Comparison

Calc Visualizer vs Particle Life

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

Head to head
About

Calc Visualizer

Features
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Calc Visualizer helps the user better understand some of the most important concepts of calculus. The app includes eight different modules: 1) Descartes' Method, 2) Fermat's Method, 3) Derivatives, 4) Areas under Curves, 5) Fundamental Theorem, 6) Slope Fields, 7) Max-Min problems, and 8) Related rate problems. Highly interactive, but with extensive instructional help screens and animations.

About

Particle Life

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What can simple rules create? Particle Life is a free science laboratory for iPhone and iPad. Change how colorful particles attract and repel one another, then watch clusters and moving patterns emerge. LEARN BY EXPERIMENTING Seven guided experiments invite you to predict, change one variable, observe and explain. Explore attraction, unequal interactions, distance, friction, boundaries, emergence and reactions. Keep predictions and observations alongside your saved worlds. TRY REACTIONS Build bonded structures and add acid particles. When two acids attach to the same structure, its bonds break into loose fragments and the reacting acids become harmless spent particles. Change the number of acids needed, attachment strength and recovery time. Explore this optional toy-chemistry laboratory in 2D and 3D, or follow the new guided experiment, Two acids, one structure. MAKE THE RULES Edit how each species responds to every other species. Adjust attraction, repulsion, interaction distances, particle count, friction and world boundaries. Use exact values, original presets or randomized rules to follow your curiosity. EXPLORE IN 2D AND 3D Add, erase, attract and repel particles with touch tools. Pan, zoom and orbit. Pause, advance one step, inspect a particle or replay a compatible starting arrangement while keeping your edited rules. SAVE YOUR DISCOVERIES Save complete worlds with notes, export and import .particlelife files, and share a still picture through the iOS share sheet. A COMPLETE FREE LABORATORY Every tool and experiment is free. Optional one-time tips support development without unlocking content. No accounts, ads or subscriptions. Simulations and notes stay on your device unless you choose to share them. These are simplified artificial-life and invented toy-chemistry rules, not validated biological or real acid-chemistry models. The particles are not living organisms. Larger populations and demanding settings can slow the simulation. Designed for iPhone and iPad, with portrait and landscape layouts.

Screenshots

Particle Life4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Calc Visualizer at none against Particle Life's 3. Calc Visualizer also leads on iOS requirement (8.0 vs 17.0). Particle Life's advantage is update cadence (every 9 days vs every 44 months). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Particle Life sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Calc Visualizer asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Calc Visualizer ships an update every 44 months, Particle Life every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences ยท 3 level
Calc Visualizer versus Particle Life: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCalc VisualizerParticle Life
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 44 monthsEvery 9 days โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo โ€” betterYes
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad โ€” better
Requires iOS8.0 โ€” better17.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size39 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperThomas BretlSub Rosa Industries

In-app purchases

None

Calc Visualizer

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Particle Life

One-time3
  • A little curiosity$1.99
  • A new discovery$4.99
  • A world of possibility$9.99

Questions

Is Calc Visualizer free?
Calc Visualizer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Particle Life free?
Particle Life is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Calc Visualizer or Particle Life have ads?
Neither Calc Visualizer nor Particle Life shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Calc Visualizer or Particle Life?
Calc Visualizer ships an update every 44 months, and Particle Life every 9 days. Most recently, Calc Visualizer was updated on October 13, 2026 and Particle Life on October 5, 2026.

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