PCalc vs Beacon Lodestar
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!
Beacon Lodestar
Access marina information and manage your account from anywhere. Submit and track support tickets, get WiFi updates, receive important alerts, and check weather conditions.
- Submit and track support tickets
- Get the latest WiFi updates
- Receive important alerts and announcements
- Check current weather conditions
- Stay up to date with marina information
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Beacon Lodestar makes it simple for customers to access everything they need in one place. Stay up to date with your marina information anytime, anywhere. With this app, you can: • Submit and track support tickets • Get the latest WiFi updates • Receive important alerts and announcements • Check current weather conditions Whether you’re on the dock or planning your visit, the Beacon Lodestar App helps you stay connected and informed.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Beacon Lodestar at Free against PCalc's $9.99. Beacon Lodestar also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 4) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). PCalc's advantage is ratings volume (779 vs 4) and device support (5 vs 3). On update cadence, ads and iOS requirement 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
Beacon Lodestar is free to download; PCalc costs $9.99 up front. PCalc sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Beacon Lodestar asks for nothing beyond the download.
Beacon Lodestar holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PCalc has 779 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 83% of PCalc's written reviews are positive against 100% of Beacon Lodestar's.
PCalc ships an update every 6 weeks, Beacon Lodestar every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | PCalc | Beacon Lodestar |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.7 (779 ratings) | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 83.4% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 779 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 4 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 83 MB | 35 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | TLA Systems Ltd. | Beacon Services, Inc |
Customer experience
PCalc
Beacon Lodestar
In-app purchases
PCalc
- Small Tip$0.99
- Medium Tip$1.99
- Large Tip$4.99
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- Enormous Tip$9.99
Beacon Lodestar
No in-app purchases
