Calc Visualizer vs Particle Life
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ with what reviewers say about each.
Calc Visualizer
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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.
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
Verdict
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
Both are free to download. Particle Life sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Calc Visualizer asks for nothing beyond the download.
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.
| Parameter | Calc Visualizer | Particle Life |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 44 months | Every 9 days โ better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No โ better | Yes |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad โ better |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 โ better | 17.0 |
| Further details โ not scored | ||
| Size | 39 MB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Thomas Bretl | Sub Rosa Industries |
In-app purchases
Calc Visualizer
No in-app purchases
Particle Life
- A little curiosity$1.99
- A new discovery$4.99
- A world of possibility$9.99
Questions
Is Calc Visualizer free?
Is Particle Life free?
Do Calc Visualizer or Particle Life have ads?
Which is updated more often, Calc Visualizer or Particle Life?
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