An alternative to SpeedCrunch and Qalculate
Written by Adrian Viziteu. SpeedCrunch and Qalculate details are from their own sites; both are free and open source.
SpeedCrunch and Qalculate are excellent free calculators: you type an expression, press Enter, and it goes into a history. Ratio works like a note instead: every line stays editable, can be named and reused, and the whole sheet recalculates as you type.
| Ratio | SpeedCrunch | Qalculate! | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $9.99 once, 7-day trial | Free, open source | Free, open source |
| Platforms | Linux, Windows, Mac | Linux, Windows, Mac | Linux, Windows and others |
| How you work | A sheet of lines that all stay live | One expression at a time, with history | One expression at a time, with history |
| Live currencies | Yes, 160+ plus crypto | No | Yes |
| Units | 150+ | Some | Very many |
| Dates, time zones, working days | Yes | No | Dates, yes |
| VAT, loans, margins in plain words | Yes | No | No |
| Symbolic algebra | Equations and exact answers | No | Yes, much deeper |
The same work as a sheet
Instead of a history you scroll back through, a Ratio sheet keeps the steps. Change the first line and everything below updates.
| price = 1200 | 1,200 |
| discount = 15% | 15% |
| price - discount | 1,020 |
| L3 * 2 | 2,040 |
| prev / 4 | 510 |
| 255 in hex | 0xFF |
| 0xF0 & 0x3C | 0x30 |
| 1920x1080 aspect | 16:9 |
Choose Ratio if
Your sums are a few connected steps (a budget, an invoice with VAT, a trip in another currency, a deadline in working days) and you want them in one editable page instead of a history.
Choose SpeedCrunch or Qalculate if
You want free, open-source software, need Qalculate's symbolic algebra and huge unit list, or mostly type one quick expression at a time.
Try Ratio free for 7 days · on Linux, Windows or Mac
Questions
Is Ratio free like SpeedCrunch and Qalculate? No. Ratio has a 7-day free trial and then costs $9.99 once. SpeedCrunch and Qalculate are free and open source.
What does Ratio do that SpeedCrunch doesn't? Ratio keeps a whole sheet of lines live, with names and line references, and understands live currencies, dates, time zones, working days, VAT and loans in plain words.
Does Ratio run on Linux? Yes. It runs on 64-bit Linux with glibc 2.35 or newer as an AppImage or a .deb. See Ratio for Linux.