Two kinds of measuring apps

  • One length at a time. Point the phone at a wall or a counter, tap the ends, read the length. Good for a quick number; you write each one down.
  • The whole room. Walk the room and the app finds the walls, doors and windows and draws the floor plan, with the floor area, wall area and ceiling height worked out. Good when the numbers go into an estimate.

The guide to measuring a room covers doing it by hand with a tape.

Side by side

App Phones What you get Price, as listed
Apple Measure iPhone One length or rectangle at a time Built in, free
BluMatrix iPhone Pro and iPad Pro with LiDAR; any iPhone or Android by corners Floor plan, floor and wall area, openings, then the estimate Monthly or yearly plan (above)
magicplan iPhone and Android Floor plans with photos and notes per project Per project; plans from 10 projects a month
RoomScan Pro LiDAR iPhone Pro and iPad Pro 2D floor plans and 3D, with Bluetooth laser support Free to try

Prices are from each company’s own pages and change; check theirs before buying.

Apple Measure

Measure comes on every iPhone, in the Utilities folder. It finds rectangles on its own, or measures between two points you tap, and on supported models adds edge guides and a ruler view. Apple says it works best on well-defined objects 2 to 10 feet from the phone, and that its measurements are approximate. It doesn’t draw a floor plan.

Best for: one quick length.

BluMatrix

BluMatrix scans each room with LiDAR on an iPhone Pro or iPad Pro, and on any other phone, Android included, measures it by marking the corners. The room comes back with its floor plan, floor area, wall area, ceiling height, doors and windows, and goes straight into a line-item estimate at current prices for the ZIP code, with a floor plan report and an ESX file for Xactimate from the same project.

Best for: contractors and restoration crews who measure to price the job.

magicplan

magicplan makes floor plans on iPhone and Android and pairs them with photos, notes and documentation for each project, with ESX export to Xactimate on its PRO plan. It’s priced per project: plans start at 10 new projects a month, with unlimited users.

Best for: restoration companies documenting every loss with a team.

RoomScan Pro LiDAR

RoomScan Pro LiDAR uses the LiDAR Scanner on an iPhone 12 Pro or 2020 iPad Pro and later to make 2D floor plans and 3D models, and it’s free to try. It pairs with Bluetooth laser measures from Leica and Bosch to firm up a wall’s length, and joins rooms into one plan through their doors.

Best for: floor plans on a Pro iPhone, checked with a laser.

Which one to choose

  • One length, now: Apple Measure.
  • Rooms measured into an estimate, on any phone: BluMatrix.
  • Restoration documentation per project: magicplan.
  • Floor plans checked with a laser: RoomScan Pro LiDAR.

Common questions

Can my phone measure a room?

Yes. Any iPhone can measure a length with Measure. To measure a whole room into a floor plan, an app does it with the LiDAR Scanner on an iPhone Pro, or on other phones by marking the corners with the camera. The list of iPhones with LiDAR shows which have the scanner.

Is there a free room measurement app?

Apple’s Measure is free on every iPhone, and RoomScan Pro LiDAR is free to try. Apps that turn rooms into floor plans for an estimate charge after a trial.

How accurate are phone room measurements?

Apple calls Measure’s figures approximate. LiDAR room scans are accurate enough for estimating room sizes, wall areas and openings; they aren’t surveying tools.

Does a room measurement app work on Android?

Android phones don’t have the LiDAR Scanner iPhone Pros have, so Android apps measure with the camera. BluMatrix does it by marking the room’s corners; the guide to floor plans on Android explains how.