Introduction
As I reviewed this category, I discovered there were a lot of free calculator programs available. Some are financial calculators, some are scientific calculators, and some are mixed use or what I called multi-purpose calculators.
Trying to pick the best free calculator that fits everyone is not an easy task. Check out below the rated calculators, each of which having its own specific purposes and functionality.
Leave a comment at the end of this article if you have any favorable free calculator that has not been covered.
Rated Products
CalcTape
Best for simple calculations, with some advanced operations, exponential and percentage calculations
Other Caculators
These are other calculators which have not been rated in this review or have been mentioned in the comments section.
- Moffsoft FreeCalc, a free lightweight calculator with a simple user interface, resizable window and optional color skins. It has a tape feature. The multiply and divide buttons didn't display correctly in Windows 10 when tested.
- rpCalc, a little program runs in Windows and Linux suitable for users who like RPN calculators.
- Kalkules, a free scientific calculator with an amount of nontraditional functions, which can be used particularly by high school or university students.
- Sicyon, an all-in-one scientific calculator for anyone doing physics, chemistry, science or engineering using formulas and tables of constants.
- SpeQ, a small and extensive mathematics program with all calculations entered in a sheet, in which you can edit and execute calculations. It supports all common functions, lets you define variables and plot graphs of your functions.
Related Products and Links
You might want to check out these articles too:
- Best Free Unit and Currency Conversion Program
- This Advanced Graphing Calculator Will Blow Your Mind
- The Ultimate Scientific Calculator. From Microsoft. And It's Free.
Editor
This software review is copy-edited by Glyn Burgess. Please help edit and improve this article by clicking here.
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Comments
can anyone recommend a Windows calculator that can be invoked by pressing NumLock?
For years I used the marvelous EldoS AnyCalc, which had that feature, but now I can't get it to run under Windows 10, so I'm looking for a replacement.
"... Windows Reverse Polish Notation (WRPN) is a public domain calculator for Microsoft Windows that is modeled after the Hewlett-Packard HP-16c ...":
http://www.wrpn.emmet-gray.com/
"... VB Gadgets is excited to bring you a graphing calculator that looks better, runs faster, and can do much more than its predecessor - ParaGraph ...":
http://vbgadgets.weebly.com/photon.html
I checked out the above, and none of them fit what I wanted- a simple calculator, with some options including a history or tape. Then I finally located one I had used for years, but could not remember where it came from: http://www.moffsoft.com/freecalc.htm
Free and functional with a few options- Great!!! I sent a donation- there is one with more on it (costs), but nothing that I use. This one is just right for me. This is one of the few times I have not found what I needed on Gizmo- thanks for this great site and all the help with software. (I have no connection with Moffsoft except appreciation for this program.)
From the web site:
Moffsoft FreeCalc is a great replacement for your existing Windows® calculator. We took the standard Windows calculator functionality and added the following features:
Adjustable calculator size - Make it any size you want and Moffsoft FreeCalc will remember the size and position next time you use it. (see example)
Tape - Save, print, or clear the simulated paper history tape.
Color schemes - Select a color combination or use your Windows color settings. (see example)
New keys - Clear Tape {CT}, double zero {00}, triple zero {000}, and memory subtract {M-} keys have been added.
Visible memory value - You'll always know what's in memory because it's displayed on the calculator status bar.
Option settings - Flat buttons, always on top, tray icon, run on startup, and hiding the tape are some of the calculator options. (see example)
Digit groupings - Number groupings for easy to read numbers.
International support - Digit grouping and decimal point characters change based on your regional settings. (see example)
Tray icon - Turn on the tray icon for quick and easy access. (see example)
System requirements - Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP/Vista/7
rpCalc:
http://rpcalc.bellz.org/index.html
"... Kalkules is an universal scientific freeware calculator with an amount of nontraditional functions, which can be used particularly by high school or university students ...:"
http://www.kalkules.com/index.php
Win8 apps like the calculator are lame when mousing and they take over the whole screen. Not handy if working on a spreadsheet, etc. Hence my seeking a desktop calc.
I saw some references to getting the Win7 calc to work in other OS's but a simpler option is the free MS Calculator Plus.
http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/download/confirmation.aspx?id=21622
You may want to shift the lame modern look to "Classic View" in the View menu.
Looks like a good one. Thanks
I went with SpeQ Mathematics as well. You can find it's homepage here:
http://www.speqmath.com/
I really think it deserves top-spot in your review list editor.
[Commercial details edited out]
I also use Geogebra for geometry fun. It's quite advanced, but doesn't do common arithmetic. It's very fun, and hand's on.
Does anybody know of a software that mimics the 1980's toy, "Spirograph". For more info on such, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirograph
Thanks for listening, and for the interesting finds in the forum posts.