# Deflection Lite vs steelyard

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Deflection Lite at none against steelyard's 1. steelyard's advantage is rating (4.7 vs 4.5) and review sentiment (56% vs 44%). On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. steelyard sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Deflection Lite asks for nothing beyond the download.

steelyard holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: steelyard has 297 ratings behind it against 46, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 44% of Deflection Lite's written reviews are positive against 56% of steelyard's.

Deflection Lite ships an update every 3 months, steelyard every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 17, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Deflection Lite | steelyard |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.5 (46 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/deflection-lite/id974474071/reviews) | **[4.7 (297 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/steelyard/id1291109620/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 46 | **297** |
| Positive reviews | 44.4% of reviews | **55.6% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Every 2 months** |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Size | 108 MB | 7 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 16.6 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Blue Ketchep](https://appshunter.io/developer/1131834248) | [Mohamed Saad](https://appshunter.io/developer/1291109619) |

## What reviewers say

### Deflection Lite

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/deflection-lite/id974474071)

This app provides interactive and precise structural beam analysis. Easily visualize beam bending by dragging loads and supports, and calculate key engineering results like reactions, shear force, and bending moment.

**Highlights:** Interactive beam bending visualization, Calculate reactions, shear force, and bending moment, Built-in cross-section databases, Unlimited loads and supports, Export design to shareable permalink, Metric and standard units

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### steelyard

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/steelyard/id1291109620)

This app quickly calculates the weight of steel sections from various international standards. It supports both metric and imperial units and offers offline functionality for convenience. Save your settings and calculations for easy access.

**Highlights:** Steel section weight calculation, Supports EU, USA, Japanese, KOREA standards, Metric and Imperial units, Offline functionality, Save calculations and settings, Advanced search system

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Ad Blocker | $9.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Deflection Lite free?

Deflection Lite is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is steelyard free?

steelyard is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Deflection Lite or steelyard?

steelyard is rated higher. Deflection Lite averages 4.5 out of 5 from 46 ratings, while steelyard averages 4.7 from 297 ratings.

### Do Deflection Lite or steelyard have ads?

Neither Deflection Lite nor steelyard shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Deflection Lite or steelyard?

Deflection Lite ships an update every 3 months, and steelyard every 2 months. Most recently, Deflection Lite was updated on September 17, 2026 and steelyard on September 19, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*