Life & fun · alternatives · 2026
24 alternatives to All desktop software calculators are wrong, so I had to build my own
A new calculator software cannot really bring attention (https://chachatelier.fr/chalk/) However, I wrote a full article explaining why I had to build something "new" that does not behave like usual desktop calculator softwares : TL;DR All "small" calculator softwares I know share the same design flaws. And the GUI is not the only stumbling block in their poor efficiency. Handling correctly numerical approximations - expected or not - is crucial to trust the results. It is usually not done in lightweight tools. It should. So I prove that if I could do it, OS manufacturers…
Chalk is a desktop calculator application designed to address common flaws found in existing calculator software. It focuses on proper handling of numerical approximations and precision to ensure trustworthy results… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. All desktop software calculators are wrong, so I had to build my own launched in 2022; newer entries below may have overtaken it.
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I launched NumPad v1 on here a few years ago, and back then it wasn't much more than a thin CodeMirror wrapper around the calculator engine I'd written. Now I've rewritten it as a PWA that supports multiple documents, persists them to IndexedDB, and has a syncing service for paying customers. Syncing is handled by Automerge[1] under the hood, which should make it relatively easy to get document sharing working too. [1] https://automerge.org/
2022 · numpad.io · its alternatives →
- 2IG
I’ve always found that online calculators tend to have bad UIs, especially on mobile. Most of the calculator websites I’ve come across use outdated and inconvenient ways of inputting data, or they format the results in confusing ways. I’ve noticed that fraction calculators (especially mixed fractions) are terrible to use, even on desktop. I haven’t built one of those yet, but it’s something I’m planning to tackle soon. This is a project I’ve always wanted to work on, but I’m relatively new to this space. So far, I’ve created a collection of simple calculators focused on math and finance. I’d…
2025 · its alternatives →
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Hi all, just posting an update to my previous Show HN, where I announced a side-project I worked on which was a (web version) of a multi-user, notepad style calculator: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31817997 After a couple of user requests (and having a good think about it) I decided to migrate the web UI to create a Mac and Windows desktop app. After using it a little bit, I feel this is a much better experience than the webapp, and reduces a lot of the friction if I wanted to run a few small calculations. You can find the download links below:…
2022 · figr.app · its alternatives →
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Simple Qt-based programming calculator. Contribute to fellerts/procal development by creating an account on GitHub.
2023 · github.com · its alternatives →
- 5IM
I've been studying interval arithmetic for the past few weeks and it's a really interesting field because while there is a ton of super interesting research published over the past decades, it has never really gotten the recognition that it deserves, IMO. One reason for this is that standard interval arithmetic has really poor handling of division by intervals containing zero. If you compute 1 / [-1, 2] in regular interval arithmetic, you get either [-∞, +∞], or you have to say that the operation is undefined. Both solutions are virtually useless. The real answer of course is [-∞, -1] U…
Apr 2026 · victorpoughon.github.io · its alternatives →
- 6CA
Hi everyone, here's a web app I made that generates code for efficiently approximating mathematical functions. This is useful when performance matters more than perfect accuracy, for example in embedded systems. The app uses Chebyshev expansions, which despite their theoretical depth result in suprisingly compact and readable code in practice. This code is generated for you and using it does not require any knowledge of the underlying theory. Source code and more info: https://github.com/stuffmatic/chebyshev-calculator
2024 · stuffmatic.com · its alternatives →
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Hey, maker here. After launching a daily word search game, I randomly thought of this math game while driving. Finally got around to making it and I think it turned out pretty cool. It’s a math search game that’s meant to help you practice your quick addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division skills. I’m hoping it’ll help people (even those like me who aren’t big on math) learn and increase their speeds. (There are also some settings you can enable to make the game harder) If you try it out, please let me know if you found it fun, if you have anything you’d like me to add, or if you…
2024 · worchle.com · its alternatives →
- 9CA
2021 · mkhan45.github.io · its alternatives →
- 10
A free-form calculator for Chrome
2022 · chromewebstore.google.com · its alternatives →
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I figured I needed to work on my coding skills before building the next groundbreaking AI app, so I started working on this free tool site. Its basically just an aggregation of various commonly used calculators and unit convertors. Link: https://www.calcverse.live Tech Stack: Next, React, Typescript, shadcn UI, Tailwind CSS Would greatly appreciate your feedback on the UI/UX and accessibilty. I struggled the most with navigation. I've added a search box, a sidebar, breadcrumbs and pages with grids of cards leading to the respective calculator or unit convertor, but not sure if…
2025 · calcverse.live · its alternatives →
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CalcMate▲88calculate numbers, dates, units within notes
2023 · accounts.google.com · its alternatives →
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A Simple & Gorgeous Android Calculator for Everyday Use
2021 · play.google.com · its alternatives →
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A simple command-line calculator written in Go. Contribute to alfredxing/calc development by creating an account on GitHub.
2015 · github.com · its alternatives →
- 18IM
https://github.com/siraben/ti84-forth Hi HN! For the past year I've been getting into programming in Z80 assembly (especially for the TI-84+). More recently I've been learning about the Forth programming language and after a lot of searching online (in vain) for a Forth interpreter for the TI-84, I decided to write one myself. It's been fun demoing this to others, because it's a very unexpected use of a calculator. It's my largest project to date, and I'm interested to know what the HN community thinks, please feel free to critique my code! -- Ben
2018 · its alternatives →
- 19
Functionality meets simplicity, calculate with ease
2022 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →
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GitHub▲5Minimal calculator built with core web technologies
Jan 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →
- 21
The modern calculator for macOS/iOS
2020 · euclid.pr1mer.tech · its alternatives →
- 22
Build website calculators with no code, just spreadsheets
2024 · calculatorstudio.co · its alternatives →
- 23
Wrote this to learn more about the `chumsky` parser combinator library, rustyline, and the `ariadne` error reporting crate. Such a nice DX combo for writing new languages. Still a work in progress, but I thought I'd share :)
2025 · github.com · its alternatives →
- 24
Also compare
- I made a web-based notepad with a built in unit calculator alternatives
- I Got Tired of Calculator Sites, So I Built My Own alternatives
- Figr.app – a multi-user, notepad style calculator (desktop app) alternatives
- Procal: A simple Qt-based programming calculator alternatives
- I made a calculator that works over disjoint sets of intervals alternatives
- Chebyshev approximation calculator alternatives
Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →