PCalc Lite vs pwSafe 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
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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!
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.
- 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
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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
Verdict
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
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.
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.
PCalc Lite ships an update every 2 months, pwSafe 2 every 9 days. Both last shipped on October 26, 2026.
| Parameter | PCalc Lite | pwSafe 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $2.99 |
| Rating | 4.4 (214 ratings) | 4.7 (5.1K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 82.5% of reviews — better | 71.8% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 214 | 5.1K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 9 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | #159 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 79 MB | 36 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | TLA Systems Ltd. | Huvisoft B.V. |
Customer experience
PCalc Lite
pwSafe 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
pwSafe 2
From 5.1K App Store ratingsWhat 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
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
pwSafe 2
- 3 Months1 Month trial$2.993 Months
- 6 Months1 Month trial$4.996 Months
- 1 Year1 Month trial$8.991 Year
- Dropbox Sync Support$2.99
- Small Donation$4.99
- Medium Donation$9.99
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- Large Donation$19.99









