Free42 vs Scientific Calculator++
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Free42
This application is a faithful re-implementation of the HP-42S scientific calculator and its associated printer. It offers full functionality without requiring original HP ROM images and is an open-source project.
- HP-42S calculator simulation
- HP-82240 printer simulation
- Open source project
- No HP ROM required
- Complete rewrite
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Free42 is a re-implementation of the HP-42S calculator and the HP-82240 printer. It is a complete rewrite, not using any HP code, and it does not require an HP-42S ROM image. Free42 is an Open Source project. The executables and source code are released under the terms of the GNU General Public License, version 2. All third-party code used in Free42 is either in the public domain, or licensed under terms compatible with GPLv2, or used with the authors' permission.
Scientific Calculator++
This powerful calculator app offers advanced functions for complex calculations, including fraction manipulation, angle conversions, and equation solving. It features a history of your calculations and a user-friendly interface designed for iPad.
- Calculation history
- Fraction manipulation
- Angle conversion (degrees, minutes, seconds)
- Permutation and combination calculations
- LCM and GCD
- Equation solver
- Coordinate conversion
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The creators of 5-star Scientific++ and Statistics Calculator++ redesigned Scientific Calculator++ exclusively for iPad. Please note that the statistics features that you see in the screen shots are only available through an In-App Purchase. The features that are listed below are all included in the regular purchase of the app. Major features of Scientific Calculator++ are: - Shows the expression as you enter and keeps a history of your calculations. - Capability of performing fraction manipulations and converting between different formats (proper, improper, and mixed fractions) and seamless integration of fraction, integer, and decimal manipulations. - Capability of inputting degrees, minutes, and seconds for angles and converting between degrees-minutes-seconds format and decimal format. - Capability of calculating permutation, combination, Least Common Multiple (LCM), Greatest Common Divisor (GCD), and prime factorization. - Quadratic and system of two linear equations solver. - Rectangular to polar and polar to rectangular coordinate conversion (extremely useful for phasor calculations for electrical engineers) - Common physical constants can be chosen from a list and used in the calculations. - Throws a set of dice (choice of 1 die to 4 dice) - Backspace to delete last digit entered. - Sinusoidal functions can be calculated for angles in units of degrees, radians, or gradians. - Showing the content of memory on MR button, as long as it fits. You are going to love the simplicity of the user interface and yet have the powerful functionality with which Scientific Calculator++ is loaded. Please do not hesitate to contact us for any questions, comments, to report any bugs, or to suggest additional functions you would like to see in the upcoming updates. Visit our website www.dogahe.com for other product descriptions.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Free42 at Free against Scientific Calculator++'s $2.99. Free42 also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2) and update cadence (every 9 days vs every 38 months). Scientific Calculator++'s advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On rating and ads 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
Free42 is free to download; Scientific Calculator++ costs $2.99 up front. Scientific Calculator++ sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Free42 asks for nothing beyond the download.
Scientific Calculator++ holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Free42 has 287 ratings behind it against 21, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 94% of Free42's written reviews are positive against 67% of Scientific Calculator++'s, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Free42 ships an update every 9 days, Scientific Calculator++ every 38 months. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Free42 | Scientific Calculator++ |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $2.99 |
| Rating | 4.8 (287 ratings) | 5.0 (21 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 94.4% of reviews — better | 66.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 287 — better | 21 |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days — better | Every 38 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 9 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Thomas Okken | Dogahe |
Customer experience
Free42
Scientific Calculator++
Bugs and requests
Free42
Reported bugs
2 issues- Occasional issues with Solver function
- Store and Recall functions not working properly
Requested features
3 requests- Display all registers (X, Y, Z, T, Last X) simultaneously
- Ability to share/transfer programs between devices
- Improved use of screen real estate on larger displays
Scientific Calculator++
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Free42
No in-app purchases
Scientific Calculator++
- List Size Plus$0.99
- Quadratic Plus$0.99









