When it comes to plumbers and other stakeholders in the plumbing industry, having the right tools at their disposal can make all the difference.
One such device is the plumbing calculator.
It comes in various types: mobile, online platforms, and physical devices.
In this article, we’ll explore the top plumbing calculators across these three categories, examine their main features and functionalities, and provide insights into choosing the best calculator to suit your business requirements.
Disclaimer: The information below is accurate as of April 2025..
Best Plumbing Calculator Apps
Mobile plumbing apps and calculators assist plumbers, welders, contractors, and other professionals in performing calculations, unit conversions, and other tasks related to plumbing.
These tasks include pipe sizing, pressure drops, flow rates, and pipe layouts.
Users can input relevant metrics and parameters, and the app provides instant calculations faster and more accurately than doing it by hand.
These calculator apps also offer portability, which allows users to access essential plumbing calculations while on the job directly on their digital devices.
1. Plumbing Formulator
Plumbing Formulator is a mobile app designed for plumbers and HVAC professionals.
It includes over 120 formulas on pipe wall areas, cast iron, steel, and copper pipe weights, plastic pipe expansion, right angle degree offsets, radiant heat, heat loss, pipe pressure, total fall, and more.
The tool includes internal area and volume calculations, offering feet-inch fractions and other conversions.
Plumbing Formulator also lets users send emails and print out the calculation results from the app.
Best for: Plumbing Formulator is a good tool for planning and estimating projects.
2. Quick Plumber
Quick Plumber is a streamlined app that focuses mainly on calculating offsets. This includes 60, 45, and 22.5-degree rolling offsets.
It can also add or subtract feet, inches, and fractions of an inch in standard measurement format.
While the app doesn’t provide any other functionalities, it is user-friendly and accurate enough for quick and easy calculations while in the field.
Best for: Quick Plumber is best for doing quick calculations of rolling offsets while on the job.
3. Pipe Trades Pro
Pipe Trades Pro calculator is an app by Calculated Industries designed with plumbing in mind.
It provides essential formulas and calculations for pipe layout and design, flow rates, and conversions.
That includes cut lengths, complex rolling offsets, percent grades, drops, parallel pipe cutbacks, and pressure loss for any pipe size. It also includes feet-inch fractions, trigonometry, and metric unit conversions.
The Pipe Trades Pro calculator has built-in pipe data for different pipe materials like brass, stainless steel, aluminum, cast iron, plastic, or copper.
Users can choose the type of pipe and material and get data on wall thickness, diameters, or internal area.
Best for: The Pipe Trades Pro app best suits plumbers, welders, steamfitters, and sprinkler fitters.
4. Pipefitter Tools
Pipefitter Tools offers both a free and paid calculator and reference app. Plumbers can use it for sheet metal and pipe weight calculation, as well as for unit conversions.
The reference section of the app includes a Resource Book that provides users with acronyms, definitions, and various standards and information particularly useful for plumbers but also welders, engineers, and foremen.
Best for: Pipefitter Tools is best suited for apprentice plumbers and pipefitters thanks to its pipe charts and information about fitting, flanges, and pipe materials.
Best Online Plumbing Calculators
Now that we’ve reviewed some of the best plumbing calculator mobile apps, it’s time to turn our attention to their desktop alternatives.
Plumbers don’t need to do all of their calculations on the job. They do a lot of the theoretical work behind the desk. That’s also where they keep their must-have plumbing books as reference guides, after all.
So, let’s review some of the best online plumbing calculators on the market.
1. Pipe Sizing Calculator
The Pipe-Sizing Calculator is a quick and easy-to-use pipe-sizing calculator for piping, hydronic, and radiant piping projects.
The calculator has a simple design where users simply have to add the correct measurements and other relevant information, and it generates the exact pipe sizes needed for the job.
The online tool lets users generate and email the report to relevant third parties interested in the information.
Best for: The Pipe-Sizing Calculator is best suited for quick pipe-sizing calculations.
2. ServiceTitan’s Plumbing Calculators
ServiceTitan is a popular one-stop-shop software solution for service-based businesses in the plumbing, HVAC, electrical, landscaping, and water treatment sectors.
ServiceTitan’s all-in-one plumbing software covers everything from project and crew management, inventory, estimates, invoicing, reporting, proposals, marketing, and everything in between.
In terms of online plumbing calculators, ServiceTitan includes the following:
Pipe Volume Calculator: This is an easy-to-use calculator that helps solve complex equations, such as determining the volume of a pipe so plumbers can determine how much water it can handle. Users only need to input the inner diameter and length of the pipe, and the tool generates the volume. It also shows the weight of the water in the pipes.
Flow Rate Calculator: Plumbers, irrigation specialists, and pipefitters can use this calculator to quickly and accurately determine the volumetric water flow rate inside closed pipes.
Plumbing Labor Rate Calculator: This calculator considers various metrics like business focus (residential or commercial) and area of focus (service, replacement, construction, or remodel) to calculate how much a plumbing company should charge for its labor to maximize its revenue. The tool also calculates flat-rate hourly fees that include overhead and other costs.
Best for: ServiceTitan’s Plumbing Calculators are best for providing comprehensive calculations for plumbing businesses.
3. Pressure Drop Online Calculator
The Pressure-Drop Online Calculator, while looking a bit outdated, is a straightforward online tool that determines pressure drops for flowing liquids and gasses through pipes of different shapes, lengths, diameters, or roughness levels based on material type.
Best for: The Pressure-Drop Online Calculator is a good option for quickly determining pressure drops of flowing liquids and gasses in pipes and pipe elements.
4. VCalc’s Plumbing Calculator
The vCalc Online Plumbing Calculator is a simple yet fairly comprehensive plumbing calculator tool. It includes numerous formulas and calculations such as rolling offset, flow rate, volumes, grading, coating amount, surface areas, and more.
These are grouped into several categories and subheadings, making it easy for plumbers and other users to navigate the tool until they find the exact formula they need.
Best for: vCalc’s Plumbing Calculator is best for quickly finding the right formulas a plumber needs.
5. BCD Plastic Pipe Design Calculator
As its name suggests, the BCD Plastic Pipe Design Calculator is specifically designed with plastic pipes in mind. This includes HDPE, PEX, CPVC, PE-RT, PP-R, and PP-RCT materials.
The calculator has several main functions: pressure drops, pipe weight and volume, hydraulic shock, thermal expansion and contraction, and static water column pressure.
Users can print out or email the results to their employees, teammates, or other stakeholders.
Best for: The BCD Plastic Pipe Design Calculator is a good solution for plastic pipe calculations.
Best Physical Calculators for Plumbers
Some plumbers may prefer something more tangible than an online or mobile app calculator.
Just like they have their trusted plumbing tools with them on the job, they prefer a physical calculator.
1. Pipe Trades Pro
The Pipe Trades Pro physical calculator has the same features and functionality as the Pipe Trades Pro mobile app.
This includes calculations on right angles, complex rolling offsets, parallel pipe cutbacks, flow rates, volumes, pressure loss, etc. It also has built-in pipe data on pipe materials.
But as a physical device, this calculator also includes a shock, moisture, and dust-resistant Armadillo Gear case, a user’s guide, long-life batteries, and a one-year warranty.
Best for: The Pipe Trades Pro physical calculator is best suited for plumbers and pipefitters who work on-site and need a sturdy device.
Hopefully, this selection of online, mobile-app, and physical plumbing calculators gives you a good idea of what’s on the market. Let’s now look at how to choose the best tool for your needs.
How Do You Choose the Best Plumbing Calculator?
The right plumbing calculator is essential for accurate and efficient calculations and for maintaining safety for plumbers while on the job.
Making wrong calculations can lead to errors, which can cause property damage or even risk your employees’ safety.
Here are a few factors to consider when choosing the right plumbing calculator.
Physical or digital: Start by determining whether you prefer a physical or digital option. Generally, physical calculators offer portability and uninterrupted performance in remote areas but can lack the more advanced features of an online calculator.
Uses: Make sure the calculator(s) you’re considering can perform the necessary calculations for your plumbing projects. These can include formulas on flow rates, pressure drops, volumes, and even labor rates.
Ease of use: Always take into account the tool’s usability. If the plumbing calculator is unintuitive or hard to use, your workers are unlikely to use it. You can check customer reviews to see what they have to say about each calculator’s usability.
Capabilities: Evaluate the calculator based on its features and functionalities. Look for those offering basic calculations and more advanced features like complex formulas or unit conversions.
Frequency of use: Consider how often you’ll use the tool and choose one that aligns with your workflows. Some may need the calculator for quick calculations, while others go for more comprehensive capabilities for detailed projects.
How to Empower Your Technicians Beyond Calculators
Plumbers often rely on calculators to streamline complex calculations or gain access to relevant information to conduct their tasks more effectively.
However, these online tools and devices can only get them so far if plumbers still rely on clipboards and other paper-based forms for their project management, estimations, invoicing, safety checklists, and other procedures.
ServiceTitan's Field Service App helps plumbers automate these processes and access relevant customer information gathered during initial calls.
Additionally, the tool helps plumbing companies review comprehensive property reports before leaving the job site, allowing them to identify issues and ensure customer satisfaction proactively.
Over to You
Plumbing calculators are invaluable tools that can solve complex equations, saving workers time and effort while on the job.
They can also help minimize errors and help you find the best solutions for each situation presented in the field.
A modern, all-in-one software solution like ServiceTitan streamlines plumbing businesses, allowing them to add new customers, boost ticket sizes, and grow revenue. The mobile app and online calculators empower plumbing professionals to provide better service, increasing referrals and online ratings.
ServiceTitan Plumbing Software
ServiceTitan is a comprehensive plumbing business software solution built specifically to help service companies streamline their operations, boost revenue, and achieve growth. Our award-winning, cloud-based platform is trusted by more than 100,000+ contractors across the country.
