Electrical Code vs Ugly's Electrical References
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Electrical Code
Test your electrical knowledge daily with a new question based on the US electrical code. Perfect for apprentices, journeymen, and masters seeking to learn or refresh their understanding of electrical concepts and regulations.
- Daily electrical code questions
- Questions written by a real electrician
- Covers a wide range of electrical topics
- Suitable for learning and refreshers
- US electrical code compliance
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Can you beat the Master? See how many of the 366 questions you can answer correctly! Electrical Code-A-Day has an electrical code question for each day in the year. Take a minute a day to answer a question, or answer as many as you can in one go. How you do it is up to you! This quiz app contains basic electrician questions written by a real electrician. This app is for apprentices, journeymen, and masters. Whether you are learning the code or just need a refresher, this is the app for you. The topics we cover are: ampacity, junction/pull/device boxes, wiring methods, conduit fill, devices, NEMA, electrical safety, lighting, disconnects, panelboards, motor data, electrician terms, derating, box fill, construction support distances, voltage drop, distribution wiring, grounding and bonding, ARC flash, torque, conduit bending, connectors/lugs, hazardous locations, wet/dry/damp locations, trade practices, EMT, Rigid, wiring cables MC/AC/Flex, wire types/insulation, NEC books and lookup, AHJ/adoptive states, electrical part identification, electrical symbols, electrician tools, copper costs, and much, much more. This app follows the electrical code in the United States.
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.
- NEC 2026 updates
- Mathematical formulas and calculators
- Conduit bending guide with videos
- Ampacity and conduit fill information
- Wiring diagrams
- Conversion tables
- Works offline
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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.
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Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Electrical Code at Free against Ugly's Electrical References's $12.99. Electrical Code also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.4) and review sentiment (71% vs 47%). Ugly's Electrical References's advantage is chart position (#6 vs unranked). On update cadence, 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
Electrical Code is free to download; Ugly's Electrical References costs $12.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Electrical Code holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Electrical Code has 9.2K ratings behind it against 1.5K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 71% of Electrical Code's written reviews are positive against 47% of Ugly's Electrical References's.
Electrical Code ships an update every 4 months, Ugly's Electrical References every 3 months. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Electrical Code | Ugly's Electrical References |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $12.99 |
| Rating | 4.8 (9.2K ratings) — better | 4.4 (1.5K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 71.0% of reviews — better | 47.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 9.2K — better | 1.5K |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 3 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #6 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 17 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 11 MB | 63 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | PawEng, LLC | Informed Publishing |
Customer experience
Electrical Code
Ugly's Electrical References
User reviews
Electrical Code
From 9.2K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Helpful for studying electrical content
- 🚀 Convenient app for refreshing knowledge
- 💡 Great tool for sharpening knowledge and testing
- 👍 Awesome for narrowing down NEC questions
Room to improve
- 🐛 Lacks explanations for wrong answers
- 🐛 Some answers may be incorrect or unclear
- 🐛 Mediocre grammar and proofreading
- 🐛 Cannot toggle back and forth through questions
Ugly's Electrical References
From 1.5K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Quick reference
- 👍 Helpful for apprentices and journeymen
- 👍 Convenient to have on phone
- 👍 Useful calculators
- 👍 Great resource
Room to improve
- 🐛 Videos/audio not working
- 🐛 Bookmarking issues
- 🐛 Glitchy navigation
- 🐛 Difficult to find information
- 🐛 Annoying review pop-up
Bugs and requests
Electrical Code
Reported bugs
2 issues- Some questions and answers are not up to date
- Compatibility issues with older devices
Requested features
3 requests- Provide NEC references and explanations for answers
- Add a feature to review past questions
- Improve question quality and proofreading
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
Electrical Code
No in-app purchases
Ugly's Electrical References
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Electrical Code free?
Is Ugly's Electrical References free?
Which has better reviews, Electrical Code or Ugly's Electrical References?
Do Electrical Code or Ugly's Electrical References have ads?
Which is updated more often, Electrical Code or Ugly's Electrical References?
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