FEATURED APP

A Winning Calculation

PCalc makes an exponentially better calculator.

PCalc

The Best Calculator

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No matter how simple or complex your arithmetic needs, PCalc is one of those rare utilities that always manages to be just the right tool for the moment.

That’s in part because its interface is so customizable. Keep it simple with a bare-bones calculator, or go all out with nearly any scientific, engineering, or programming function. The app remains easy to use whether you’re calculating 12 + 59 + 712, finding the cube root of 1,259,712, multiplying in binary, or converting between newton-metres and foot-pounds.

Combine a modern theme with an old-school Tape (right) showing a history of your calculations. RPN acolytes will appreciate the Stack window (left).

PCalc’s default layout emulates the basic scientific calculator you probably remember from school. You can click buttons on the screen but if you prefer to use the keyboard, the app assigns functions beyond basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division to intuitive keys and key combinations. For example, type \ for the inverse or reciprocal (a number divided into 1). Or press the Space bar to reveal a wealth of trigonometric, logarithmic, and other functions.

You can also convert among different numeric bases, like decimal into hexadecimal, or compute outside of base 10 with a click of the Hex, Oct, or Bin button. And like any scientific calculator worth its salt, you can switch to Reverse Polish Notation (RPN) mode with the click of a button.

The numerous layout and theme options mean even fans of old HP calculators will feel at home.

All these options just scratch the surface of PCalc. The app includes scores of unit and currency conversions (click the A→B button to choose a conversion; you’ll see a live preview of the result in the conversion picker), as well as mathematical and physical constants. And by taking advantage of the app’s macros feature, you can create and save sequences to perform pretty much any calculation you can dream up. Many of these customizations even sync across PCalc for Mac, iPhone, and iPad.