Comparison

Calc Engine vs prismCalc

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Calc Engine

A highly customizable calculator with advanced features like graphing, equation solving, and unit conversion. Design your own keyboards and functions to streamline your workflow across Apple devices.

Highlights
  • Customizable keyboard layouts
  • User-defined functions and constants
  • Live equation graphing
  • Equation solving
  • Extensive unit conversions
  • Programmer mode (hex, binary, octal)
  • Cross-device syncing
Features
Read full description

Calc Engine™ — The Calculator That Fits How You Work Whether you're splitting a dinner bill, plotting an equation, or working through bitwise logic, Calc Engine meets you where you are. It's a beautiful, fully customizable calculator that grows with you — and syncs seamlessly across iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch. Make it look and feel like yours • Choose from rich color themes to match your style • Pick the fonts and key shapes that feel right in your hands • A calculator you actually enjoy opening Design keyboards your way • Build your own keyboard pages — drag any key from a curated library onto a 4×5, 5×5, or 6×5 grid • Mix digits, operators, scientific functions, your own constants — anything you reach for often, all in one place • Set a long-press alternate on any key so a single tile handles a primary and secondary action • Name each keyboard, pick its icon, and reorder it alongside the standard pages — your custom keyboards show up right where you'd expect them • Enable or disable any page (built-in or custom) per device Build your personal math library • Define your own functions with up to three parameters — name them whatever makes sense to you • Save the constants you use all the time and insert them with a single tap • Full calculation history, automatically saved — scroll back anytime Powerful math, always within reach • Trig (radians or degrees), logarithms, exponentials, roots, and more — there when you need them, out of the way when you don't • Live results as you type, so you always know where you're headed • Per-function rounding built in — perfect for money, measurements, or anything that needs a clean output Convert between hundreds of units in seconds • Tap a value, then any two units to see the conversion live — miles to km, lb to kg, °F to °C, gal to L, anything you need • 250+ built-in units across 40+ categories: length, mass, volume, temperature, time, speed, angle, energy, power, pressure, electrical, magnetic, optical, radioactivity, data, and more • Favorite the categories you actually use so they sit at the top — synced across your devices automatically • Build your own functions with conversions baked in — define a formula once and reuse it forever See your equations come to life in graphs • Plot equations like x = y² or sin(x) live as you type, right beside the keyboard • Tap any graph to expand into a full-screen view for closer inspection • A dedicated graphing keyboard with x, y, and = keeps everything in one place — no separate app, no separate mode Solve equations as you type • Type x² = 121 or sin(x) = 0.5 and Calc Engine finds every real answer • Tap the solved answers to reuse it in your next calculation, no separate "solve" mode Programmer mode without leaving the calculator • Type hex (0x), binary (0b), and octal (0o) literals — read and write the way you read code • A full bitwise toolkit: AND, OR, XOR, NOT, shifts, and rotates • Every result shown in HEX, DEC, OCT, and BIN simultaneously, with configurable word size (8/16/32/64) and signed/unsigned interpretation • Tap the binary row to expand into a byte-by-byte view with bit-position labels Private by design • Everything syncs through your personal iCloud — nothing stored on our servers • Fully localized and native on every Apple platform Unlock Calc Engine+ for the full experience — custom themes, fonts, key shapes, custom keyboards, user-defined functions, saved constants, unit conversions, live graphing, equation solving, programmer-mode hex/binary/bitwise, and more. Everything that makes Calc Engine truly yours. Teach it your formulas once. Customize it to feel like home. Use it forever.

About

prismCalc

This app offers a visually appealing and functional calculator for everyday financial tasks like splitting bills, calculating discounts, and comparing loan payments. It provides live calculation previews, a history of recent results, and various everyday tools.

Highlights
  • Live calculation preview
  • History of recent results
  • Tip and split bill calculator
  • Discount calculator
  • Loan calculator
  • Unit converter
  • Customizable themes
Features
Read full description

Split a dinner bill in seconds. Check a discount before you buy. Compare loan payments side by side. prismCalc is the everyday calculator for the math that happens outside a spreadsheet — beautiful glass design, no ads, no tracking. **LIVE CALCULATION PREVIEW** • See the running result while you build an expression • Keep enough context on screen to catch mistakes before pressing equals **KEEP RECENT RESULTS CLOSE** • Dynamic Island can keep your last calculation visible while you switch apps • Widgets and quick actions help you get back to recent math without digging through the app • History lets you reuse prior calculator, tip, discount, loan, and conversion entries **CORE CALCULATOR** • Large calculator buttons with haptic feedback • Memory functions (M+, M−, MC, MR) with indicator dot • Long-press display to copy, double-tap to paste • Standard or alternate key layout — choose what feels natural • Display gestures for backspace, undo backspace, recall, clear, copy, and paste **EVERYDAY TOOLS (Pro)** • Tip & Split — tips, equal splits, rounded per-person totals, and by-share splits for uneven groups • Discount Calculator — original price, savings, sale price, and tax • Loan Calculator — mortgage, auto, student, and personal loans. Mortgages lead with the total monthly payment, with principal + interest and escrow (property tax, insurance, HOA) as immediate context. Includes payoff planning, extra-payment what-ifs, and full amortization details • Unit Converter — 38 length, weight, volume, and temperature units, with Metric, US Customary, and Imperial results grouped clearly **HISTORY & NOTES (Pro)** • Save, review, search, and filter past calculations • Name and pin saved calculations so important bills, payoff plans, and conversions are easier to find later • Mortgage scenarios save with full escrow context (property tax, insurance, HOA, escrow toggle) so reopening a saved payoff plan restores the exact inputs • Add notes to any calculation • Share calculations with notes via Messages, Mail, or any app • Lock important entries so they cannot be accidentally deleted • Optional iCloud Sync across devices **ALWAYS WITHIN REACH** • Home Screen widgets — small, medium, and large (all free) • Lock Screen widgets — accessory circular, rectangular, and inline (free) • Control Center widgets — quick actions for calculator, tip, split, discount, unit converter, loan, and copy last result • Siri Shortcuts — calculate tips, split bills, convert units including volume, and recall recent results • Apple Watch companion — calculator, tip, discount, and split right on your wrist with all 10 themes synced **THEMES AND LAYOUT** • Animated mesh gradient backgrounds with true glassmorphism • 4 free themes (Aurora, Calming Blues, Dark Glass, Pearl) plus 6 Pro themes • Square or round buttons, plus standard or alternate key layout **PRIVACY FIRST** • No tracking, no analytics, no ads, no account required • Your data stays on your device unless you choose optional iCloud Sync **ACCESSIBILITY** • VoiceOver, Dynamic Type, Increase Contrast, Reduced Motion, and alternative key layout Built by a solo developer. Thanks for supporting independent apps. Disclaimer: Calculations provided by prismCalc are for informational and illustrative purposes only. Results are estimates and do not constitute financial advice, guaranteed loan terms, or a commitment to lend. Actual rates and payments may vary based on lender-specific criteria. LaClair Technologies is not a financial institution.

Screenshots

Calc Engine4 screens
prismCalc4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Calc Engine at daily against prismCalc's weekly. Calc Engine also leads on monetization model (free vs freemium) and iOS requirement (18 vs 26.0). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Calc Engine sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and prismCalc sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Calc Engine against 5.0 for prismCalc. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 4 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Calc Engine ships an update daily, prismCalc weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 5, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Calc Engine versus prismCalc: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCalc EngineprismCalc
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (4 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings44
Update frequencyDaily — betterWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch
Requires iOS18 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size17 MB70 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperVersaEdge Software, LLCPatrick LaClair

Customer experience

Calc Engine

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

prismCalc

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Calc Engine

One-time1
  • Calc Engine+$9.99
1 purchases

prismCalc

One-time1
  • prismCalc Pro$2.99

Questions

Is Calc Engine free?
Calc Engine is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is prismCalc free?
prismCalc is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Calc Engine or prismCalc?
Calc Engine and prismCalc are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 4 and 4 ratings respectively.
Do Calc Engine or prismCalc have ads?
Neither Calc Engine nor prismCalc shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Calc Engine or prismCalc?
Calc Engine ships an update daily, and prismCalc weekly. Most recently, Calc Engine was updated on October 5, 2026 and prismCalc on October 3, 2026.

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