Comparison

Meter Reading vs PQDIF Viewer

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

Head to head
About

Meter Reading

Features
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Tired of surprise utility bills? Meter Reading is the simple utility tracker for your electric, natural gas and water meters. Scan or type your meter readings, see what your usage costs so far, and know before the utility bill arrives whether you are on track or heading for a higher bill. No spreadsheets, no account, no hassle. SCAN YOUR METER IN SECONDS Point your camera at the meter and the app reads the numbers for you, right on your device. Works with digital displays and number wheels on electric, gas and water meters. Older dial meters? Type or speak the reading instead. YOUR UNITS, YOUR WAY kWh, CCF and gallons are preset for US meters. Therms, cubic feet or anything else you can type in yourself, for every meter. Gas meters in cubic meters can be converted to kWh automatically. KNOW YOUR UTILITY BILL BEFORE IT ARRIVES Enter your rate plan: price per kWh, base charge and monthly payments. The app does the math: costs to date, a forecast for the whole year and the expected credit or balance due. Tiered rates, rate changes and a plan comparison are built in, and a reminder tells you before your contract term ends. DASHBOARD: EVERYTHING AT A GLANCE Every meter gets its own dashboard: current reading, this year's usage with forecast, monthly trend, comparison with last year, a heatmap across all years and automatic insights when your usage looks unusual. Pick the cards you want and put them in your order. SOLAR, NET METERING AND HEAT PUMPS Virtual meters calculate what no single meter shows: how much solar power you use yourself, how much you send back to the grid and how much you buy from your utility. Start from a template (solar with grid export, solar with self-consumption, solar with heat pump) or write your own formula. Enter your export credit rate to see what your solar earns, and the heat pump meter shows your seasonal performance factor. BUILT FOR HOMEOWNERS, RENTERS AND LANDLORDS Manage multiple homes, rental units and properties, assign meters to each one and read all meters of a property in one go. Print a QR code for every meter and open the right one with a scan. Create annual statements and utility cost statements for your tenants as PDF. NEVER MISS A READING Set reminders for each meter: daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly. Add up to four photos, notes and tags to every reading, and mark the readings you have reported to your utility. SEE HOW WEATHER DRIVES YOUR BILL Outdoor temperature, rain and sunshine hours right next to your usage. Find out how much a heat wave or a cold snap really costs you in heating and cooling. IMPORT, EXPORT, BACKUP CSV import and export for readings, rate plans, payments and gas conversions. PDF reports to share. Back up your data to a file, with a reminder. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your readings and rate plans stay on your device. No sign-up, no account, no cloud required. Light and dark mode, for iPhone and iPad, in 30 languages. FREE, NO SUBSCRIPTION REQUIRED Every feature is free. Premium only removes the ads and supports further development. SUPPORTED METERS โ€ข Electric meters, including time-of-use (peak/off-peak) and multi-rate meters โ€ข Bidirectional net meters for solar, also with multiple rates โ€ข Solar production meters and grid export meters โ€ข Plug-in energy monitors and prepaid electric meters with balance forecast โ€ข Heat pump meters with seasonal performance factor, district heating meters โ€ข Natural gas meters, heating oil tanks and pellet heating โ€ข Water meters, irrigation and sprinkler submeters (excluded from sewer charges) โ€ข Virtual meters with your own formula Whether you own, rent or manage properties: Meter Reading helps you understand your electricity usage and lower your utility bills. Download for free today. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

PQDIF Viewer

Features
Read full description

PQDIF Viewer is a simple to use tool to chart Power Quality data in PQD files (IEEE 1159.3-2025). Open files from Mail, Files, or AirDrop, or tap the bundled sample to try it out. Built for power system engineers who need to inspect data on the go.

Screenshots

Meter Reading4 screens
PQDIF Viewer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PQDIF Viewer at none against Meter Reading's 10. PQDIF Viewer also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 3 days vs every 2 weeks). On price, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Meter Reading sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. PQDIF Viewer asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Meter Reading ships an update every 2 weeks, PQDIF Viewer every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences ยท 3 level
Meter Reading versus PQDIF Viewer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMeter ReadingPQDIF Viewer
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 3 days โ€” better
AdsYesNo โ€” better
In-app purchasesYesNo โ€” better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 โ€” better15.6
Further details โ€” not scored
Size244 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMoritz KarraschRussell Patterson

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Meter Reading

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly ad-free subscription7 Days trial$0.991 Month
  • Yearly ad-free subscription$8.991 Year
One-time8
  • Donation XXS$0.99
  • Donation XS$1.99
  • Donation S$3.99
Show 5 more
  • Donation M$8.99
  • Donation L$17.99
  • Ad-Free$22.99
  • Donation XL$44.99
  • Donation XXL$89.99
None

PQDIF Viewer

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Meter Reading free?
Meter Reading is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PQDIF Viewer free?
PQDIF Viewer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Meter Reading or PQDIF Viewer have ads?
Meter Reading shows ads; PQDIF Viewer does not.
Which is updated more often, Meter Reading or PQDIF Viewer?
Meter Reading ships an update every 2 weeks, and PQDIF Viewer every 3 days. Most recently, Meter Reading was updated on October 4, 2026 and PQDIF Viewer on October 8, 2026.

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