Comparison

PCalc Lite vs pwSafe 2

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

pwSafe 2

Securely manage all your passwords with this app. It offers autofill for websites and apps, biometric unlock, and syncs your data across devices via iCloud or Dropbox. Generate strong passwords and organize them with ease.

Highlights
  • Biometric unlock (Touch ID, Face ID)
  • Autofill for Safari and apps
  • iCloud and Dropbox sync
  • Password generation
  • Smart Pasteboard
  • Printable hardcopy
  • Organize entries in groups
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

pwSafe 2 offers Dark Mode, Touch ID, Face ID, Safari and apps autofill, iPhone landscape mode, adaptive text, a new design and much more on top of pwSafe 1. Easy, secure and full featured password management across devices and computers. pwSafe uses iCloud or Dropbox to keep your password databases backed-up and synced between your iOS devices and computers. It is compatible with open source Password Safe. No in-app purchases are needed for unlimited usage, including iCloud sync (see below). Now available for the Mac with iCloud Sync - https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pwsafe-password-safe-compatible/id520993579?mt=12 This application is not related to any application developed and/or marketed by PSafe Tecnologia S/A, including PSafe Total. == What people are saying about pwSafe: ***** "Brilliant! - Passwords in sync at last!" -- Daddio1946 from Australia ***** "Great integration and support - PasswordSafe is great and this app makes it even better! Easy to setup and use. Their support for big fixes is great and the turn around time is short." -- Joeartz from the USA ***** "Very good, better than it's rivals, does what it's supposed to do AND the copy-feature is EX-CELLENT!" -- WaiWera from New Zealand ***** "I highly recommend this app for anyone who has a large number of usernames or hard-to-remember passwords." -- razor11401 from Canada ***** "Excellent tool for multiplatform password storage - Excellent tool that enhances my online security by creating complex and long passwords without the inconvenience of retyping them time and time again." -- AmberTiara from Neaderland == List of features: - TouchID unlocks - Safari and apps autofill (extension) - Smart Pasteboard: tilt your device face down to switch between username and password when using other apps - Can open safes from any cloud service with an iOS 8 Storage Provider Extension - Print a hardcopy of your data - New iPad with Retina display & iPhone 5 support - iCloud sync, realtime and bi-directional - Dropbox sync**, fully automatic and bi-directional - Password generation - Passcode protection - Universal binary - iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch optimized - Compatible with the famous open source Password Safe desktop app - Search all fields - Organize entries in groups - Single tap password copy to clipboard - Single tap password copy to clipboard and open website - Clear password from clipboard after one minute - Multiple fields (title, username, password, URL, email and notes) - Define custom fields - Full unicode support - iTunes file sharing - Receives safes as e-mail attachments (please name your safes with a .psafe3 extension) - Opens safes from Dropbox (free without sync, paid otherwise) - Export to PDF (encrypted, of course) - Password history (per safe and per entry settings) - Named password policies - Fully compatible with Password Safe version 3.31 file format - Multiple safes - Unlimited passwords - Unlimited password groups - Two-factor authentication using YubiKey security token - Generate TOTP authentication codes (two-factor authentication) - Create and use Passkeys for password-free authentication ** Syncing via Dropbox is an In-App purchase. Instead of trusting on a single developer security knowledge, pwSafe borrows all its encryption code directly from the famous Password Safe open source password manager (https://pwsafe.org). Password Safe has been originally created by security guru Bruce Schneier and nowadays is maintained by Rony Shapiro. Since it has been around as an open source project for more than two decades now, it has been extensively reviewed by many experts. Apple’s standard end user license agreement (EULA) applies to the pwSafe app (https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/) The (optional) services provided by pwSafe Cloud are subject to our Terms of Use (https://pwsafe.app/terms-of-use/)

Screenshots

PCalc Lite4 screens
pwSafe 24 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: PCalc Lite at Free against pwSafe 2's $2.99. PCalc Lite also leads on review sentiment (82% vs 72%) and device support (4 vs 2). pwSafe 2's advantage is update cadence (every 9 days vs every 2 months) and rating (4.7 vs 4.4). On 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

PCalc Lite is free to download; pwSafe 2 costs $2.99 up front. PCalc Lite sells 11 one-off in-app purchases and pwSafe 2 sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 3 months. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

pwSafe 2 holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: pwSafe 2 has 5.1K ratings behind it against 214, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 82% of PCalc Lite's written reviews are positive against 72% of pwSafe 2'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, pwSafe 2 every 9 days. Both last shipped on October 26, 2026.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
PCalc Lite versus pwSafe 2: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPCalc LitepwSafe 2
PriceFree — better$2.99
Rating4.4 (214 ratings)4.7 (5.1K ratings) — better
Positive reviews82.5% of reviews — better71.8% of reviews
Number of ratings2145.1K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#159 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size79 MB36 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTLA Systems Ltd.Huvisoft B.V.

Customer experience

PCalc Lite

All ratings214 ratings
Positive83.6%
Neutral6.5%
Negative9.8%
Written reviews530 reviews
Positive82.5%
Neutral7.0%
Negative10.6%

pwSafe 2

All ratings5,108 ratings
Positive94.9%
Neutral1.8%
Negative3.2%
Written reviews348 reviews
Positive71.8%
Neutral5.5%
Negative22.7%

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

pwSafe 2

From 5.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Simple, no-frills app
  • 🔒 Secure password storage
  • 👍 Easy to use and navigate
  • 💡 Supports multiple safes and categories
  • 👍 Reliable syncing across devices

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Freezing and crashing issues
  • 🐛 Sync problems with cloud storage
  • 🐛 Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
  • 🐛 Inability to edit password entries

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

pwSafe 2

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Sudden loss of password data
  • Inability to open external safes after updates
  • Frequent crashes when trying to copy/paste passwords

Requested features

3 requests
  • Google Drive/OneDrive integration
  • Improved UI/UX, especially for search and navigation
  • More customization options for password generation

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
7 purchases

pwSafe 2

Subscriptions3
  • 3 Months1 Month trial$2.993 Months
  • 6 Months1 Month trial$4.996 Months
  • 1 Year1 Month trial$8.991 Year
One-time4
  • Dropbox Sync Support$2.99
  • Small Donation$4.99
  • Medium Donation$9.99
Show 1 more
  • Large Donation$19.99

Questions

Is PCalc Lite free?
PCalc Lite is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is pwSafe 2 free?
pwSafe 2 costs $2.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, PCalc Lite or pwSafe 2?
pwSafe 2 is rated higher. PCalc Lite averages 4.4 out of 5 from 214 ratings, while pwSafe 2 averages 4.7 from 5.1K ratings.
Do PCalc Lite or pwSafe 2 have ads?
Neither PCalc Lite nor pwSafe 2 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PCalc Lite or pwSafe 2?
PCalc Lite ships an update every 2 months, and pwSafe 2 every 9 days. Most recently, PCalc Lite was updated on October 26, 2026 and pwSafe 2 on October 26, 2026.

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