PCalc Lite vs Calculator HD Pro
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
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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.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!
Calculator HD Pro
This app offers a powerful and customizable calculator experience with a dual-line display for seeing input and results simultaneously. Save and organize your calculations with history, labeling, and email options. Personalize layouts, themes, and fonts for a comfortable and efficient user experience.
- Dual-line display
- Multi-line input
- Calculation history
- Customizable layouts and themes
- Full scientific functions
- Left-handed mode
- VoiceOver accessibility
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A colorful calculator with big buttons, comprehensive features, and extensive customization. Used by millions. Completely ad-free. SEE EVERY STEP ・Dual-line display - shows your input and result simultaneously ・Multi-line input for long equations ・Tap & hold to move the cursor or copy and paste where you want SAVE YOUR WORK ・History saves every calculation with time and date ・Label important calculations for easy reference ・Email single calculations or complete history ・Swipe down to review previous work CUSTOMIZE EVERYTHING ・6 layouts including extra-large button options ・10 color themes plus Dark Mode ・Adjustable font size and bold text ・Left-handed mode ・Show or hide features you don't need SCIENTIFIC FUNCTIONS ・Full scientific calculator when needed ・Memory buttons with values displayed ・Percentage and backspace buttons ・Automatic scientific notation ・VoiceOver accessibility OPTIONAL IN APP PURCHASES ・Today View Widget (iOS 17 and below) ・Multiple History Tapes ADDITIONAL FEATURES ・Customizable button symbols and decimal settings ・Multiple backspace button styles ・iPad Split View and 3D Touch support ・Gesture controls for quick access URL Scheme: calculatorhdpro://
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: PCalc Lite at Free against Calculator HD Pro's $9.99. Calculator HD Pro's advantage is rating (4.8 vs 4.4) and ratings volume (11K vs 214). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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 Lite is free to download; Calculator HD Pro costs $9.99 up front. PCalc Lite sells 11 one-off in-app purchases and Calculator HD Pro sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Calculator HD Pro holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Calculator HD Pro has 11K ratings behind it against 214, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 82% of PCalc Lite's written reviews are positive against 95% of Calculator HD Pro's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | PCalc Lite | Calculator HD Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $9.99 |
| Rating | 4.4 (214 ratings) | 4.8 (11K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 82.4% of reviews | 94.8% of reviews — better |
| 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 — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 15.2 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 76 MB | 48 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | TLA Systems Ltd. | Cider Software LLC |
Customer experience
PCalc Lite
Calculator HD Pro
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
Calculator HD Pro
From 11K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Significantly better than Apple's calculator
- 👍 Excellent app with great features
- 👍 Flawless app, very useful
- 👍 Fantastic calculator, meets all needs
- 👍 Best calculator app, highly recommended
Room to improve
- 🐛 Bothersome pop-up review requests
- 🐛 Cannot delete lists in history tapes
- 🐛 Repeated rate and review pop-ups
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
Calculator HD Pro
Reported bugs
2 issues- Cannot delete lists in history tapes
- Ads still appear after purchasing full version
Requested features
3 requests- Add binary, decimal, and hex conversion
- Ability to manually sort result lines
- Add a tax calculation button
In-app purchases
PCalc Lite
- Theme Pack$0.99
- Power User Pack$0.99
- Multiple Line Pack$0.99
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- 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
Calculator HD Pro
- Widget$1.99
- Multiple History Tapes$1.99
