When studying subjects that require complicated calculations, there is nothing better than having a good calculator. Although having a calculator in physical is very comfortable, it is not always accessible, which is why we must resort to online options, either surfing the web or as applications for the phone.

My recommendation for my students is to always study accompanied by a calculator, so they can check if they are doing the necessary calculations correctly.

Let’s see then, a list without a particular order (just kidding, they are ordered from the best to the worst) of the best calculators that we can get browsing the internet or in the store of applications of different operating systems.

Wolfram Alpha

With no doubt, Wolfran Alpha is the king of online calculators because its calculations are not only based on algorithms as traditional calculators do, but on innovative algorithms, knowledge base and artificial intelligence technology.

Nota: According to Atlassian, A knowledge base is a self-serve online library of information about a product, service, department, or topic. The data in your knowledge base can come from anywhere. Typically, contributors who are well versed in the relevant subjects add to and expand the knowledge base.

Performing a calculation in Wolfram Alpha not only provides the solution to the calculation, but also provides additional information usually needed when performing calculations. You can see the entire development step by step to reach the final result by paying a subscription, but it is not mandatory if you only want results.

Wolfram Alpha is available for free at wolframalpha.com and for a fee at iOS, Android and Microsoft.

Calculator N+

My daily use calculator is the Android Calculator N+ application. It is an open source calculator, developed by Trần Lê Duy who, according to his github profile, is a student at Nguyen Binh Khiem High School who loves to study algorithms.

Note: open source commonly refers to software that uses an open development process and is licensed to include source code.

This calculator provides results only, without procedures, but the amount of functions that can be applied is immense. I think the only defect it has (for now), is that it does not have a function finder in the home screen calculator.

In addition to the home screen calculator, this application has specific calculators to work with Equations, Derivatives, Integrals and Matrices, among others; this is what extends its versatility and comfort.

Calculator N+ is only available for Android, however, being open source, it can be built from your code following the instructions in GitHub.

GeoGebra

GeoGebra is a multifunctional platform of didactic support that deserves a whole article to be able to expose everything it offers, however, this time we will only focus on the calculator it provides.

The strength of GeoGebra lies in the graphical representations of Functions, Equations and Inequations, or generally, the interaction between two variables (although its application for 3D graphics generalizes these aspects), however, it also allows the calculation of derivatives and integrals.

Graphic representations can be customized to clearly illustrate which elements are involved in the calculations being performed.

The full range of applications provided by GeoGebra is available at GeoGebra.com, iOS and Android.

Mathway

Mathway is a calculator with a simple but very versatile interface when making calculations, because as Wolfram Alpha, it is based on innovative algorithms and artificial intelligence.

Although you can use the buttons of the application to make the calculations, you can set the instructions and obtain the results.

Like Wolfram Alpha, you can see the complete development step by step to reach the final result paying a subscription, but it is not mandatory if we only want results.

Mathway is available at Mathway.com, iOS and Android.

Symbolab

Symbolab is the son of Wolfram Alpha and Mathway, haha, because it provides similar functionalities to both calculators and its interface also a mixture of both (but with more ads), however, it is equally comfortable to use.

Like Wolfram Alpha, you can see the complete development step by step to reach the final result paying a subscription, but it is not mandatory if we only want results.

Symbolab is available at symbolab.com, iOS and Android.

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