Waves vs Derivative
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Waves
Explore graphical solutions to partial differential equations with interactive activities. Visualize Fourier series and solutions to heat and wave equations, with options to customize conditions and save your work.
- Interactive PDE exploration
- Fourier series plotting
- Heat equation solutions
- Wave equation solutions
- Customizable boundary/initial conditions
- Save and analyze work
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Waves is an interactive environment for exploring graphical solutions to partial differential equations. Waves currently consists of three activities that explore Fourier series as well as series solutions to the heat and wave equations. Fourier is a tool for plotting a Fourier series that best approximates a periodic function. Diffusion plots solutions to the one-dimensional heat equation in space and animates the time evolution. Waves plots solutions to the one-dimensional wave equation in space and allows. In each of these activities you can specify the appropriate boundary and/or initial conditions. The app contains built-in examples as well as the option to save your work for future analysis. You can use Waves for homework, in-class activities or a new research project.
Derivative
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The DerivativeCalculus is a simple but elegant app to find the derivatives of complex multivariable functions. You can find the partial derivatives of a multivariate function and share it with others or save it locally. You can create a beautiful high quality partial derivative tree and share it with others or save it locally. Derivatives are shown in beautifully written mathematical expression It automatically saves your hard work locally on your device so you can come back and pick up from where you left off as your great effort will not be lost. This app also has a Study page to help you learn important differentiation rules like, product rule, chain rule, quotient rule, ect. This app is perfect for students learning calculus. Sharpen you brain by using this app and learning about the calculus. This is an app for all student groups. From high school to college to university students. Be creative. Enjoy the app!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Waves at none against Derivative's shown. Waves also leads on iOS requirement (11.4 vs 15.1). On price, update cadence, 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Waves ships an update every 2 months, Derivative monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Waves | Derivative |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (16 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 16 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 11.4 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 30 MB | 37 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Tim Lucas | Om Prakash Chapagain |
In-app purchases
Waves
No in-app purchases
Derivative
No in-app purchases








