An Apple Measure Alternative for Room Planning and Saved Measurements

Apple Measure is a genuinely useful little app. It comes pre-installed on supported iPhones, it opens fast, and for a quick "will this shelf fit in the trunk?" check it does the job. So this page is not going to tell you Apple Measure is bad — it isn't. It is going to tell you where it stops, and what you get when you need more than a single line on the screen.

Measure Tools is what phone measuring looks like when it's built for real projects — on iOS and Android. Measure distances, heights and angles; capture whole 2D shapes with their area and perimeter in one pass; then go 3D: preview true-size boxes and furniture in your actual room, walk around a layout before you commit to it, raise a virtual wall to see a partition, and turn the room into a floor plan you can view in 2D and 3D. Every measurement can be saved as a photo with the numbers overlaid, so nothing gets lost between measuring day and buying day. It adds up to a comprehensive toolkit for renovation, furnishing and home design — free to download, so you can try it on your own rooms and see whether it earns a place in your workflow.

Get Measure Tools for iOS Get Measure Tools for Android

Two AR measurements on a garden path: one floating from a generic tool, one sticking to the surface with the dedicated horizontal mode — Why dedicated modes matter: a generic measurement floats in space, while the horizontal tool sticks to the surface you are measuring.

Where Apple Measure Works Well

Credit where it is due. Apple Measure is a good fit when:

You need one quick dimension. Point, tap, tap, read the number. For a casual check — a box, a doorway, a couch — that is often all you need.
It is already on your phone. No download, no account, no learning curve. On supported iPhones it is simply there.
Casual accuracy is enough. For "roughly how wide is this?" questions, its ARKit-based measuring is perfectly serviceable, and on LiDAR-equipped Pro iPhones it gets noticeably better.

If that describes all of your measuring, keep using Apple Measure. Seriously — it is the right tool for that job.

Why People Look for an Apple Measure Alternative

The people who search for apps like Apple Measure usually are not unhappy with the measuring itself. They hit one of these walls:

They need more measurement modes. Angles, chained runs of connected measurements, wall heights, areas, rectangles — Apple Measure is built around straight lines and detected rectangles, not a full toolset.
They need to keep their measurements. Measuring a whole room for renovation means dozens of numbers. In Measure Tools every measurement can be saved with a photo of exactly what you measured, organized into folders — two folders in the free experience, unlimited with the Measurements subscription. No more numbers scribbled on a receipt.
They are on Android — or their household is. Apple Measure does not exist on Android. If you searched for "Apple Measure for Android," Measure Tools is the same category of tool, available on both platforms, so a mixed iPhone/Android family or crew can use the same app.
They want visual records. A number without context goes stale fast. Was that 82 cm (32.3 in) the width of the alcove or the radiator? A saved photo with the measurement overlaid answers that a week later.
They are planning a room, not just measuring one. Floor plans, virtual walls and true-size 3D furniture you can place in the real room and walk around — planning features, a different category from what a built-in quick-measure app tries to be.

Feature Comparison: Apple Measure vs Measure Tools

The honest way to compare is feature by feature. One caveat before the table: Apple updates the Measure app with iOS releases, so the Apple Measure column reflects the app at the time of writing — check the version on your own iPhone for the current state. The Measure Tools column reflects the current app.

Feature	Apple Measure*	Measure Tools
Horizontal / floor measuring	Yes — straight point-to-point lines	Yes — dedicated horizontal mode for floor-level distances
Vertical / height measuring	Point-to-point lines can run vertically; no dedicated height mode	Yes — dedicated vertical mode for wall and object heights
Chain measurements	Multiple separate lines in one session; no linked chain totals at the time of writing	Yes — connected point-to-point chains for baseboards, counters and wall runs
Angle measuring	No dedicated angle mode (the Level tab shows device tilt)	Yes — measure angles between surfaces and edges in AR
Area & perimeter measuring	Only when it auto-detects a small rectangular object (poster, tabletop); there is no way to trace a floor or room for its area, and no perimeter is shown	Yes — close a chain measurement around any shape, even complex ones, and the area and perimeter are calculated automatically
Rectangle mode	Automatic rectangle detection when a surface is recognized	Yes — deliberate rectangle measuring for door frames, windows and tabletops, included with the Measurements subscription
3D box & cylinder preview	No	Yes — preview a true-size 3D box or cylinder in your space to judge whether a rectangular or round item will fit (included with the Measurements subscription)
Saved measurements with photos	Screenshots and copy-to-clipboard; a recent-measurements list on some devices at the time of writing	Yes — save measurements with photos, organized into folders; two folders in the free experience, unlimited folders with the Measurements subscription
Floor plans	No	Floor Plan mode with saved projects and 2D/3D viewing (premium 3D Planning tier)
Furniture planning	No	Custom real-size furniture planning — place and resize adjustable 3D furniture models in AR. Try it free — the Measurements plan includes a starter selection of furniture types; 3D Planning unlocks all adjustable furniture types with unlimited placements
Virtual walls	No	Virtual Wall mode — place a life-size virtual wall along a floor edge to preview a partition; included with the Measurements subscription
Bubble level	Yes — the Level tab	Yes — bubble level with automatic flat and edge modes
Onscreen ruler	No (not at the time of writing)	Yes — DPI-calibrated straight and ring rulers directly on the screen for small objects
Editing placed objects	Limited — lines can be removed and redone	Yes — duplicate, resize, move, rotate and delete placed objects
Android availability	No — iPhone and iPad only	Yes — iOS and Android

*Apple Measure features as shipped in recent iOS versions at the time of writing; Apple may add or change features with iOS updates.

Worth knowing before the pricing talk: everything Apple Measure does — basic AR measuring, with no limit on how much you measure — is in Measure Tools' free, ad-supported experience, alongside a free bubble level and a free DPI-calibrated onscreen ruler. The subscriptions only unlock the additional toolset. Switching costs you nothing.

How Measure Tools plans work: the app is free to download, with free tools and premium subscriptions. The Measurements subscription unlocks every measuring mode and unlimited measurement folders. The 3D Planning subscription includes everything in Measurements and adds floor plans and unrestricted custom real-size furniture planning.

You can try premium features free before subscribing, so you can judge the toolset on your own rooms first.

A sofa, armchair and coffee table placed as true-size 3D models in a real living room, with their dimensions and the gaps between them labeled in AR — Beyond a quick line: true-size furniture standing in the real room, with the dimensions — and the gaps between pieces — measured live.

Which App Should You Use?

Stick with Apple Measure if…

…your measuring is occasional and disposable. One-off checks, quick curiosity measurements, a single dimension you will use in the next five minutes and never again. It is pre-installed, it is fast, and adding another app would gain you nothing.

Use Measure Tools if…

You measure repeatedly. Renovation, moving house, flooring estimates, or any project where measurements pile up. A step-by-step walkthrough is in our guide to measuring a room with your phone.
You need the numbers later. Saved measurements with photos mean the dimensions survive until the day you are standing in the store.
You are furnishing or rearranging. Measure the real space, then place true-size 3D furniture in it and walk around the layout — look at it from the doorway, check the walkways — before you buy or move a thing. See our guides on measuring furniture before buying and seeing furniture in your room at its exact size.
You want a floor plan, not just dimensions. Floor Plan mode walks you through marking the room's corners, setting wall heights, adding windows and doors with two taps, and saving the result — then lets you review it in 2D and 3D viewers (3D Planning tier).
You or your family are on Android. There is no Apple Measure for Android; Measure Tools runs on both platforms.

And if you are still surveying the whole category rather than choosing between these two, our overview of what a modern AR measuring app can do is the broader starting point.

A Straight Answer on Accuracy

Here is something most comparison pages will not tell you: on an iPhone, Apple Measure and Measure Tools are built on the same underlying AR technology — Apple's ARKit. We will not claim Measure Tools is universally more accurate than Apple Measure, because that would not be honest. The difference between the two apps is in the toolset and the workflow, not in some secret measuring engine.

What actually determines AR measuring accuracy, in either app (our guide to AR accuracy covers each of these in depth, with fixes):

Lighting. AR tracking needs light. Dim rooms degrade results in every AR app.
Surface texture. Patterned floors and textured walls track well; glossy, uniform or transparent surfaces track poorly.
Steady tracking. Slow, deliberate phone movement keeps the AR session locked in; fast swings introduce drift.
Your hardware. Devices with a LiDAR scanner (Pro iPhones and iPads) measure noticeably more accurately and more consistently than non-LiDAR phones — in Apple Measure and in Measure Tools alike.

In good conditions, AR measurements from either app are excellent for planning, shopping and estimating. For work where an error costs real money — cutting expensive material, ordering custom-built pieces, anything structural — confirm the critical dimensions with a tape measure. No phone-based AR app, ours included, should be treated as construction-grade.

Frequently asked questions

Is there an Apple Measure app for Android?

No. Apple Measure is pre-installed on iPhone and iPad only, and Apple does not offer it for Android. The closest equivalent is a cross-platform AR measuring app: Measure Tools offers the same category of AR measuring on both iOS and Android, so a mixed iPhone/Android household or team can use one app.

Is Measure Tools free like Apple Measure?

The part that overlaps with Apple Measure is, yes: basic AR measuring is included in the free, ad-supported experience with no usage limits — along with a free bubble level and a free DPI-calibrated onscreen ruler. The subscriptions only unlock the extra toolset: the full set of measuring modes, unlimited measurement folders, floor plans, and true-size 3D furniture planning. So trying it, or replacing Apple Measure for everyday measuring, costs nothing.

Is Measure Tools more accurate than Apple Measure?

On iPhone, both apps are built on Apple's ARKit, so raw measuring accuracy is comparable — we won't pretend otherwise. The difference is the toolset and workflow: dedicated measuring modes, saved measurements with photos, floor plans and true-size 3D furniture. On any AR app, accuracy improves with good light, textured surfaces, steady movement and LiDAR hardware.

Does Apple Measure save your measurements?

At the time of writing, Apple Measure offers screenshots and copy-to-clipboard, plus a recent-measurements list on some devices — measurements don't persist as organized records. Measure Tools saves measurements as photos with the dimensions overlaid, organized into folders (two folders free; unlimited with the Measurements subscription).

Can Apple Measure create floor plans?

No — Apple Measure measures lines and detected rectangles. Floor plans on iPhone come from dedicated apps: in Measure Tools, Floor Plan mode (3D Planning tier) walks you through marking corners, setting wall heights and adding windows and doors, then shows the result in 2D and 3D.

Try Measure Tools for More Than a Quick Measurement

Apple Measure answers "how long is this?" Measure Tools is built for everything that comes after: the saved records, the room math, the floor plan, the furniture that has to fit. It is free to download — put it on your phone, measure a real room, and see whether the extra toolset earns its place.

Download on the App Store Get it on Google Play