Comparison

PCalc vs Digits Tape Calculator

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

Head to head
About

PCalc

A powerful calculator designed for professionals and students, offering advanced features like RPN mode, multi-line display, and extensive unit conversions. It supports various number systems and includes an Apple Watch app for on-the-go calculations.

Highlights
  • Optional RPN mode
  • Multi-line display
  • Extensive unit conversions
  • Paper tape
  • Multiple undo/redo
  • Hexadecimal, octal, binary support
  • Apple Watch app
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

PCalc is the powerful choice for scientists, engineers, students, programmers, or indeed anybody looking for a feature rich calculator. It includes an optional RPN mode and multi-line display, a choice of button layouts, an extensive set of unit conversions and constants, a paper tape, multiple undo and redo, engineering and scientific notation, as well as support for hexadecimal, octal, and binary calculations. Includes an Apple Watch app, so you can calculate on your wrist!

About

Digits Tape Calculator

This app offers a calculator with an editable, line-by-line tape history, combining spreadsheet-like functionality with calculator simplicity. Easily correct mistakes, add comments, and share or print your calculations.

Highlights
  • Editable line-by-line tape history
  • Correct and insert entries
  • Add labels and comments
  • Email or print tapes
  • Store tapes as documents
  • Dark Mode and customization
Features
Read full description

Get organized! Conquer numbers on the go. Digits 3 is a top-to-bottom rewrite made for the latest iOS and devices. We're human. We're busy. We make mistakes. So we designed a calculator for humans, from the ground up. Digits combines the editability of a spreadsheet with the simplicity of a calculator. Digits is a calculator a human can love. So, why do so many humans love Digits? Its uniquely correctable tape means never worrying if you entered a calculation correctly. Make a mistake? Tap any entry on the tape to correct it (or edit, insert, copy and more). Then, add a label/comment and email or print the tape. Digits is Shift’s highly-rated iOS calculator app that features an intuitive, fully correctable and editable line-by-line tape history. It uniquely provides spreadsheet-like editing with calculator-level simplicity. Tapes are stored as documents so groups of calculations can be stored and edited conveniently. Comments can be added to each calculation line, making the app ideal for expense tracking and budgeting. --- Digits 3 highlights: • An updated, polished user interface with buttery-smooth interaction. • Dark Mode and detailed color and sound customization. • Multi-threaded processing for desktop-level performance. • In-app upgrades, starting with Tape Document sharing (via Messages, Mail, Dropbox and other popular file sharing services). • Built from the ground up with support for 64-bit and the latest iOS/hardware. • Designed to maximize resolution on devices like the iPhone X. • Split View support on iPad for side-by-side work. • Expanded in-app help. • Accessibility VoiceOver support. How Digits earned its stars: • Spreadsheet-like editing with calculator-level simplicity. • Fully correctable and editable line-by-line tape history. • Fluidly enter values, label and email or print. • Double-check and correct entries with ease. • Export Tape Documents in a variety of formats. Button functions: Delete row, backspace, clear all, clear, memory, memory plus, memory minus, plus or minus, tape browser, percent, export, settings, shop, tips, help, edit, insert, total, copy, use, comment, flag, sin, cos, tan, square, cube, exponent, square root, cube root, root, inverse, Euler, Pi, add, subtract, multiply, divide, total.

Screenshots

PCalc4 screens
Digits Tape Calculator4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Digits Tape Calculator at $1.99 against PCalc's $9.99. Digits Tape Calculator also leads on iOS requirement (10.3 vs 15.0). PCalc's advantage is chart position (#68 vs unranked) and device support (5 vs 3). On rating, review sentiment, ratings volume and update cadence 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

PCalc costs $9.99 and Digits Tape Calculator $1.99 up front. PCalc sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and Digits Tape Calculator sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for PCalc against 4.8 for Digits Tape Calculator. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 779 and 1.1K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 83% of PCalc's written reviews are positive against 87% of Digits Tape Calculator's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PCalc ships an update every 6 weeks, Digits Tape Calculator every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
PCalc versus Digits Tape Calculator: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPCalcDigits Tape Calculator
Price$9.99$1.99 — better
Rating4.7 (779 ratings)4.8 (1.1K ratings) — better
Positive reviews83.4% of reviews86.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings7791.1K — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 4 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#68 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.010.3 — better
Further details — not scored
Size83 MB30 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTLA Systems Ltd.Shift

Customer experience

PCalc

All ratings777 ratings
Positive90.9%
Neutral2.7%
Negative6.4%
Written reviews489 reviews
Positive83.4%
Neutral5.5%
Negative11.0%

Digits Tape Calculator

All ratings1,124 ratings
Positive95.6%
Neutral1.3%
Negative3.0%
Written reviews1,001 reviews
Positive86.8%
Neutral4.0%
Negative9.2%

Bugs and requests

PCalc

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Digits Tape Calculator

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Number pad disappears after adding comments on iOS 26
  • App crashes on startup for some users after iOS updates

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add scientific calculator functions
  • Ability to import/export CSV files
  • Option to change font size of tape section
  • Add date/time stamp for calculations

In-app purchases

4 purchases

PCalc

One-time4
  • Small Tip$0.99
  • Medium Tip$1.99
  • Large Tip$4.99
Show 1 more
  • Enormous Tip$9.99
2 purchases

Digits Tape Calculator

One-time2
  • Pro Export and Sharing$0.99
  • Pro Design$0.99

Questions

Is PCalc free?
PCalc costs $9.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Digits Tape Calculator free?
Digits Tape Calculator costs $1.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, PCalc or Digits Tape Calculator?
Digits Tape Calculator is rated higher. PCalc averages 4.7 out of 5 from 779 ratings, while Digits Tape Calculator averages 4.8 from 1.1K ratings.
Do PCalc or Digits Tape Calculator have ads?
Neither PCalc nor Digits Tape Calculator shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PCalc or Digits Tape Calculator?
PCalc ships an update every 6 weeks, and Digits Tape Calculator every 4 weeks. Most recently, PCalc was updated on October 31, 2026 and Digits Tape Calculator on November 1, 2026.

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