DayCalc vs Essential Calculator
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
DayCalc
This app combines a powerful calculator with a comprehensive unit converter. It offers standard, scientific, and fraction calculations, along with over 600 units across 20 categories. Users can customize units, add notes to calculations, and enjoy a visually appealing interface with multiple themes.
- Standard, scientific, and fraction calculator
- Live voice calculator
- Add notes to calculations
- Over 600 units in 20 categories
- Custom unit creation
- Automatic currency exchange rate updates
- 50+ themes and dark mode support
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DayCalc is an easy to use, beautifully packaged calculator and Unit Converter, includes standard, scientific and fractions calculator, best calculator for your iPad, iPhone and Apple Watch! Calculator: - Live voice calculator - Add notes to history of your calculations, and you can share - Choose between a basic calculator or scientific calculator with more than 30 scientific operations - Use both calculators in portrait or landscape mode (both iPhone and iPad), and split screen support for iPad - Auto adjust height of the history list, no matter how long the calculation process can be displayed in full - Allows locking of calculation history, cannot be deleted and modified after locking - Full watchOS 4 and later support - Support iOS 9 and later spotlight search - Support Dark Mode Unit Converter: - Over 600+ units in 20 categories. - Allows you to add your own unit data, make your own unit converter that meets all your requirements. - Support more than 150 kinds of currency, conversion exchange rate automatic updates - The simplest way to create and use favorite lists. - Add the constant value of your frequently used, it can easily and quickly reused. - Flexible search feature that lets you quickly find what you want the unit and automatically saves your search history. Basic functions: - 50+ beautiful themes for you to choose - View and edit a history of your calculations on the History Panel - Multiple Button sounds, and button sound is mutable URL schemes: HCDayCalc:// Download it now and feel of this calculator is how classic
Essential Calculator
Perform basic mathematical calculations with a clean, minimalist interface. Get instant results for your equations on your iPhone or iPod touch.
- Basic mathematical equations
- Instant results
- Minimalist interface
- iPhone and iPod touch support
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Easily enter basic mathematical equations and instantly view the results on your iPhone or iPod touch with this simple, minimalist calculator app.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: DayCalc at 4.7 against Essential Calculator's 4.0. DayCalc also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 4 months) and ratings volume (128 vs 8). Essential Calculator's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and ads (none vs shown). On price 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
Both are free to download. DayCalc sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Essential Calculator asks for nothing beyond the download.
DayCalc holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: DayCalc has 128 ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 87% of DayCalc's written reviews are positive against 75% of Essential Calculator's.
DayCalc ships an update every 3 weeks, Essential Calculator every 4 months. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | DayCalc | Essential Calculator |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (128 ratings) — better | 4.0 (8 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 87.2% of reviews — better | 75.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 128 — better | 8 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 12.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 170 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | 良峰 侯 | CyberMoai |
Customer experience
DayCalc
Essential Calculator
Bugs and requests
DayCalc
Reported bugs
16 issues- Update issues, stuck in update loop
- Cannot install after removal
- Weight conversion not showing
- Keys making sound unexpectedly
- App not working after professional version update
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- App crashes after update
- Stuck on updating forever
- Calculator results in errors (e.g., 1000*10%)
- App keeps running in the background, draining battery
- Cannot change themes due to network error
- Ads still appear after purchasing ad removal
- App not opening after install
- M+ M- bug
- Text/numbers/symbols have underlines
- Standard version limits typing to four digits
- App not starting on Apple Watch
Requested features
10 requests- Add Pi button
- Improve currency conversion navigation
- iCloud support for syncing across devices
- Add background running feature
- Ability to change app icon
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Add more theme options
- Allow notes to show on the main screen
- Email entire calculation history
- Change layout (move function buttons)
- Allow sound to be enabled in silent mode
Essential Calculator
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
DayCalc
- Constants Pack$0.99
- Custom Unit Pack$1.99
- Remove Ads$3.99
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- Complete Pack$4.99
Essential Calculator
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is DayCalc free?
Is Essential Calculator free?
Which has better reviews, DayCalc or Essential Calculator?
Do DayCalc or Essential Calculator have ads?
Which is updated more often, DayCalc or Essential Calculator?
Other comparisons
