# Calca — user reviews > 170 indexed App Store user reviews of Calca by Krueger Systems, Inc., rated 4.50/5 from 153 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/calca/id635757879/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/calca/id635757879.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 123 · 4★ 11 · 3★ 7 · 2★ 4 · 1★ 8 ## What do users think of Calca? Overall sentiment: mixed **Pros** - 💡 Unique blend of text editor and calculator - 📝 Markdown support for documentation - 🔄 Dynamic recalculation of all values - ⚙️ Powerful mathematical and algebraic capabilities - 📊 Unit conversion and unit-aware calculations - 💾 Plain text file format for portability - 🔗 iCloud sync across devices - 📈 Graphing and plotting functionality - 🎯 Intuitive syntax and easy to learn - 💰 One-time purchase model (historically) **Cons** - 🐛 Magic Keyboard input bugs on iPad - ⚠️ Appears abandoned or poorly maintained - 🐛 Text selection issues with external keyboards - 📱 iPad landscape mode problems - 🐛 Cursor jumping and screen jumping during editing - 🚫 Limited file management options - 🐛 Occasional crashes and stability issues - ⏱️ Slow input responsiveness at times - 🔢 Precision issues with large number calculations - 🐛 Number editing gesture conflicts with normal text selection **Commonly reported bugs** - Magic Keyboard causes number input to overwrite instead of append - Text selection before numbers triggers increment/decrement instead of selecting - Cursor jumps forward and backward with external keyboards - iPad Pro keyboard truncation in portrait mode - Arrow key (=>) doesn't work in landscape mode - App crashes on startup on some devices - File saving is temperamental and causes data loss - Folders don't persist unless calculations created within them - Large number calculations lose precision (10^100 + 1 - 10^100 returns 0 instead of 1) - Keyboard focus issues on iPad with Magic Keyboard - iOS 13+ button adaptation issues - Spinning beach ball on very large calculations **Most requested features** - Files app and document browser integration - Dropbox and Google Drive support - Date calculation functionality - Looping and iteration support - User-defined function storage in separate files - Temperature unit support (Celsius, Fahrenheit) - Logarithmic and non-proportional unit definitions - Multiple parametric plots simultaneously - Landscape mode optimization - Tabular data and multi-row markdown table support - Dark mode (now implemented) - Subscription model option for ongoing development - Decimal place formatting control - Charting and financial functions - Better document management interface ## Newest reviews (17 of 170) ### 4/5 — Not completely accurate *2025-02-17, version 1.5.1* I had hoped that, being based on a CAS, it would be able to handle cases like this: (10^100) + 1 - (10^100) => 0 As you can see (this is pasted from Calca), it does not. The correct answer is 1. ### 4/5 — Absolute genius but abandoned *2023-12-09* Genius of an app and still well worth using even though the last update is 3 years ago. Some weird quirks when editing and incomplete support for standard units takes getting used to, but so powerful it’s worth it. ### 4/5 — Wonderful program! *2023-06-20* I have been using this for dinner time as a math scratchpad. It is really useful for doing rapid calculations while stock trading. The product would be greatly enhanced if it could handle date calculations. For example of I wanted to know the number of days between two dates or the third Monday of June in 2020 etc. ### 4/5 — Love this app, just wish there were more frequent updates *2022-11-12* I really dig the approach this app takes to text + free-form calculations. I use Markdown all the time, so that's a bonus, but the app really shines in the way it interprets text and functions in-place. It has far more power under the hood than I could ever use so I only have a few surface-level nitpicks: * Document management on iOS/iPadOs is clunky. * I still hit occasional crasher bugs. * I wish the iOS/iPadOS versions were updated more frequently. I don't think it needs to roll in all the latest platform features, but some bug fixes and polish would be nice. ### 5/5 — Much more useful than calculator or spreadsheet *2022-08-08, version 1.5.1* This is easily within my top five favorite utilitarian - ie to do stuff - apps on any platform. I hope the author, at a minimum maintains its currency with now iOS, but preferably continues to revise and expand it. The design of Calca allows one to do quick one-offs and structured analysis with equal ease. I find it a fine balance between calculator, spreadsheet and a Matlab clone like Simo. Its syntax id straight forward and the WYSIWYG structure of the document lets one explain/notate calculations in place. For Python programmers, Pyto has an API to access Calca's engine from within a Python program running on an iDevice which has Calca installed. ### 4/5 — Prima Hilfe für Geocaching aber ungepflegt *2022-07-31* Von Soulver (RIP) auf Calca umgestiegen. Koordinatenberechnungen mit Variablen könnte nicht einfacher sein. Aber leider funktioniert weder Google noch Währungsupdate derzeit. **Developer response:** Thank you for your feedback! I'm excited to share that the Google search feature has been replaced with something even better - Apple Intelligence integration. The app now uses on-device AI to provide facts and figures without requiring an internet connection. This provides more reliable results and better privacy. Please update to the latest version to try it out! ### 5/5 — Breaking bug on iPad Pro 12.9 with keyboard *2022-06-03* Calca is one of my favorite apps. I use it regularly on my phone, laptop, etc. I desperately wish I could use it on the iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard folio. Unfortunately, in that context, I'm usually trying to total line items under a 'total +=' line. For every line item, when I start typing digits, the app highlights the entry as though I'm cutting / pasting and does not permit me to enter amount normally. I can work around it -- to a degree -- by separating each digit with a non-numeric character, but I usually just give up and go to a different machine. Hoping the developer will see this and determine what causes / resolves the problem. Huge fan, otherwise, and leaving 5 star review because it works on every other device perfectly. ### 2/5 — Great but abandonware *2022-05-21, version 1.5.1* No support for files app or document browser. Documents have to be on iCloud/local only, which really holds it back for my use case. ### 2/5 — buggy with external keyboard *2022-04-01* The app works well when it’s detached from an external keyboard. However when attached with an external keyboard, it’s not usable at all . The cursor keeps jumping back and forward. Please please fix the usability issue with external keyboard. I really want to love this app. Thanks. ### 5/5 — Edit: BEST CALCULATOR APP *2022-01-20, version 1.5.1* I left a 1-star review a few years ago because I couldn’t create new sheets (“calculations”) in it. But now it’s the only calculator app I use. Functions. Graphs. Units and unit conversions. Markdown for comments. And all with a pretty intuitive syntax that’s easy to get used to. Now that my kids are doing high-school level math, it’s invaluable for checking their work. ### 4/5 — Temperamental file saving lets down a feature rich tool *2022-01-17* This is a great tool for seeing a step by step breakdown of a calculation which is invaluable when trying to split a shared meal bill. It is however let down by temperamental file save file which sadly has resulted in the lost of previous calculations when editing - nothing that couldn’t be reproduced in a few minutes but annoying. Additionally folders don’t appear to persist unless a calculation is created within it at the time of making the folder. ### 3/5 — Not working very well with external keyboards *2021-12-23* The app keeps selecting numbers and won’t let me type when usin magical keyboard ### 2/5 — Sehr gute App, aber *2021-10-02* seit, im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes, keine Updates. Entwickler schon seit mindestens 2018 nicht erreichbar (gebe es hiermit nun auf; 3 Mails pro Jahr ergaben keine Reaktion; Homepage, Forum und Support offline seit 1+ Jahren). Solange die App noch funktioniert ok, aber keinen Cent wert im Moment und nicht die Zeit sich einzuarbeiten! ### 2/5 — Not functional with Magic Keyboard *2021-10-01, version 1.5.1* This is really too bad because I have been using Calca for years, and there still isn’t anything that compares. You can work around the input bugs by changing your calculations to text with a #, but it’s a pretty bad experience. ### 5/5 — Fantastic app, with one modern caveat *2021-08-07* I’ve used Calca for years on iOS and Mac, and I love it for all sorts of computation. I did run into one issue: I recently got an iPad Pro with a Magic Keyboard, and it seems to have troubles with the focus system, making numeric entry very, very cumbersome with the Magic Keyboard. ### 3/5 — Does not work with iPad keyboard - 12 months waiting *2021-07-19, version 1.5.1* Has not worked with the iPad magic keyboard for more than 12 months. ### 5/5 — Great for the toughest problems *2021-04-21* This is a mathematical sketch pad that tackles the toughest problems with aplomb. If you like bc on your computer this is much more fun and powerful. Like a spreadsheet it recalculates dynamically. Unlike a spreadsheet calculations are clearly visible, especially when they are complex. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — A cessé de fonctionner *2025-05-05* Depuis une récente mise à jour, l'app ne fonctionne plus. Le développeur contacté n'a pas répondu. J'ai dû basculer sur une feuille de calcul dans Apple Numbers. Dommage, Calca était bien pratique. ### 1/5 — Text selection no longer works *2023-08-12* Used to be a dope app. I’m guessing something on the iOS API side broke the old behaviour…. or else the text selection behaviour is just stupid. I have been trying to select BEFORE a number and it keeps incrementing/decrementing the values instead of allowing normal text selection to work. ### 1/5 — No longer usable on iPad *2022-10-31* When you're using the Magic Keyboard, you can't type in numbers anymore. Once you type a number, it switches into this weird overwrite mode, where every number you type overwrites the current number. For example, let's say you want to type 1234. You'll type 1, which will appear. Then 2 overwrites 1. And then 3 overwrites 2. And then 4 overwrites 3. So instead of 1234, you just get 4. Useless. **Developer response:** I am sorry for the trouble but v1.5.1 has been released and I think that it fixes these problems. Please let me know if not! ### 1/5 — Fix Key Press issue *2019-03-20, version 1.5* No matter how well the app computes Math, it does not respond to key presses. Having to repress keys constantly is a non-starter. Reviews Indicate this has been a problem for more than 2 years. It cannot be hard to fix. ### 1/5 — no support for Chinese anymore after the latest update? *2018-10-21* no support for Chinese anymore after the latest update? ### 1/5 — dead *2018-10-17, version 1.4* pls optimize for X/Xs screens. ya dig? ### 1/5 — Not supported *2017-11-08, version 1.4* App crashes and it doesn’t look like it’s supported any longer. ### 1/5 — 폴더를 꾹 누르니 다 날라갔네 *2017-01-27* 폴더를 옮기려고 꾹 눌렀더니 데이터가 다 지워지네요 헉 ### 1/5 — Avoid this app. *2016-11-03, version 1.4* UPDATE 11-03-2016: All my formulas are gone, and I didn't reinstall anything. Puff, just gone on opening. Great work Calca, farewell forever... :( OLD REVIEW: It seems a promising app but so far I've got zero support from developers, after years I wrote them. I'm stuck with a data type conversion (how to convert 10 eur to a pure number) and i can't find anything in the very limited documentation. :\ ### 1/5 — Lack of support and features *2016-10-31, version 1.4* We've been waiting for almost 2 years for simple date calculation to be implemented... I had high hopes ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — My favorite app for thinking with numbers *2025-11-04* I’m not even a math person but I love this thing. Unlike a spreadsheet, the operations are in plain sight, so they are part of the story. And unlike Soulver (which is also great in its own way) I can interleave text such that I can describe a scenario, make a case, frame the numbers, etc. ### 5/5 — Best calculator app by a wide margin *2025-09-19* Calc is pretty much all the good things in one. It lets you enter equations, solves them algebraically, handles graphing, is super flexible and free-form to the point where you think, document, and calculate all at once. ### 5/5 — Love it! *2025-08-26, version 1.6.1* So useful. Use it all the time on iPhone and my MacBook. ### 5/5 — Fantastic app *2025-03-11* I’ve used Calca for years on iOS and Mac, and I love it for all sorts of computation. The most recent update with iOS 18 support fixes some issues I’ve hit with iPad Pro and Magic Keyboards—I really appreciate it! ### 5/5 — One of the best apps despite maybe being abandoned *2024-09-10, version 1.5.1* I first got Calca when it originally came out (and way before I did for real 🥲), over 10 years ago. I was in college and I had an iPhone 4s, I think. It had apps, most of them not very useful. Calca was *something else*. Calca could do math, and Calca made it convenient to do math that involved more than just punching in two numbers to get a single result. No longer did I need to break out a spreadsheet (which are still awkward on a phone, even in 2024, even on our now massive smartphone screens). I could calculate the rent split for my college roommates. I could calculate the total cost of a trip for me and my friends, with a bunch of flight tickets, accommodations, and whatever else, with the total cost split between all of us. I could estimate fuel costs given the fuel efficiency of a car. I could calculate means, standard deviations, and other arbitrary statistics on some data I was thinking about (don't you hate not having an app on your phone for figuring out stats for some random piece of data?). I could plot things. And I could annotate it all with Markdown, which I had then only just discovered. All on my phone. It was probably the first app I ever got on my phone that made it very real that this thing I always have on me is actually a legit computer, and having a computer that is always on me is actually useful. (Except for when it's the opposite of useful, but that's not Calca's fault). Calca is not perfect. Over the years, I have encountered a fair amount of weird behavior, and anything really-really complex can still be awkward and error-prone. Calca's unit-aware calculations, while really cool, have also sometimes caused bizarre results. But when it has worked — and most of the time, it has — it has been magical. I only have weird behavior to complain about because I still come back to it and use it, a decade and who knows how many smartphone generations later. I wont deny that I'd appreciate it if the developer came back to this app to give it some love. But also... I get it. 11 years is a *long* time, and I only paid for Calca once (that was nice, by the way, to be able to pay for an app just once, and have it keep working for over a decade). Even if it's flawed, even if it's maybe abandoned, even if I now have a full-blown Python interpreter on my phone, with a whole host of numerical computation and data analysis libraries (imagine that, college me from 11 years ago), I still keep coming back to Calca. If I could give Calca 6 stars, or 11, or a usize::MAX, I would. If I could pay for it again, (and then maybe a third time), just to say "thank you," I would. It doesn't have to be perfect to be one of the best. ### 5/5 — Smartest app I know *2024-02-27, version 1.5.1* Everybody should know this exists, this is an incredibly useful app. ### 5/5 — Greates calc that I know *2024-02-22, version 1.5.1* Both on macOS and iOS a greatest calc app. (scrolling issues fixed long time ago) Implementation of "notepad calc" is a best in class. I'm happy to find it! ### 5/5 — Excellent App *2024-01-28* This app is unique and there is nothing else quite like it. I use it in place of Excel when multiple calculations are required along with extensive text. That said, it’s been several years since it’s been updated so I’m concerned the developer may have abandoned the project. Calca is among my core apps so I’d be open to a subscription offering to compensate the developer and ensure it remains sustainable. ### 5/5 — Amazing mathematical companion tool *2023-04-05* It’s like a mini-Mathematica! Very well designed, integrated in Apple envs and as far as I use it (weekly), it is bug free. Congratulations! ### 5/5 — Really a fun calculator, spreadsheet and document in one *2022-10-13, version 1.5.1* This is such a useful app, with text documents coming alive as computational documents. Like a spreadsheet in a way, but in a different medium. Truly wonderful --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-29.*