Comparison

PCalc Lite vs Numerical³

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Optional RPN mode
  • Multiple undo and redo
  • Unit conversions and constants
  • Two stylish themes
  • Apple Watch app
Features
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.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!

About

Numerical³

A powerful and beautifully designed calculator app that offers advanced scientific functions, automatic bracket handling, and a unique no-equals button interface. It integrates seamlessly with iOS features like widgets and keyboards for calculations anywhere.

Highlights
  • No equals button interface
  • Automatic bracket handling
  • Full scientific keypad
  • Today Widget integration
  • Numerical² Keyboard for any app
  • Equation editing
  • Customizable themes
Features
Read full description

Numerical³ is still the calculator without equal. The first Numerical shipped in 2014—v3 brings long-requested improvements and the same focus on delightful, minimalist utility apps.MAC TOONumerical runs natively on macOS: multiple windows, tabs, resizing, desktop widgets, full keyboard support, and synced history. Download it on the Mac App Store.WIDGETSLock screen and Home Screen widgets—modernized on iPhone and iPad.THEMESBrand-new neo-morphic themes alongside our most popular picks—each with light and dark variants that follow your iOS appearance settings. Use the Theme Picker to preview them all.ICONSTheme Home Screen icons match iOS 26 with glass effects, Dark Mode, and tints.HISTORYYour equations stay visible on screen—above the keyboard on iPhone (portrait) and to the side on iPad and Mac. iCloud keeps history in sync across iPhone, iPad, and Mac.KEYBOARDSExternal keyboards are fully supported on iPhone, iPad, and macOS—including the shortcuts you expect.SOUND FXSounds and clicky feedback on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Haptics on iPhone.14+ LANGUAGESThe entire app is localized in 14+ languages—including Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and Russian—with international digits and formats. Missing yours? Let us know.Mana Machines—Numerical³ and upcoming apps from a studio focused on delightful, minimal, human-centered utilities. More on the way.Questions or feedback: manamachineventures@gmail.comDeveloped by Andrew J Clark. Designed by Andrew J Clark & Alex Vanderzon.

Screenshots

PCalc Lite4 screens
Numerical³4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Numerical³ at none against PCalc Lite's 11. Numerical³ also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.4) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months). PCalc Lite's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, review sentiment, ads and device support 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

Both are free to download. PCalc Lite sells 11 one-off in-app purchases. Numerical³ asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Numerical³ holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Numerical³ has 1.3K 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 75% of Numerical³'s, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PCalc Lite ships an update every 2 months, Numerical³ every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
PCalc Lite versus Numerical³: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPCalc LiteNumerical³
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (214 ratings)4.8 (1.3K ratings) — better
Positive reviews82.6% of reviews — better75.4% of reviews
Number of ratings2141.3K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS15.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size76 MB113 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTLA Systems Ltd.Andrew J Clark

Customer experience

PCalc Lite

All ratings214 ratings
Positive83.6%
Neutral6.5%
Negative9.8%
Written reviews528 reviews
Positive82.6%
Neutral7.0%
Negative10.4%

Numerical³

All ratings1,338 ratings
Positive95.1%
Neutral2.1%
Negative2.8%
Written reviews487 reviews
Positive75.4%
Neutral9.4%
Negative15.2%

User reviews

PCalc Lite

From 214 App Store ratings

What 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

Numerical³

From 1.3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great app
  • 👍 Simple and intuitive
  • 👍 Clean and beautiful design
  • 🚀 Fast and responsive
  • 👍 Customizable themes

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Bugs and glitches (unresponsive keys, calculation errors)
  • 🔍 Lack of advanced functions (scientific, unit conversion)
  • 💡 Needs more theme options
  • 💡 Needs iPad support
  • 💡 Needs widget support

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

Numerical³

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Unresponsive keys
  • Calculation errors
  • Crashes on startup

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add scientific functions (square root, trigonometry, etc.)
  • Implement an equals button
  • Add more theme options
  • Develop an iPad version
  • Bring back widget support

In-app purchases

11 purchases

PCalc Lite

One-time11
  • Theme Pack$0.99
  • Power User Pack$0.99
  • Multiple Line Pack$0.99
Show 8 more
  • 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
None

Numerical³

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PCalc Lite free?
PCalc Lite is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Numerical³ free?
Numerical³ is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, PCalc Lite or Numerical³?
Numerical³ is rated higher. PCalc Lite averages 4.4 out of 5 from 214 ratings, while Numerical³ averages 4.8 from 1.3K ratings.
Do PCalc Lite or Numerical³ have ads?
Neither PCalc Lite nor Numerical³ shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PCalc Lite or Numerical³?
PCalc Lite ships an update every 2 months, and Numerical³ every 2 weeks. Most recently, PCalc Lite was updated on September 24, 2026 and Numerical³ on September 19, 2026.

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