PCalc vs Digits Tape Calculator
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Optional RPN mode
- Multi-line display
- Extensive unit conversions
- Paper tape
- Multiple undo/redo
- Hexadecimal, octal, binary support
- Apple Watch app
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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!
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.
- 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
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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
Verdict
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
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.
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.
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.
| Parameter | PCalc | Digits Tape Calculator |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9.99 | $1.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.7 (779 ratings) | 4.8 (1.1K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 83.4% of reviews | 86.8% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 779 | 1.1K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 4 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #68 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 10.3 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 83 MB | 30 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | TLA Systems Ltd. | Shift |
Customer experience
PCalc
Digits Tape Calculator
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
PCalc
- Small Tip$0.99
- Medium Tip$1.99
- Large Tip$4.99
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- Enormous Tip$9.99
Digits Tape Calculator
- Pro Export and Sharing$0.99
- Pro Design$0.99
Questions
Is PCalc free?
Is Digits Tape Calculator free?
Which has better reviews, PCalc or Digits Tape Calculator?
Do PCalc or Digits Tape Calculator have ads?
Which is updated more often, PCalc or Digits Tape Calculator?
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