Comparison

RPN vs Pentatronics 1000

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 simulates a vintage programmable calculator from the mid-70s, offering enhanced features beyond the original. It allows users to run existing programs, manage virtual cards, and utilize advanced functions for scientific and engineering tasks.

Highlights
  • Virtual program and data cards
  • Virtual paper tape printer
  • Database-driven card manager
  • Create, label, and organize unlimited cards
  • Share cards via email, AirDrop, Dropbox
  • Editable program listings
  • Enhanced features for more program steps and registers
Features
Read full description

A dream calculator of the mid-70's, priced at $2,500 in today's dollars (2025), right on your iPhone! RPN-67 SD is the iPhone version of RPN-67 Pro, the first complete simulation of Hewlett-Packard's legendary HP-67 programmable calculator for the iPad. Produced from 1976 to 1982, the HP-67 was a huge success among scientists, engineers and other professionals. Thousands of programs were written for it. Now you can run them right on your iPhone, with more ease and faster than ever before. To get you started quickly, run the built-in program cards, or choose from the large number of programs available as free downloads from our website. What users said: “This version permits you to use your virtual HP-67 just as you could the original – hand-held and highly portable. Congratulations to the developer for providing such an excellent and aesthetically pleasing software product." "This was my first scientific calculator in real life. It is great to have the simulator on my iPhone. The special features added make it into a HP-41 or 42S! It comes packaged with some great samples. Am having great fun with it." Features: • Virtual program and data cards • Virtual paper tape printer supports all HP-97 printer modes • Powerful database-driven card manager • Create, label, and organize a virtually unlimited number of cards • Use iTunes to effortlessly save entire card collections on your Mac/PC • Sharing: e-mail, AirDrop, Dropbox, copy, paste, print • Editable listing shows labels, targets of branches, and errors • E-mail listings and let the recipient paste the text right into RPN-67 • Print listings on any AirPrint-compatible printer • Program listing on paper tape shows subroutine nesting • Edit paper tape • E-mail paper tape, or print it via AirPrint • Cut/copy/paste displayed value or program steps • Paste existing HP-67 listings into RPN-67 SD and run them • "Live" display of stack, memory registers, flags • Show and edit program instructions • Fast: 1.5 seconds vs. 6 minutes (program HM-05, determinant of 5x5 matrix) • Low-battery indicator (iPhone charge 10% or less) • Optional high-contrast mode for working in bright ambient light • Compatible with RPN-67 Pro and RPN-97 Pro While RPN-67 SD works like a real HP-67, changing a simple setting will turn the app into a super-charged HP-67: • Up to 999 program steps, 8 subroutine levels, 6 additional flags (F4...F9) • 100 additional registers • 100 additional labels • 100 built-in constants and conversions • More than 150 additional powerful operations and functions Plus: • 15 commands to print and manipulate any range of extended registers • Unrestricted register arithmetic • Exchange x with any register • Complex numbers, hyperbolic functions • Non-volatile memory - stack, registers, program, flags, paper tape • Status indicators for prefix keys (f, g, h, STO, RCL, etc.) • Display showing thousands separators (optional) • Text output on simulated paper tape in 10 colors, even simple plotting • Stack-of-stack: push/pop the entire stack on internal stack (4 levels) • Single-step into subroutines (optional) • Powerful debugging aids, including 10 breakpoints with counters • Keycodes translated to command names while entering or single-stepping a program • Change the duration of the PAUSE command • Compress constants in programs into a single step (reversible) RPN-67 SD comes with more than 130 programs pre-installed, including HP Standard Pac, HP Business Decisions Pac, HP Math Pac I, HP Stat Pac I, and HP Surveying Pac I. The simulator has been verified to correctly run the examples given in HP Civil Engineering Pac I, HP Clinical Lab Pac, HP E.E. Pac I, HP Games Pac I, HP M.E. Pac I, HP Navigation Pac I, as well as large number of programs published in Users' Library Solutions. For more information and free program downloads visit the RPN-67 website: cuveesoft.ch/rpn67

About

Pentatronics 1000

Experience a faithful re-creation of a legendary gaming calculator from a bygone era. This app brings back the iconic "READY" message and the novelty of having a game on a calculator, blending math with fun, style, and humor.

Highlights
  • Faithful re-creation of a legendary gaming calculator
  • Iconic "READY" message
  • Calculator with built-in games
  • Emphasis on fun, style, and humor
  • Brings a rare collectible to mobile
Features
Read full description

Pentatronics 1000 is a faithful re-creation of the legendary gaming calculator, one of the most exciting calculators of its era. Pentatronics 1000 introduced many novelties such as the iconic "READY" message that has been adopted by virtually every calculator ever since. Today we take for granted that a calculator should have at least one game, but this was again an innovation brought by Pentatronics. Pentatronics creators believed that life shouldn't be just about math and logic. Fun, style, and humor were every bit as important. Unfortunately, today these calculators are impossible to find except in the hands of a few lucky collectors. We are honored to bring this rare calculator to your mobile device. We would like to thank all the people who helped us during the development of this app, especially Edwin J. Gallaghan from the original Pentatronics 1000 development team. Without Edwin's expertise and warm encouragement, we couldn't have completed this project. For feedback, contact us at pentatronics1000@gmail.com.

Screenshots

RPN4 screens
Pentatronics 10002 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Pentatronics 1000 at Free against RPN's $3.99. Pentatronics 1000 also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 3 months). RPN's advantage is ratings volume (17 vs 4). On review sentiment, 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

Pentatronics 1000 is free to download; RPN costs $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pentatronics 1000 holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 17 and 4 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 93% of RPN's written reviews are positive against 100% of Pentatronics 1000's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

RPN ships an update every 3 months, Pentatronics 1000 fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
RPN versus Pentatronics 1000: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRPNPentatronics 1000
Price$3.99Free — better
Rating4.6 (17 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews92.9% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings17 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS12.0 — better13.3
Further details — not scored
Size63 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCuVee SoftwarePaul Novaes

Customer experience

RPN

All ratings17 ratings
Positive94.1%
Neutral0.0%
Negative5.9%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive92.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative7.1%

Pentatronics 1000

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

RPN

No in-app purchases

None

Pentatronics 1000

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is RPN free?
RPN costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Pentatronics 1000 free?
Pentatronics 1000 is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, RPN or Pentatronics 1000?
Pentatronics 1000 is rated higher. RPN averages 4.6 out of 5 from 17 ratings, while Pentatronics 1000 averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do RPN or Pentatronics 1000 have ads?
Neither RPN nor Pentatronics 1000 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, RPN or Pentatronics 1000?
RPN ships an update every 3 months, and Pentatronics 1000 fortnightly. Most recently, RPN was updated on October 20, 2026 and Pentatronics 1000 on October 3, 2026.

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