PCalc Lite vs Calcbot 2
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
PCalc Lite
This free scientific calculator offers essential features like RPN mode, unit conversions, and multiple undo/redo. It provides a taste of a more powerful version, with optional in-app purchases for expanded functionality.
- Optional RPN mode
- Multiple undo and redo
- Unit conversions and constants
- Two stylish themes
- Apple Watch app
Read full descriptionHide 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.PCalc Lite is a fully functional and free taste of our very popular scientific calculator. It includes an optional RPN mode, multiple undo and redo, unit conversions and constants, as well as two stylish themes and our highly praised design. A great choice for your new iPad! If you like what you see, the full version has many more settings and themes, a paper tape, engineering and scientific notation, and full support for hexadecimal, octal, and binary calculations. You can also now purchase extra features directly from inside PCalc Lite. Buy them individually, or buy everything. Includes an Apple Watch app, so you can calculate on your wrist!
Calcbot 2
This app offers a smart calculator with a history tape and expression view to track your calculations. It includes over 500 unit conversions and scientific functions, with an Apple Watch extension for on-the-go use.
- History tape for saved calculations
- Expression view for typed input
- Over 500 unit conversions
- Apple Watch extension
- Scientific functions in landscape
- Favorites for instant access
Read full descriptionHide full description
Calcbot is an intelligent calculator and unit converter for the rest of us. Featuring an easy-to-read history tape, expression view, intuitive conversion, and much more! History Tape*. Every calculation you enter gets saved to the history tape. Refer to calculations later or send them right back to your current calculation. Expression View. Calcbot's original expression view allows you to see everything you have typed so you'll never forget what you entered or miss a typo. Apple Watch Extension. Perform basic calculations, conversions, calculate tips, and split bills right from your Apple Watch. Conversion*. Convert any of your calculations with over 500 units across 22 different categories including auto-updating currency rates. Favorites. Fave a calculation and get instant access to its result via the Favorites Key. No more cryptic memory keys. Scientific Functions. Rotate your device into landscape mode to gain access to common scientific functions. Constants. Get instant access to scientific constants like Pi, Atomic Mass, or add your own*. Round for Currency. Have all of your results rounded to two decimal places. Sounds & Animations. Beautiful custom animations and sound effects provide positive feedback and an enjoyable experience while performing calculations. * In-App purchase required.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: PCalc Lite at 83% against Calcbot 2's 60%. Calcbot 2's advantage is ratings volume (11K vs 214) and rating (4.7 vs 4.4). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. PCalc Lite sells 11 one-off in-app purchases and Calcbot 2 sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Calcbot 2 holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Calcbot 2 has 11K ratings behind it against 214, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 83% of PCalc Lite's written reviews are positive against 60% of Calcbot 2's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | PCalc Lite | Calcbot 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (214 ratings) | 4.7 (11K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 82.6% of reviews — better | 60.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 214 | 11K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 76 MB | 15 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | TLA Systems Ltd. | Tapbots |
Customer experience
PCalc Lite
Calcbot 2
User reviews
PCalc Lite
From 214 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fast and responsive
- 👍 Clean and intuitive interface
- 💡 Customizable themes and settings
- 🚀 Efficient performance
- 👍 Useful conversion tools
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional lags and crashes
- 🔒 Lack of dark mode support
- 🔒 Inconsistent icon appearance after upgrades
- 🔒 Limitations in RPN mode on Apple Watch
- 🔒 Lack of financial calculator functions
Calcbot 2
From 11K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 💻 Flexible calculator & conversions
- 📝 Comprehensive history tape
- 🎨 Customizable themes and icons
- ⌚️ Apple Watch app
- 🔢 Supports advanced calculations
Room to improve
- ⚠️ Lack of updates and support
- 🚫 Removing free features behind paywall
- 🐞 Bugs and glitches (history tape issues, crashing)
- 🕰️ Slow loading times
- 🤔 Unintuitive interface for conversions
Bugs and requests
PCalc Lite
Reported bugs
3 issues- Calculations sometimes produce unexpected results
- Upside-down text censorship feature is problematic
- Purchased features not always accessible on Apple Watch
Requested features
4 requests- Add option to display thousands separators
- Implement a history function to review past calculations
- Provide more customization options for the widget
- Add support for sexagesimal angle input and conversion
Calcbot 2
Reported bugs
4 issues- History tape not recording all calculations
- Conversion settings not syncing to Apple Watch
- App crashing on launch for some users
- Blank app icons after iOS updates
Requested features
5 requests- Dark mode option
- Widgets for quick access
- More currency and unit conversions
- Improved Apple Watch integration
- Ability to edit calculations in history tape
In-app purchases
PCalc Lite
- Theme Pack$0.99
- Power User Pack$0.99
- Multiple Line Pack$0.99
Show 8 moreShow fewer
- Conversion Pack$0.99
- Small Tip$0.99
- Medium Tip$1.99
- Programmer Pack$2.99
- Engineer Pack$2.99
- Large Tip$4.99
- Complete Pack$9.99
- Enormous Tip$9.99
Calcbot 2
- Calcbot Pro$1.99
Questions
Is PCalc Lite free?
Is Calcbot 2 free?
Which has better reviews, PCalc Lite or Calcbot 2?
Do PCalc Lite or Calcbot 2 have ads?
Which is updated more often, PCalc Lite or Calcbot 2?
Other comparisons















