • Conversion tables
  • Works offline
Features
Read full description

The Ugly's Electrical References App has been updated to reflect changes to the 2026 National Electrical Code (NEC) and the 2026 Edition of our popular Ugly’s Electrical References book. The Ugly’s App offers the most pertinent, up-to-date digital information for electricians, including table change information, mathematical formulas; National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) wiring configurations; a conduit bending guide with videos, ampacity and conduit fill information, transformer and control circuit wiring diagrams, and conversion tables. The 2026 Edition: * Reflects changes to the 2026 NEC * Features expanded coverage of the following topics: * Full-load currents for 3-phase transformers  * Maximum number of conductors in electrical metallic tubing for trade sizes 5 and 6  * Equipment grounding conductors  * General lighting loads for non-dwelling occupancies  * Overview of important NEC code changes from 2020, 2023 and 2026  Electricians and electrical professionals have used ‘Ugly’s Electrical References’ book as their on-the-job reference for over 35 years. This app will serve you even better in the field today.  FEATURING Calculators and Interactive Features • Ohm’s Law Calculator • Voltage Drop Calculator • Ampacity Calculator • To Find: Amps, Watts, Horsepower, KVA • To Find: Inductance, Impedance, Reactance • Three-phase AC Motor Data: Starter, Breaker, Heater, Wire, and Conduit Size • Power Factor Correction • Full Load Current for Motors and Transformers • Locked-Rotor Current Calculator • Offset Bending Calculator • Conduit Fill Calculator • Conversions for Area, Length, Temperature, Time, Volume, and Weight • NEMA Wiring Configurations *Pinch & Zoom for improved readability *Conduit Bending Video Tutorials *Search function helps you quickly find what you need to know *NEC Updater outlines and explains changes to the National Electrical Code© *Electrical Safety including definitions, boundaries, procedures, PPE guidance, and life-saving *First aid procedures *Blueprint symbol identifier *Bookmark your commonly used screens *High-definition images and interactive tables that can be zoomed in for detail *Works offline *Great for electricians, students, engineers, contractors, maintenance workers, and military Interested in a buying more than one copy of the Ugly’s Electrical Reference app for your commercially owned devices? Please email info[at]uglys[dot]net for details on volume purchases. Privacy Policy - http://www.jblearning.com/privacy/ Terms of Service - http://www.jblearning.com/use/ Support – http://www.uglys.net/appsupport The Ugly’s Electrical Reference app is part of the popular Ugly’s Professional Reference® series, which is an imprint of Jones & Bartlett Learning. National Electrical Code and NFPA 70 are registered trademarks of the National Fire Protection Agency and are not associated with Ugly’s Electrical References in any way.

Screenshots

Hydraulic4 screens
Ugly's Electrical References4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Hydraulic at Free against Ugly's Electrical References's $12.99. Hydraulic also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17). Ugly's Electrical References's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ratings volume (1.5K vs 17). On review sentiment, update cadence, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Hydraulic is free to download; Ugly's Electrical References costs $12.99 up front. Hydraulic sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Ugly's Electrical References asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Ugly's Electrical References holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ugly's Electrical References has 1.5K ratings behind it against 17, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 50% of Hydraulic's written reviews are positive against 47% of Ugly's Electrical References's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hydraulic ships an update every 6 weeks, Ugly's Electrical References every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Hydraulic versus Ugly's Electrical References: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHydraulicUgly's Electrical References
PriceFree — better$12.99
Rating4.1 (17 ratings)4.4 (1.5K ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews — better47.1% of reviews
Number of ratings171.5K — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeks — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#10 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.1 — better17
Further details — not scored
Size24 MB63 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperZanthic Automation Inc.Informed Publishing

Customer experience

Hydraulic

All ratings16 ratings
Positive81.3%
Neutral12.5%
Negative6.3%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Ugly's Electrical References

All ratings1,495 ratings
Positive84.9%
Neutral5.7%
Negative9.4%
Written reviews172 reviews
Positive47.1%
Neutral16.9%
Negative36.0%

Bugs and requests

Hydraulic

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Ugly's Electrical References

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Videos not playing
  • Bookmarks not working correctly
  • Navigation issues causing app crashes
  • Incorrect calculation results

Requested features

5 requests
  • Zoom functionality
  • Better search capabilities
  • Spanish language support
  • Offline access to full content
  • Improved bookmarking system

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Hydraulic

One-time2
  • Full Version$7.99
  • Pro Version$7.99
None

Ugly's Electrical References

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Hydraulic free?
Hydraulic is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Ugly's Electrical References free?
Ugly's Electrical References costs $12.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Hydraulic or Ugly's Electrical References?
Ugly's Electrical References is rated higher. Hydraulic averages 4.1 out of 5 from 17 ratings, while Ugly's Electrical References averages 4.4 from 1.5K ratings.
Do Hydraulic or Ugly's Electrical References have ads?
Neither Hydraulic nor Ugly's Electrical References shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hydraulic or Ugly's Electrical References?
Hydraulic ships an update every 6 weeks, and Ugly's Electrical References every 3 months. Most recently, Hydraulic was updated on November 1, 2026 and Ugly's Electrical References on November 6, 2026.

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