Performing a quick mathematical calculation is pretty simple. On your Mac, you can fire up the Calculator widget or use the power of Google. But performing slightly more complicated calculations can be a less pleasant experience unless you resort to third-party territory. There are several decent calculator apps in OS X but a lot of them cost money. SpeedCrunch has to be one of the best free calculator apps right now.
Using the calculator
It is worth noting that SpeedCrunch is in alpha state right now with no recent updates for the past few months but the app’s core functions work beautifully. Unlike other typical calculator apps, SpeedCrunch doesn’t have any calculator buttons. It works more like a scientific calculator where you manually key in the expression using your keyboard. One of the nicest features is how the answer to the equation constantly updates as you type. Entering the equation so it appears on the screen does have an advantage though since you can save the history so your equations and results still show up the next time you launch the app.
Support for variables, constants and functions also serve as great extra features to SpeedCrunch. All of these extras can be brought up on a sidebar so you can still compute things while you review any variables you assigned or any constants you wish to take note of. Several formulas are listed too making this tool an invaluable app for students. You can customize the look of the app as well if you are not a fan of the small font and terminal-like background.
SpeedCrunch is open-source and works with OS X Mavericks.