Deflection Lite vs Beam HPC
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Deflection Lite
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.
- 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
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Deflection Lite is the most interactive, fast, and precise app available for structural beam analysis. Simply drag loads and supports on the beam, and see how it bends. RESULTS Calculate reactions, shear force, bending moment, and beam deflection quickly and easily. CROSS SECTION DATABASES Specify elastic modulus and moment of inertia values directly, or find common shapes and materials using the built-in databases, which include most international steel sections, as well as some aluminum and wood shapes. UNLIMITED LOADS AND SUPPORTS Simply drag any load or support on the beam. • Concentrated point loads • Distributed loads • Moment loads • Simple supports • Fixed supports • Fixed hinges • Floating Gerber hinges OTHER FEATURES • Export your design to a permalink that you can share. • Automatic detection of local maxima and minima in diagrams • Metric and standard measurement units CONTACT We like to hear from you! Please email contact@ketchep.com if you have any issues, questions, or comments.
Beam HPC
This app calculates structural diagrams for beams, including moment, shear, and deflection. It supports various loads, supports, and material properties, allowing for interactive adjustments and comparisons. Designed for educational purposes, it helps users visualize and understand beam behavior.
- Moment, shear, and deflection diagrams
- Multiple load types (forces, moments, distributed)
- Adjustable support conditions (pinned, fixed, roller)
- Segmented beams with varying properties
- Interactive drag-and-drop interface
- Educational focus on beam behavior
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Beam HPC app calculates the moment, shear, deflection and rotation diagrams for a beam with various types of loading. Loading types include forces, moments and distributed loads. The load location and magnitude can be changed at any time. There are three types of supports (i.e. boundary conditions) including pinned, fixed and vertical roller. Each beam can be split into sub-beam segments. Each beam segment can have a different moment of inertia (I) and stiffness (E). The user can click and drag all items to quickly change and compare results. This program is designed for educational uses only. It should not be used for commercial purposes. There is no warranty or guarantee the results are accurate, and the user accepts all responsibility for values calculated.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Beam HPC at 100% against Deflection Lite's 44%. Beam HPC also leads on monetization model (free vs paid) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.0). Deflection Lite's advantage is rating (4.5 vs 4.0) and update cadence (every 3 months vs every 18 months). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Deflection Lite holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Deflection Lite has 46 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 44% of Deflection Lite's written reviews are positive against 100% of Beam HPC's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Deflection Lite ships an update every 3 months, Beam HPC every 18 months. The most recent releases landed on September 17, 2026 and September 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Deflection Lite | Beam HPC |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (46 ratings) — better | 4.0 (4 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 44.4% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 46 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months — better | Every 18 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 9.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 108 MB | 18 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Blue Ketchep | Kurt Gramoll |
Customer experience
Deflection Lite
Beam HPC
In-app purchases
Deflection Lite
No in-app purchases
Beam HPC
No in-app purchases








