BRISTOL vs +Compass+
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ with what reviewers say about each.
BRISTOL
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The Bristol Calculator provides a platform for both simple and more technical calculations involving vectors, matrices and complex numbers. Separate input and output screens with touch cursor control facilitates editing and checking. Option settings provide control over the output and input screen presentation.ย Keys can be personalised for often used functions and variable names. Data entry is also possible from the hardware keyboard as well as the calculator's screen keypad. Help pages provide built in contextual help. Work can be saved and templates created for future calculations. Vectors, matrices and complex numbers are handled by the same basic function operators used for numbers; the context determining operation. As well as standard mathematical functions, bespoke routines for sums, products, matrix inversion, numerical integration and solving transcendental equations are included. User functions can also be created. Table and graph plot functions display results. The free version of the Bristol calculator allows two files to be stored. A modest one-off In-App purchase unlocks this restriction. Otherwise, the free version is fully functional. This is a standalone application and there are no links to advertisers or third party software.
+Compass+
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Compass that shows magnetic north as well as true north and GPS location
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: +Compass+ at none against BRISTOL's 1. BRISTOL's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, update cadence, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS
Both are free to download. BRISTOL sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. +Compass+ asks for nothing beyond the download.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 18, 2026 and May 17, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | BRISTOL | +Compass+ |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Monthly |
| Ads | No โ better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No โ better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.7 | 13.0 โ better |
| Further details โ not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Christopher Britton | Michael Todd |
In-app purchases
BRISTOL
- bristol calculator storage$3.99
+Compass+
No in-app purchases









