Comparison

Design Materials vs STL Simple Viewer

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

Head to head
About

Design Materials

This app serves as an offline reference guide for various design materials, including polymers and metals. It allows users to manage their own material data, view 3D models, and capture objects with their device's camera. Ideal for professionals and hobbyists involved in product design and 3D printing.

Highlights
  • Offline material reference guide
  • Custom material and resin management
  • 3D model viewer and import/export
  • Object capture via device camera
  • Favorites and notes section
  • Cross-device compatibility (iOS, macOS)
Features
Read full description

Design Materials is an offline material reference guide trusted by hundreds of Engineers, Architects and Designers all over the World. The App was created to be a personal tool to help me take design decisions during the concept ideation of industrial products, in particular for 3D printing. Due to high demand, I decided to make it public and share it's information and power. Basically, it provides the fundamentals for most design/engineer materials on the market, based on reliable and curated academic sources. In addition, you can now create and manager your own Material, Resin or Filament data. Finally, the App features Apple Intelligence (AI) with a pair of Entity Masters in material engineering and STEM: HAL 9000 and Elemento, which can be accessed 24/7 while being on or offline (no internet). The guide contains material categories such as polymers, metals, naturals and more. All of these include synthetic, organic, bio-degradable, plastic, and much more subcategories. Each material contains information such as: About, Properties, Tags, Applications, Types and Photos. HAL 9000 & Elemento (AI entities): The legend of HAL is back. Ask anything from space to robotics or biology, HAL and Elemento are Gods of material engineering and science. HAL does precise flawless analysis while Elemento brings fresh human creativity with an attitude. In addition, you can choose the Tone of AI: Formal, Friendly, Direct or Arrogant. Both AI Entities work offline 24/7. Other features includes: • AI Chat with HAL 9000 or Elemento • Material Packs (subscribers) • 3D-model viewer/import/export • Object Capture: Scan Objects • Favorites section • Offline reference (no Internet needed) • Long list of properties per material • Save Notes per material/resin/filament • Create Designs using Apple Pencil • Support for all iPhone screen sizes • Dark Mode • iPadOS support • MacOS support • Continuous Updates with New Content • UNIVERSAL PURCHASE - One Payment for all Devices New Pro version auto-renew subscriptions: - 1 year (Gold) | 3 month (Silver) | 1 month (Bronze) subscriptions* - Access to all material database ABOUT SUBSCRIPTIONS • Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. • Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period.

 • Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal.
 • Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase.
 • Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable. 

• Terms of use (EULA): https://www.termsfeed.com/live/faff17b4-8765-4690-b57e-9aabde3d2950

About

STL Simple Viewer

Easily view and interact with 3D STL CAD models. Supports various file types and offers advanced rendering options for detailed analysis. Get model information and explore interiors with clipping planes.

Highlights
  • View ASCII and Binary STL files
  • Load STL from ZIP
  • Rotate, pan, and zoom
  • Orthogonal and Perspective modes
  • Model info (triangle count, bounding box)
  • Rendering options (faces, edges, transparency)
  • Clipping plane for interiors
Features
Read full description

STL Simple Viewer is a great app to quickly view STL, 3MF & DXF 3D files and export them to the most commonly used CAD formats. Features: - Supports STL files both ASCII and Binary formats. - Supports 3MF & DXF files. - Load files directly from ZIP archives. - Export to DXF, OBJ, DAE, PLY, USD, STL & 3MF. - Measure distances between points within your model. - Rotate, pan, and zoom models with intuitive touch controls. - Configure rendering options: faces, edges, points, background and transparency. - Render using a clipping plane (useful for viewing model interiors). - View models in Orthographic or Perspective mode. - Obtain model information including triangle count, bounding box, surface area, and volume. Privacy Policy: https://www.boviosoft.com/apps/privacy.html Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ For support or questions: support@boviosoft.com

Screenshots

Design Materials4 screens
STL Simple Viewer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Design Materials at none against STL Simple Viewer's shown. Design Materials also leads on rating (4.5 vs 4.3) and review sentiment (30% vs 18%). STL Simple Viewer's advantage is ratings volume (923 vs 2). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model 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

Both are free to download. Design Materials sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month and STL Simple Viewer sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Design Materials holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: STL Simple Viewer has 923 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 30% of Design Materials's written reviews are positive against 18% of STL Simple Viewer's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Design Materials ships an update every 3 months, STL Simple Viewer every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Design Materials versus STL Simple Viewer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDesign MaterialsSTL Simple Viewer
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (2 ratings) — better4.3 (923 ratings)
Positive reviews30.0% of reviews — better18.1% of reviews
Number of ratings2923 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 months — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.617.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size28 MB19 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperChrystian EnriquezVictor Bovio

Customer experience

Design Materials

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive30.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative60.0%

STL Simple Viewer

All ratings909 ratings
Positive80.3%
Neutral4.5%
Negative15.2%
Written reviews166 reviews
Positive18.1%
Neutral11.4%
Negative70.5%

Bugs and requests

Design Materials

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

STL Simple Viewer

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes when opening larger STL files
  • Inability to open some file formats
  • Ads continue to appear even after paying for ad removal

Requested features

3 requests
  • Add ability to save color/lighting settings
  • Improve stability and reduce crashes
  • Provide an ad-free paid version

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Design Materials

Subscriptions3
  • Bronze member$7.991 Month
  • Silver member$17.993 Months
  • Gold member3 Days trial$49.991 Year
4 purchases

STL Simple Viewer

Subscriptions2
  • Pro version (1 week plan)$0.997 Days
  • Pro version (1 month plan)3 Days trial$1.991 Month
One-time2
  • Remove Ads$2.99
  • Export Pack$3.99

Questions

Is Design Materials free?
Design Materials is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is STL Simple Viewer free?
STL Simple Viewer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Design Materials or STL Simple Viewer?
Design Materials is rated higher. Design Materials averages 4.5 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while STL Simple Viewer averages 4.3 from 923 ratings.
Do Design Materials or STL Simple Viewer have ads?
STL Simple Viewer shows ads; Design Materials does not.
Which is updated more often, Design Materials or STL Simple Viewer?
Design Materials ships an update every 3 months, and STL Simple Viewer every 5 months. Most recently, Design Materials was updated on November 1, 2026 and STL Simple Viewer on November 3, 2026.

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