Comparison

The Calculator vs Life Dots

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

The Calculator

This app combines a powerful calculator with a note-taking feature, allowing you to document calculations as you perform them. It also offers unit and currency conversions, with customizable appearance and settings.

Highlights
  • Integrated notepad for documenting calculations
  • Unit and currency conversion
  • Basic, scientific, and conversion calculators
  • Customizable appearance (light, dark, black)
  • Adjustable number formats and decimal places
  • History with attachable notes
Features
Read full description

How many steps does it take to work out a bill? Open the calculator, get a number, write it down somewhere, come back, forget where you were. The notepad lets you write the whole thing as text — every line worked out as you type it: rent = 1200 utilities = 85 rent + utilities 1285 Name your values and reuse them. It reads plain English too: 20 ml in tsp 100 USD in EUR 20% off 80 Also good for - Travelling — convert as you go, the whole day's spending on one page - Cooking — cups, ounces, Fahrenheit, all converted in one place - Estimating materials — add up three walls, divide by coverage per tin - Quoting work — change one number, everything recalculates Three more calculators - Basic — large type, generous spacing, your working shown as you build it - Scientific — trigonometry, logarithms, powers and roots, 2nd key cycles four layers - Convert — 123 units across 15 categories, currency rates update automatically Things you can adjust - Number format — comma, period, space, apostrophe, or none - Decimal places — full precision, or fixed to a number you choose - Appearance — light, dark, true black, or follow the system - Startup page — pick which one opens when you launch the app - Haptics — tune the strength or switch it off Also inside - History, with notes you can attach - Control Centre button for one-tap access - Available in many languages, with unit names and keywords in each Built on minimalist principles Clean design, smooth interaction, no noise — only what actually matters. The Calculator is free to use. Convert and Notepad are Premium features. Terms of Use: https://www.minlsm.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://www.minlsm.com/privacy

About

Life Dots

Visualize your life's progress through a simple grid of dots representing your day, month, year, or lifespan. A home screen widget provides a constant reminder to make the most of your time and stay motivated.

Highlights
  • Visualize time progression
  • Day, month, year, lifespan views
  • Home screen widget
  • Lock screen widget
  • Motivation and urgency reminder
Features
Read full description

Life Dots helps you visualize your life in dots. See how much of your day, month, year, or expected lifespan has passed through a simple grid of dots. Add a widget to keep it visible on your Home Screen or Lock Screen. It’s easy to take time for granted without realizing how quickly it passes. When you need a little urgency or motivation, simply open the app or glance at your widget for a reminder to make the most of your time.

Screenshots

The Calculator4 screens
Life Dots4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Life Dots at none against The Calculator's 3. Life Dots also leads on ratings volume (36 vs 1). On price, rating, update cadence 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. The Calculator sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Life Dots asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for The Calculator against 5.0 for Life Dots. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Life Dots has 36 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

The Calculator ships an update every 6 days, Life Dots weekly. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
The Calculator versus Life Dots: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe CalculatorLife Dots
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better5.0 (36 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings136 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS16.6 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size17 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperYiDe LiuTHE DIGITAL MINIMALIST PTE. LTD.

Customer experience

The Calculator

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Life Dots

All ratings28 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

The Calculator

Subscriptions2
  • Premium$4.991 Month
  • Premium$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Premium$9.99
None

Life Dots

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is The Calculator free?
The Calculator is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Life Dots free?
Life Dots is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, The Calculator or Life Dots?
The Calculator is rated higher. The Calculator averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Life Dots averages 5.0 from 36 ratings.
Do The Calculator or Life Dots have ads?
Neither The Calculator nor Life Dots shows ads.
Which is updated more often, The Calculator or Life Dots?
The Calculator ships an update every 6 days, and Life Dots weekly. Most recently, The Calculator was updated on October 24, 2026 and Life Dots on October 24, 2026.

Other comparisons