Comparison

Quick Quake vs Handy Surveying

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

Head to head
About

Quick Quake

This tool allows for rapid earthquake location and magnitude verification. It serves as an educational resource, demonstrating how seismic waves determine earthquake epicenters. Users can quickly analyze data to refine automatic event notifications.

Highlights
  • Rapid earthquake location
  • Magnitude verification
  • P and S wave analysis
  • Demo data for education
  • Seismic observatory data integration
  • Adjustable travel velocities and depth
Features
Read full description

Rapid earthquake location and magnitude verification has never been easier. Quick Quake is also a great educational tool – simply use the demo data to see how P (primary) and S (secondary) waves are used to determine the location of an earthquake. Quick Quake is an earthquake data analysis tool that allows users to quickly determine the epicentre and magnitude of an earthquake by simply picking a P wave and S wave arrival from a single seismograph, then moving the epicentre around a map until the seismograms from the other stations line up in time. The Seismology Research Centre has developed Quick Quake so that users of the Quake Server seismic observatory data management system can quickly verify the automatic event notifications that Quake Server sends out by email. The traditional method of locating earthquakes can take anywhere from 10-20 minutes, but with Quick Quake you can verify or refine the automatic eqServer location and magnitude in less than a minute. How to use Quick Quake with the demo data: • Select which station you wish to use to pick a P and S wave (the “key site”) and hit the target icon • Drag the P (primary wave) marker to the right until it aligns with the first signal that you can see above the background noise • Drag the S (secondary wave) marker to the left until it aligns with the significant increase in signal level (see the screenshots as a guide) • Pinch to zoom the time and amplitude scale if you need better resolution • Continue to the locating screen, where you can drag the target around the circle until the waveforms on the left of the screen roughly align with the P and S travel time guide lines It’s that simple. The solution should work no matter which station you choose, but the closer the station the easier the P and S wave arrival times will be to pick. If you have an Quake Server, just log in using your credentials and the server's IP address or domain name, then you can browse through recent (and past) automatic events and proceed as above. On the “Select a Key Site” screen, you can defer stations from your calculations using a left-swipe, or restore them with a right-swipe. You can also sort your stations in order of distance from the selected “key site”. On the “Locate Event” screen there is are options to adjust the P-wave and S-wave travel velocities to suit your local conditions, as well as the depth of the earthquake. The iPad version shows quick-adjustment buttons, and iPhone and iPad versions include three presets for P and S velocity “models” - now with a customisable magnitude formula. Contact the Seismology Research Centre to learn more about seismographs, Quake Server, and earthquake monitoring networks. Remember to follow the SRC on Facebook and Twitter.

About

Handy Surveying

This app offers essential Coordinate Geometry (COGO) calculations for land surveying field work. It allows users to store points, conduct traverses, compute mis-closures, and calculate areas and perimeters. Supports metric and imperial units, with multiple bearing and coordinate formats.

Highlights
  • Coordinate Geometry (COGO) calculations
  • Point storage for multiple jobs
  • Continuous traverse and mis-closure computation
  • Plotting and exporting survey points
  • Area and perimeter calculation
  • Metric/Imperial unit conversion
  • Multiple bearing and coordinate formats
Features
Read full description

This app has been developed in consultation with experienced surveyors in both Australia and the US and includes many of the common Coordinate Geometry (COGO) calculations needed for land surveying field work. The app can store points for multiple jobs simultaneously, and can easily compute and store the next point on each leg of a continuous bearing and distance traverse. Once a traverse has been completed, it can be plotted, exported, emailed, and the mis-closure can be computed and corrected if desired. Functions include: * Conduct a survey as a continuous traverse, automatically storing points in a point database * Stakeout points on the ground from a plan * Plot survey points * List and edit survey point coordinates * Import and export survey points to CSV files * Compute the mis-closure distance and angle * Automatically correct the mis-closure using the Bowditch method * Compute enclosed area and perimeter * Traverse / Radiation (2D and 3D) * Inverse / Join (2D and 3D) * Horizontal curve solver * Triangle solver * Intersection by bearings * Intersection by distances * Intersection by bearing and distance * Intersection of two lines * Intersection of perpendicular lines * Two point and three point resection calculations * Add points to divide a line into the specified number of equal length partitions * Convert distances and areas between metric and imperial units * Bearing calculator * Polar to Rectangular * Compute Point Scale Factor and Grid Convergence * Compass The app defaults to bearing entry and display in DD.MMSS format, but you can also select Decimal Degrees (Dec Deg), or Gradians (Grad) formats. Coordinates can be shown in either easting, northing or northing, easting order.

Screenshots

Quick Quake4 screens
Handy Surveying4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Quick Quake at Free against Handy Surveying's $3.99. Quick Quake also leads on rating (4.0 vs 1.0) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 16.6). Handy Surveying's advantage is update cadence (every 6 days vs every 6 months). On ratings volume, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Quick Quake is free to download; Handy Surveying costs $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Quick Quake holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 1.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 2 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Quick Quake ships an update every 6 months, Handy Surveying every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Quick Quake versus Handy Surveying: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterQuick QuakeHandy Surveying
PriceFree — better$3.99
Rating4.0 (2 ratings) — better1.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews—0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings22
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS9.0 — better16.6
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperESS Earth SciencesAnthony Dunk

Customer experience

Quick Quake

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative0.0%

Handy Surveying

All ratings2 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

In-app purchases

None

Quick Quake

No in-app purchases

None

Handy Surveying

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Quick Quake free?
Quick Quake is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Handy Surveying free?
Handy Surveying costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Quick Quake or Handy Surveying?
Quick Quake is rated higher. Quick Quake averages 4.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Handy Surveying averages 1.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Quick Quake or Handy Surveying have ads?
Neither Quick Quake nor Handy Surveying shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Quick Quake or Handy Surveying?
Quick Quake ships an update every 6 months, and Handy Surveying every 6 days. Most recently, Quick Quake was updated on October 4, 2026 and Handy Surveying on October 23, 2026.

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