# Waves vs Epicycles

The clearest difference is update cadence: Epicycles at every 5 days against Waves's every 2 months. Epicycles also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.8). Waves's advantage is ratings volume (16 vs 2) and iOS requirement (11.4 vs 15.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Epicycles holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Waves has 16 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Waves ships an update every 2 months, Epicycles every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Waves | Epicycles |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (16 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/waves-partial-diff-eq/id1447533890/reviews) | **[5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/epicycles/id6450433959/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **16** | 2 |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 5 days** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 30 MB | 4 MB |
| Requires iOS | **11.4** | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Tim Lucas](https://appshunter.io/developer/1136916670) | [Limit Point Software](https://appshunter.io/developer/377981570) |

## What reviewers say

### Waves

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/waves-partial-diff-eq/id1447533890)

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.

**Highlights:** Interactive PDE exploration, Fourier series plotting, Heat equation solutions, Wave equation solutions, Customizable boundary/initial conditions, Save and analyze work

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


### Epicycles

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/epicycles/id6450433959)

Explore the visualization of complex Fourier series through interactive epicycles. Create and analyze approximations of parametric curves and complex functions. Save animations and export custom terms for later use.

**Highlights:** Visualize Fourier series of 2D functions, Create epicycles from drawn curves, Save custom terms to documents, Export animations as GIFs, Adjust time and number of terms, Interactive graphic elements

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Waves free?

Waves is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Epicycles free?

Epicycles is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Waves or Epicycles?

Epicycles is rated higher. Waves averages 4.8 out of 5 from 16 ratings, while Epicycles averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.

### Do Waves or Epicycles have ads?

Neither Waves nor Epicycles shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Waves or Epicycles?

Waves ships an update every 2 months, and Epicycles every 5 days. Most recently, Waves was updated on September 27, 2026 and Epicycles on September 21, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*