# Calca vs Craft

The clearest difference is price: Craft at Free against Calca's $9.99. Craft also leads on update cadence (every 10 days vs every 5 months) and rating (4.8 vs 4.5). Calca's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

Craft is free to download; Calca costs $9.99 up front. Calca sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Craft sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Craft holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Craft has 6.6K ratings behind it against 153, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 76% of Calca's written reviews are positive against 85% of Craft's.

Calca ships an update every 5 months, Craft every 10 days. Both last shipped on September 25, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Calca | Craft |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $9.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [4.5 (153 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/calca/id635757879/reviews) | **[4.8 (6.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/craft-notes-documents-ai/id1487937127/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 153 | **6.6K** |
| Positive reviews | 76.5% of reviews | **84.7% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | **Every 10 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 78 MB | 314 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 17.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Krueger Systems, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/299293363) | [Craft Docs Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/1487937126) |

## What reviewers say

### Calca

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/calca/id635757879)

This app is an advanced symbolic calculator and text editor. It solves equations, simplifies expressions, and allows you to explain your work alongside calculations. Calculations update instantly as you type, and all data is stored as plain text for easy sharing and device syncing.

**Highlights:** Symbolic calculation, Equation solving, Expression simplification, Markdown text editor, Real-time updates, Unit and currency conversion, Matrix operations

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 6-Month Optional Patronage | $4.99 | one-time |
| 12-Month Optional Patronage | $7.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 💡 Unique blend of text editor and calculator
- 📝 Markdown support for documentation
- 🔄 Dynamic recalculation of all values
- ⚙️ Powerful mathematical and algebraic capabilities
- 📊 Unit conversion and unit-aware calculations

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Magic Keyboard input bugs on iPad
- ⚠️ Appears abandoned or poorly maintained
- 🐛 Text selection issues with external keyboards
- 📱 iPad landscape mode problems
- 🐛 Cursor jumping and screen jumping during editing

**Reported bugs**

- Magic Keyboard causes number input to overwrite instead of append
- Text selection before numbers triggers increment/decrement instead of selecting
- Cursor jumps forward and backward with external keyboards
- iPad Pro keyboard truncation in portrait mode
- Arrow key (=>) doesn't work in landscape mode

**Requested features**

- Files app and document browser integration
- Dropbox and Google Drive support
- Date calculation functionality
- Looping and iteration support
- User-defined function storage in separate files


### Craft

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/craft-notes-documents-ai/id1487937127)

This app helps you organize your thoughts, manage tasks, and boost productivity with an AI assistant. Create structured documents, plan your day, and connect with other tools for a seamless workflow across all your devices.

**Highlights:** AI Assistant for research and writing, Structured document creation, Native task management system, Daily notes and calendar view, Offline access and sync, Integrations with other tools

**Features:** Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (9)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Plus Monthly Subscription | $9.99 | per month |
| Legacy - Monthly Subscription | $10.99 | per month |
| Family Monthly Subscription | $17.99 | per month |
| Team Monthly Subscription | $59.99 | per month |
| Plus Annual Subscription | $95.99 | per year |
| Legacy - Annual Subscription | $99.99 | per year |
| Family Annual Subscription | $179.99 | per year |
| Business Monthly Subscription | $299.00 | per month |
| Team Annual Subscription | $599.00 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Absolutely amazing
- 👍 Beautiful, clean, simple, increasingly powerful
- 👍 Fantastic Essential App
- 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
- 👍 Seamless sync between devices

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Expensive subscription
- 🐛 Crashes after recent update
- 🔍 Lack of customization options (e.g. font size)
- 🔍 Inconsistent and confusing UI conventions
- 🔍 Lack of basic features like tags and tables

**Reported bugs**

- Crashes when using voice control dictation
- Inconsistent behavior when rearranging notes
- Exporting to PDF creates blank first page

**Requested features**

- Add support for tables and columns
- Implement tagging system for better organization
- Improve text editing and formatting options
- Integrate with more third-party apps and services
- Add graph view for visualizing note connections


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Calca free?

Calca costs $9.99, and also offers in-app purchases.

### Is Craft free?

Craft is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Calca or Craft?

Craft is rated higher. Calca averages 4.5 out of 5 from 153 ratings, while Craft averages 4.8 from 6.6K ratings.

### Do Calca or Craft have ads?

Neither Calca nor Craft shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Calca or Craft?

Calca ships an update every 5 months, and Craft every 10 days. Most recently, Calca was updated on September 25, 2026 and Craft on September 25, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*