The 7 Best Calculator Apps

Photomath: Best Automatic Math Problem Solver

Unlike a standard calculator app that makes you manually type the whole math problem, this one does it automatically—just take a picture of the problem to get the answer.

Even better, Photomath shows you exactly how it got the answer, showing every single step necessary to solve the problem. I've used it a handful of times with my son and can confidently say it's a godsend if you're struggling with a math problem.

Here are some noteworthy features I want to mention:

• After taking a picture of the problem, the app lets you edit it in case it didn't read it correctly. From there, you can see every step necessary to solve it.
• A history of every equation you run through this app is stored for you to return to at any time. You can also favorite them to quickly find them again.
• Solutions can be shared with others so all they have to do is open a link to the Photomath website to see the problem and the answer.

However, something to be cautious about is the matched solutions feature, which can cause some confusion. According to the company, the app tries to find an exact match for your problem that someone else already submitted, but if it can't, then you'll get a partial solution that only serves as a reference.

It's free for iPhone, iPad, and Android.

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Mathway: Best All-in-One Calculator App

Mathway might be the only calculator you need... for everything. It covers basic math, pre-algebra, algebra, trigonometry, precalculus, calculus, statistics, finite math, linear algebra, chemistry, and graphing.

It's free to see answers, define terms, and plot points on a graph, but if you want step-by-step work and detailed explanations, you'll have to subscribe to the Premium version.

The app is chock-full of functions for several areas of math, so it's great that each category has its own section, like one for basic math and another for linear algebra. It gets confusing if multiple areas are mixed into one big calculator, like how some calculator apps work.

The app keeps a history of each section in the respective categories, so you can always return to Trigonometry, for example, to see those problems and answers even after you open a different area of the app. This is smart, and I'm glad it's included.

The only exception is that there isn't a history of previous graphing problems. In fact, if you begin a graphing problem but don't plot it, and then move to some other category, you'll lose that progress.

Mathway works on the web and is free for iPad, iPhone, and Android. Premium is as low as $3.33 /month if you pay $39.99 for the whole year.

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Desmos: Best Free Graphing Calculator

Desmos is the absolute best free graphing calculator for Android, iPad, and iPhone, and because it works online, too, you can save your graphs and edit them anywhere.

One of the major differences in this graphing calculator app versus some of the others you might find is that it doesn't limit the number of expressions you can graph at once.

It also supports function transformations via slider buttons, so instead of adjusting the expressions manually, you can just slide the bar left or right to quickly decrease or increase the value.

Here's something I think is awesome for learning: If you tap an area of the graph, it will highlight the expression to show you exactly which one is responsible for that specific area of the graph.

Notes can be added next to any of the expressions to remind yourself of why you added something to the graph or to help you study. They don't show up on the graph.

Desmos can also store images on the graph, plot data points via tables, disable the grid lines, label the x and y-axis, and quickly undo and redo any changes made to the expressions.

If you're using it from a computer, you can share a graph through a special link, as well as download an image version.

You can use this free calculator app from an Android, iPhone, or iPad, as well as directly from the Desmos website.

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MyScript Calculator: Best for Solving Handwritten Problems

If you prefer to do math calculations by hand, MyScript Calculator is the perfect calculator app for you. Just draw on the screen whatever problem you're working on, and you'll see the result appear instantly.

Some supported operations include basic ones like plus, minus, divide, etc., as well as powers, roots, exponentials, brackets, trigonometry, inverse trigonometry, constants, and more.

To erase or undo something, you can use the undo button or — and I think this is neat: just scribble out the part that you want to be deleted! The app will recognize your scribbles as an eraser and instantly remove it from the equation. There's also a redo button.

In the settings is a smart option to turn off automatic calculations so that you have more time to type before seeing the answer. Otherwise, if you have this option turned on, you'll get answers midway through writing the problem.

You can also adjust the number of decimal places shown in answers and choose to round or truncate approximations.

This app is best used as a tablet or iPad calculator because the screen is so large. I found it difficult to use on a small device unless I limited it to short problems.

It's $2.99 USD for Android, iPhone, and iPad.

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Tip Calculator: Best for Splitting Bills and Finding Tips

I always find it hard to quickly and accurately figure the tip amount at a restaurant, barber, etc. But the Tip Calculator app makes this easy.

What makes this app stand out is that you can drag the Tip % option left and right to see, in real time, how it affects the total bill amount.

After you enter the total amount of the bill, you can see the tip amount and total price immediately. To refine what you'll pay, adjust the tip percentage option and choose how many people the bill is for (you can pick 1–30).

The rounding option will round the total bill amount up or down to the closest dollar amount, whichever direction you choose.

This app is free with ads, but you can buy the Pro version to remove them.

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Loan Calculator: Best for Calculating Loan Payments

This calculator app for iPhone is made specifically for finding what your payments will be for any kind of loan. Just enter the loan amount, interest rate percentage, duration of the loan, and pay frequency.

There's also a text box for entering an extra payment amount that you'll pay per period, but it's optional.

After the payment amount per period is calculated, it shows you the total interest you'll pay throughout the loan period and how much you'll pay in total (interest plus principal).

What makes this loan calculator different from some of the others in the App Store is that it has a full schedule to show you each payment it takes to pay off the loan, including how much of the payment will go to the principal balance and how much is reserved for paying off the interest.

Another way to visualize how your loan will be paid off over time is through the Chart feature that gives a visual representation of the balance, interest, and total amount paid throughout the life of the loan.

This calculator app is free to download for iPadOS and iOS 11 and newer devices, but you have to pay a few dollars to save multiple loans or to remove ads.