Comparison

RPN vs Apini

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

Head to head
About

RPN

This app is a photo-realistic simulation of a classic Hewlett-Packard programmable business calculator. It offers advanced programming features, extensive register memory, and a library of pre-installed programs for various financial and statistical calculations.

Highlights
  • Photo-realistic look-and-feel
  • Programmable with subroutines and flags
  • 20 registers with unlimited store/recall
  • Indirect register addressing
  • Program library and sharing
  • Financial and statistical functions
  • Date and calendar calculations
Features
Read full description

RPN-38 CX is the first photo-realistic simulation of Hewlett-Packard's popular high-end programmable business calculator HP-38C for the iPhone. Produced from 1979 through 1983, it was the "Chive" member of the third-generation HP calculators known as the "Spice" series. While the simulator works like the original calculator, a number of carefully designed extensions make it a lot easier to use. RPN-38 CX is fully compatible with the HP-12C, except for calculations and programs involving Bonds and Depreciation. Features: • Photo-realistic look-and-feel • Programmable (99 steps, program memory not shared with register memory) • Subroutines, flags, loop control, extended conditional branching • Insert and delete steps with automatic address correction • 20 registers, "continuous", with unlimited store/recall arithmetic • Indirect register addressing • Register view • Program listing view • Program library view • Additional functions (nominal and effective interest rate) • Shortcuts for often-used key combinations • Store and retrieve any number of programs • Sharing: e-mail, AirDrop, Dropbox, copy, paste, print • 40 programs pre-installed Calculator functions: • Percentage (%, ∆%, %Total) • Simple and Compound Interest • Optional odd periods (like HP-12) • Nominal/Effective interest rate conversion • Amortization • Discounted Cash Flow Analysis • Net Present Value, Internal Rate of Return • Date and Calendar (actual or 30/360 day basis) • Statistics (mean, weighted mean, standard deviation) • Linear Regression • Additional functions not found on the HP-38: - Subroutines, flags, loop control, random number, Pi, Log, x² and more Details: cuveesoft.ch/rpn38

About

Apini

Features
Read full description

Apini ends on 30 September 2026 Apini is being discontinued. 30 September 2026 is the last day the app and its cloud services can be used. After that the servers are switched off. The app stops working, and anything still in Apini can no longer be retrieved. If you use Apini, please export what you want to keep before then. Open your Honeycomb, open the three-dots menu and choose “Export Excel”, or open apini.cloud in a browser and copy your items over to other systems. If you have a lot of Honeycombs, write to info@apinilabs.com and we’ll prepare a bulk export for you while the system is still running. The free and open building blocks Apini was built on stay free and open. We’re working on giving them a lasting home, independent of any single company - more on that soon. Today you can find them at labfreed.org.

Screenshots

RPN4 screens
Apini3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Apini at Free against RPN's $1.99. Apini also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). RPN's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.0). On ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

Apini is free to download; RPN costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

RPN ships an update every 2 months, Apini fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
RPN versus Apini: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRPNApini
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating5.0 (7 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings7 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB146 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCuVee SoftwareApiniLabs AG

In-app purchases

None

RPN

No in-app purchases

None

Apini

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is RPN free?
RPN costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Apini free?
Apini is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do RPN or Apini have ads?
Neither RPN nor Apini shows ads.
Which is updated more often, RPN or Apini?
RPN ships an update every 2 months, and Apini fortnightly. Most recently, RPN was updated on October 20, 2026 and Apini on October 10, 2026.

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