Comparison
BeamBuddy vs SkyCiv
Both solve beams. One lives inside the spreadsheet you already use.
What is SkyCiv?
SkyCiv is a cloud-based structural analysis platform with a full-featured 3D frame solver, beam calculator, and various design modules. It targets a broad range of structural engineering tasks from simple beams to complex frames.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | BeamBuddy | SkyCiv |
|---|---|---|
| Works inside Excel | ✓ | ✗ |
| Simply supported beam analysis | ✓ | ✓ |
| Continuous beam analysis | ✓ | ✓ |
| Distributed loads | ✓ | ✓ |
| UK Blue Book steel sections (BS EN 10365) | 397 sections | Library available |
| Eurocode 3 design checks | ✓ | ✓ |
| Live Excel cell linking | ✓ | ✗ |
| Results write to spreadsheet cells | ✓ | ✗ |
| 3D frame analysis | ✗ | ✓ |
| Connection design | ✗ | ✓ |
| Works offline | ✓ | ✗ |
| No software installation | Excel add-in | Web-based |
| Free tier | ✓ | Limited |
BeamBuddy
From £9.99/mo
14-day free trial included
SkyCiv
From $59/mo
Why Engineers Choose BeamBuddy
- ✓Native Excel integration — set up loads from your existing spreadsheet data and write results back with one click.
- ✓No context-switching — analyse beams without leaving Microsoft Excel.
- ✓Full UK Blue Book section library with 397 sections from BS EN 10365.
- ✓Significantly lower cost for engineers who need beam analysis without full-frame capability.
- ✓Works offline once installed — no dependency on cloud connectivity.
- ✓Purpose-built for beam design, not a general FEA tool. Faster workflow for common tasks.
Ready to try BeamBuddy?
Start with a free 14-day Pro trial. No credit card required.