Download

The free Basic Edition

This is a complete calculator, and it is yours to keep. It does not expire, it never asks you to sign in, and once it is on your machine it never needs the internet again. Installing it takes the four steps below.

If you would rather print these steps, or keep them beside you while you work, the same guide is available as a PDF. It covers the Advanced Edition too, so a few of the file names in it have no -Basic- in them.

Installation guide (PDF)

Installing on Windows

  1. Check you have Java 23 or newer

    Open PowerShell and type the command below. If it prints 23 or higher, you are ready. If it says "not recognized", or prints 17 or 21, go to step 2.

    java -version
  2. Install Java if you need it

    Get a free build from Adoptium. Choose Java 25 (LTS), which is the easiest choice and is supported for years. Java 17 and 21 are very common downloads, but they will not run this app.

    adoptium.net

  3. Download the app

    It is one file. Save it somewhere you can find again, e.g., your Desktop.

    Download for Windows

    ScientificCalculator-Basic-win-linux-intelmac.jar

  4. Run it from PowerShell (double-clicking does not work)

    Double-clicking a .jar on Windows opens it in an archive tool instead of running it. Open PowerShell, go to the folder, and start it with this command. Leave the PowerShell window open while you use the app.

    cd $HOME\Desktop java -XX:MaxRAMPercentage=50 -jar ScientificCalculator-Basic-win-linux-intelmac.jar

Advanced Edition

For STEM students, and up to college

This edition has everything the Basic Edition has, and it adds nine dedicated tabs: Notes, 2D Plots, 3D Plots, Matrices, Stats, Distributions, WMW Test (the Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test), Images and Chem.

It is $39, paid once, with a perpetual license, so you buy it once and it stays yours. There is no subscription and nothing to renew. It is sent to you by email within 24 hours, by me personally, and you install it in the same way as the free edition.

For a school there are site licenses priced by enrollment, and they cover your students and staff at home as well as on school machines. The prices are on the home page.

If something goes wrong

These are the things that usually go wrong.

It says UnsupportedClassVersionError
Your Java is too old. This is by far the most common problem, because Java 17 and 21 are still the default download in many places. Install Java 23 or newer (Java 25 is the easiest choice) and try again.
Double-clicking the file did nothing, or opened an archive
That is expected. On Windows a .jar opens in an archive tool, on macOS Gatekeeper blocks it, and on Linux nothing happens. Start it from a terminal with the command in step 4 instead.
java: command not found, or not recognized
Java is not installed, or the installer did not add it to your PATH. Install it from adoptium.net, then close and reopen your terminal so it picks up the change.
An error about a library that will not load, on a Mac
You have the wrong Mac build. Apple silicon needs the mac-aarch64 file and Intel Macs need the win-linux-intelmac one. Download the other one.
How do I know it got enough memory?
Look at the Memory figure in the status bar. If it is roughly half your machine's RAM, the -XX:MaxRAMPercentage=50 setting took effect. If it is roughly a quarter, the setting was left off the command. If you prefer to set one exact figure on every machine, you can type -Xmx4g instead.
Something is wrong with an answer, or a page is unclear
Please write me a note. A worked example that gives the wrong answer, a message that does not explain itself, or a topic you needed and could not find are all important for me to know about, and suggestions are as welcome as bug reports. Please include what you typed and what came back, along with the details under "What you're running" at the bottom of the About page. Click that block once and it will be on your clipboard, ready to paste. info at srivus dot com