Comparison

BRISTOL vs +Compass+

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

Head to head
About

BRISTOL

Features
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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.

About

+Compass+

Features
Read full description

Compass that shows magnetic north as well as true north and GPS location

Screenshots

BRISTOL4 screens
+Compass+1 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. BRISTOL sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. +Compass+ asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 18, 2026 and May 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
BRISTOL versus +Compass+: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBRISTOL+Compass+
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyMonthlyMonthly
AdsNo โ€” betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo โ€” better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.713.0 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size3 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperChristopher BrittonMichael Todd

In-app purchases

1 purchases

BRISTOL

One-time1
  • bristol calculator storage$3.99
None

+Compass+

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is BRISTOL free?
BRISTOL is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is +Compass+ free?
+Compass+ is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do BRISTOL or +Compass+ have ads?
+Compass+ shows ads; BRISTOL does not.
Which is updated more often, BRISTOL or +Compass+?
BRISTOL ships an update monthly, and +Compass+ monthly. Most recently, BRISTOL was updated on September 18, 2026 and +Compass+ on May 17, 2026.

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