Comparison

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.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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.

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

Electrical Code4 screens
Ugly's Electrical References4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Electrical Code ships an update every 4 months, Ugly's Electrical References every 3 months. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Electrical Code versus Ugly's Electrical References: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterElectrical CodeUgly's Electrical References
PriceFree — better$12.99
Rating4.8 (9.2K ratings) — better4.4 (1.5K ratings)
Positive reviews71.0% of reviews — better47.1% of reviews
Number of ratings9.2K — better1.5K
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#6 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better17
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB63 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperPawEng, LLCInformed Publishing

Customer experience

Electrical Code

All ratings9,246 ratings
Positive94.6%
Neutral3.4%
Negative2.0%
Written reviews69 reviews
Positive71.0%
Neutral14.5%
Negative14.5%

Ugly's Electrical References

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

User reviews

Electrical Code

From 9.2K App Store ratings

What 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 ratings

What 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

None

Electrical Code

No in-app purchases

None

Ugly's Electrical References

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Electrical Code free?
Electrical Code is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Ugly's Electrical References free?
Ugly's Electrical References costs $12.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Electrical Code or Ugly's Electrical References?
Electrical Code is rated higher. Electrical Code averages 4.8 out of 5 from 9.2K ratings, while Ugly's Electrical References averages 4.4 from 1.5K ratings.
Do Electrical Code or Ugly's Electrical References have ads?
Neither Electrical Code nor Ugly's Electrical References shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Electrical Code or Ugly's Electrical References?
Electrical Code ships an update every 4 months, and Ugly's Electrical References every 3 months. Most recently, Electrical Code was updated on September 24, 2026 and Ugly's Electrical References on September 24, 2026.

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