# ONELAB vs Waves

The clearest difference is review sentiment: ONELAB at 100% against Waves's 50%. ONELAB also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.8) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 11.4). Waves's advantage is ratings volume (16 vs 1). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ONELAB holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Waves has 16 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of ONELAB's written reviews are positive against 50% of Waves's.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on June 8, 2026 and June 1, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | ONELAB | Waves |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/onelab/id845930897/reviews)** | [4.8 (16 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/waves-partial-diff-eq/id1447533890/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 1 | **16** |
| Positive reviews | **100.0% of reviews** | 50.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 95 MB | 30 MB |
| Requires iOS | **9.0** | 11.4 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Christophe Geuzaine](https://appshunter.io/developer/845930900) | [Tim Lucas](https://appshunter.io/developer/1136916670) |

## What reviewers say

### ONELAB

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/onelab/id845930897)

This application provides a finite element package for simulating multi-physics problems. It integrates with open-source tools for mesh generation and solving, offering ready-to-use examples for electromagnetics, thermics, and mechanics.

**Highlights:** Finite element package, Multi-physic problem simulation, Electromagnetics, thermics, mechanics, Integrates with Gmsh and GetDP, Ready-to-use examples, Add new models via zip archives

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


### Waves

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/waves-partial-diff-eq/id1447533890)

Explore graphical solutions to partial differential equations with interactive activities. Visualize Fourier series and solutions to heat and wave equations, with options to customize conditions and save your work.

**Highlights:** Interactive PDE exploration, Fourier series plotting, Heat equation solutions, Wave equation solutions, Customizable boundary/initial conditions, Save and analyze work

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is ONELAB free?

ONELAB is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Waves free?

Waves is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, ONELAB or Waves?

ONELAB is rated higher. ONELAB averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Waves averages 4.8 from 16 ratings.

### Do ONELAB or Waves have ads?

Neither ONELAB nor Waves shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, ONELAB or Waves?

ONELAB ships an update every 2 months, and Waves every 2 months. Most recently, ONELAB was updated on June 8, 2026 and Waves on June 1, 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.*