Grub vs Calc
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Grub
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Grub is a retro-style virtual pet game where you adopt and care for your very own pixel creature. FEED & CARE Keep your grub happy by feeding it ingredients you discover while foraging. Watch its hunger, happiness, and energy levels and make sure it stays healthy! PLAY MINIGAMES Earn XP and level up your grub by playing fun tap-based minigames. The better you play, the faster your grub grows. GO ON EXPEDITIONS Send your grub out to explore mysterious locations and bring back rare ingredients and treasures. FORAGE FOR FOOD Search the wilderness for ingredients to cook meals for your grub. Discover rare items and keep your pantry stocked. WATCH IT GROW As your grub levels up, it evolves and changes. Unlock new abilities and watch your pet transform. PIXEL ART STYLE Beautiful hand-crafted pixel art brings your grub to life with charming animations and a cozy atmosphere. Download Grub today and start your pet-raising adventure!
Calc
This app adds a fun, interactive calculator experience with cute character reactions and customizable designs. It also features a unique 'Performance Mode' for playing music and hidden 'SP Answer Actions' for special character responses.
- Cute character reactions with button presses
- Customizable calculator themes
- Performance Mode for music playback
- Hidden SP Answer Actions
- Paid character DLCs available
- Voice lines for each character
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A little more joy in your calculations, every day. Desktop Mate now has a sister app! Calculator - Desktop Mate Widgets is a digital calculator you can use with your favorite characters — and the first release in the new Desktop Mate Widgets series. ■ Enjoy Cute Character Reactions Every time you press a calculator button, the character will speak that number and strike a pose. Press "=" to get the answer — though sometimes they might struggle a little to figure it out! Pet or poke the character's head for special reactions too. Enjoy your favorite character's movements and expressions as you calculate. ■ Customize with Character-Themed Designs Swap out the calculator buttons and background to match your character's style. Each character comes with multiple design options, so you can mix and match to suit your mood or the moment. ■ Performance Mode: Play Music on Your Calculator! Tap the music note button to switch from calculator mode to Performance Mode. The calculator keys function like piano keys, and the character will sing along to whatever you press. Hold "+" or "-" to shift notes by a semitone, and multi-key presses are supported too. With a little practice, you might be able to pull off a real performance! Share your session on social media and enjoy it with everyone. ■ SP Answer Actions: Find the Hidden Numbers Certain calculation results trigger special character reactions. From a triple "777" to fun number combinations, each character also has their own unique numbers that set off a special response. See how many hidden reactions you can find! ■ Ready to Use Right Away: Aieru-tan Launch the app and you're ready to go with Aieru-tan, the official mascot character of infiniteloop. Aieru-tan is a 16-year-old high school student who works part-time at infiniteloop. She loves programming and gaming, and her occasionally sharp tongue is all part of her charm. Since her debut in 2012, she has appeared in Desktop Mate and many other projects as a beloved face of infiniteloop. ■ More Character DLCs for a More Personal Experience This app also offers paid additional character DLC. The "Hatsune Miku DLC" will be available at launch, with more characters to be added over time in step with the Desktop Mate series lineup. Each DLC features newly recorded voice lines tailored to each character, so you can enjoy your favorite character's voice and reactions every time you use the calculator. More characters will be added over time, in line with the Desktop Mate series lineup. And this is just the beginning — more Desktop Mate Widgets apps are on the way. Stay tuned! Note: When using additional character DLC, please also review the guidelines set by each character's rights holder.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Grub at none against Calc's 10. Grub also leads on update cadence (daily vs weekly). Calc's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and device support (4 vs 2). 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. Calc sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Grub asks for nothing beyond the download.
Grub ships an update daily, Calc weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Grub | Calc |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 4.1 (50 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 77.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 50 — better |
| Update frequency | Daily — better | Weekly |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | — | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 156 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Jesse Barton | インフィニットループ |
In-app purchases
Grub
No in-app purchases
Calc
- Kasane Teto$2.99
- Zundamon$2.99
- Koharu Rikka$2.99
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- Natsuki Karin$2.99
- Additional Character MEIKO$2.99
- Additional Character KAITO$2.99
- Additional Character Kagamine Rin$2.99
- Additional Character Kagamine Len$2.99
- Additional Character Megurine Luka$2.99
- Additional Character Hatsune Miku$2.99









