Comparison

BuilderCalc vs StudPlan

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

Head to head
About

BuilderCalc

Features
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The construction calculator a contractor actually uses on the job site — tile, drywall, concrete, paint, framing — every material estimate, with waste built in. Tap a project. Answer 2–3 questions. BuilderCalc tells you exactly how much to buy — humanized ("Buy 3 gallons, about $90–$140"), the shopping list to bring, and the mistakes that cost real money every year. FIVE GUIDED PROJECT FLOWS • Paint a room — wall area minus openings, primer + coats, gallon estimate • Tile a bathroom — square footage, box count, waste factor, grout volume • Build a deck (Pro) — joist spacing, beams, posts, footings, decking, fasteners • Install drywall (Pro) — sheets by room, screws, mud, tape • Pour a concrete slab (Pro) — slab, footers, columns, bags or yards EVERY FLOW INCLUDES • The humanized result, not just decimals • The shopping list to bring to the hardware store • The mistakes to dodge — sourced from JLC, Fine Homebuilding, This Old House, and the IRC PLUS 14 PRO CALCULATORS UNDERNEATH Tile Ā· Drywall Ā· Concrete Ā· Paint Ā· Flooring (LVP, hardwood, laminate, carpet) Ā· Framing (studs, plates, headers) Ā· Roofing (squares, underlayment, ridge cap) Ā· Layout (diagonal squareness, stair stringer, rake/run/rise) Ā· Materials waste Ā· Square footage Ā· Conversions Ā· Volume Ā· Coverage Ā· Cost-per-unit WHO IT'S FOR Contractors, remodelers, handymen, framers, finish carpenters. Homeowners running a real project. Anyone who'd rather take an extra coffee break than re-measure for the third time. FREE vs PRO Free forever: paint and tile flows + all 14 calculators. Pro unlocks deck, drywall, and concrete flows; saved-job worksheets; cost-per-square-foot tracking. One-time or subscription. Subscriptions auto-renew until cancelled. Manage in your Apple ID Subscription Settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://doublevision.company/privacy OFFLINE. NO ACCOUNT. NO ADS. The job site doesn't always have signal. Neither does this app, by design.

About

StudPlan

Features
Read full description

Plan wall framing in seconds — wood or steel, straight or rake/gable — with full material takeoffs, client quotes, and cut lists ready for the job site. Built for iOS 17. No accounts. No analytics. No advertising. No tracking SDKs. 100% offline — every calculation runs on your phone, so it works in a basement or anywhere else with no signal. WHAT YOU CAN DO • FRAME A SINGLE WALL Enter length, height, and on-center spacing (12", 16", 19.2", or 24"). Choose 2x4 or 2x6 lumber. Get instant stud counts, plate lengths, board feet, wood volume, and wall area, with a live layout and your choice of end-stud configuration. Tap any field to type over it instantly. • STEEL FRAMING Cold-formed steel studs for non-load-bearing partitions — track and stud linear-foot takeoffs, gauge selection, and self-drilling screw counts. • RAKE, GABLE & ASYMMETRIC GABLE WALLS Enter a pitch (3:12 to 12:12, or custom) or low/high heights. Gable walls support a center or off-centre ridge with independent left/right slopes. Every stud comes out with its exact length and bevel angle, ready to cut. • DOORS, WINDOWS & CORNERS Drop in any opening with its rough opening size, and position it from the left edge, right edge, or center — one tap. King studs, jack studs, cripples, sills, and headers are calculated for you, including built-up trimmer posts for wide openings per IRC R602.7.5. • CUT LIST & MATERIAL TAKEOFF A full board-by-board takeoff — studs, plates, headers, blocking — per wall and across the project. Sheathing and drywall sheet counts, insulation coverage, and fastener estimates included. A buy list shows how many sticks of each market length to order, exportable as CSV. • 4Ɨ8 SHEET LAYOUT See exactly where OSB or plywood panels land on your wall. Edges on a stud are green; unsupported joins are flagged red before you start nailing. • FIXTURE BACKING Point-placed blocking for grab bars, TV mounts, and cabinets, each with its own board footage and diagram placement. • PRESETS One tap loads standard pre-cut heights (92-5/8", 104-5/8", 116-5/8"). Or save your own wall configuration once and reuse or update it on any wall. • MARK-OUT GUIDE A copy-ready list of measured positions along the plate — for marking studs on-site without re-counting. • MULTI-WALL PROJECTS Save framing jobs across multiple walls with intersection tracking (shared studs auto-deducted at T-junctions). Duplicate a wall or start the next one pre-filled with the last. Undo an accidental delete. Track totals: studs, plates, board feet, wood volume, wall area, and cost. • CLIENT QUOTE PDF & EXPORT A client-ready estimate with labor hours, material subtotal, markup, and tax — without exposing your cut list. Or export a full PDF with diagrams, cut lists, mark-out positions, and material summary. • IMPERIAL AND METRIC Feet-inches-fractions down to 1/8", or millimeters. Switch anytime without losing your project. • YOUR OWN iCLOUD SYNC Projects sync across your iPhone and iPad through your own iCloud account — optional, can be turned off in Settings. Never touches our servers; there are none. • IRC REFERENCE BUILT IN IRC R602.7 header sizing, bearing and point loads, nominal vs. actual lumber sizes, steel gauge-to-mil, common rough opening sizes, corner stud configurations, and roof pitch to angle conversions. PRIVACY FIRST StudPlan runs on-device. No login. No analytics. No advertising. No tracking SDKs. No camera, photo library, location, or microphone access requested. Turn on iCloud sync and your projects sync only through your own iCloud account — never through our servers, because we don't have any. 3-day free trial, then $1.99/week. Monthly, yearly, and lifetime options available. Cancel anytime. Terms of Use: https://taxlite.net/stud_plan/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://taxlite.net/stud_plan/privacy.html

Screenshots

BuilderCalc4 screens
StudPlan4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: BuilderCalc at every 4 days against StudPlan's every 2 weeks. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

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

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. BuilderCalc sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and StudPlan sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BuilderCalc ships an update every 4 days, StudPlan every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 5, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference Ā· 5 level
BuilderCalc versus StudPlan: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBuilderCalcStudPlan
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDouble Vision USA LLCZHENGQIAO JIANG

In-app purchases

3 purchases

BuilderCalc

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Monthly7 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • Pro Yearly7 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Pro Unlock$74.99
4 purchases

StudPlan

Subscriptions3
  • Weekly$1.997 Days
  • Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Yearly$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime$79.99

Questions

Is BuilderCalc free?
BuilderCalc is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is StudPlan free?
StudPlan is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do BuilderCalc or StudPlan have ads?
Neither BuilderCalc nor StudPlan shows ads.
Which is updated more often, BuilderCalc or StudPlan?
BuilderCalc ships an update every 4 days, and StudPlan every 2 weeks. Most recently, BuilderCalc was updated on October 5, 2026 and StudPlan on October 4, 2026.

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