Calculator vs DevToys
Which should you use? A side-by-side look at what each one does, who it suits, what it costs, how hard it is to set up, and where each falls short.
Open source · MIT
The Windows Calculator app source code, the one that ships pre-installed with Windows.
Open source · MIT
A desktop bundle of small tools for everyday developer tasks like encoding, formatting and converting.
The short answer
Choose Calculator if you need…
- Windows 11 users who want to read or modify the built-in calculator
- Developers studying how a XAML and UWP desktop app is structured
- Contributors who want to report bugs or suggest changes to the official calculator
- Students learning how a real-world Windows app is organized
Choose DevToys if you need…
- Developers who often decode, encode, or format small pieces of data
- People who prefer not to paste data into unknown online websites
- Users who want a single app with many small utilities
Side-by-side
| Calculator | DevToys | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | App | App |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 31.1k | 32.2k |
| Setup difficulty | Intermediate | Beginner |
| How you get it | Clone and build from source | Download the app |
| Main language | C# | C# |
| Last code update | 13 days ago | 38 days ago |
What each one is
Calculator
This is the source code for the Calculator app included with Windows 11. It offers standard, scientific, and programmer modes, plus date calculations, unit and currency converters, and calculation history. The code is written in C++ and C# and is published under the MIT License.
DevToys
DevToys is a desktop app that bundles many small utilities for quick developer chores, such as decoding text, formatting JSON or SQL, or compressing an image. It is meant to replace trips to many separate online tools, and its Smart Detection picks a relevant tool based on what is on your clipboard. More tools can be added through extensions.
Best for
Calculator
- Windows 11 users who want to read or modify the built-in calculator
- Developers studying how a XAML and UWP desktop app is structured
- Contributors who want to report bugs or suggest changes to the official calculator
- Students learning how a real-world Windows app is organized
DevToys
- Developers who often decode, encode, or format small pieces of data
- People who prefer not to paste data into unknown online websites
- Users who want a single app with many small utilities
Strengths
Calculator
- Mature, widely used app with over 31,000 GitHub stars at the time of this snapshot
- Covers standard, scientific, programmer, and date calculation modes in one codebase
- Released under the permissive MIT License
DevToys
- Covers many common small tasks in one app
- Works offline for the tools listed in the README, since it runs locally
- Open source under the MIT license
Not ideal for
Calculator
- People who only want a calculator to use: the Microsoft Store or the built-in app is the simpler choice
- Anyone on Windows 10 or earlier, since the README requires Windows 11 build 22000 or newer
- Users who need graphing: the README says developer builds lack working graphing functionality
- Developers wanting a cross-platform project: this targets Windows only
DevToys
- People who need a command-line-only tool, since this is a graphical desktop app
- Users who need a platform other than those the README describes, as the README does not detail platform support beyond the topics listed
Trade-offs
Calculator
- Requires Windows 11 and a fairly large Visual Studio setup with UWP tooling
- Developer builds use mock currency data and a mock graphing engine, so some features behave differently from the retail app
- Diagnostic data collection is part of the project, which the README notes is disabled by default in dev builds
DevToys
- The README is truncated and does not list system requirements or full platform support
- Feature list is a summary; individual tool behavior is not described in detail
- Some tools are only available through extensions
Getting started
Calculator
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/Microsoft/calculator.gitDevToys
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/DevToys-app/DevToysFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between Calculator and DevToys?
Calculator: The Windows Calculator app source code, the one that ships pre-installed with Windows. DevToys: A desktop bundle of small tools for everyday developer tasks like encoding, formatting and converting. Calculator suits windows 11 users who want to read or modify the built-in calculator, while DevToys suits developers who often decode, encode, or format small pieces of data.
Are Calculator and DevToys free?
Calculator: Free and open source. DevToys: Free and open source.
Which is easier to set up, Calculator or DevToys?
DevToys is easier to get started with (rated beginner); Calculator is rated intermediate and usually needs more setup.
Is Calculator or DevToys more popular?
DevToys has more GitHub stars (32.2k) than Calculator (31.1k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to Calculator and DevToys?
Other options people compare them with include Files, UniGetUI, PowerToys, Notepads.
Keep comparing
Built from our catalogue entries for both products: open-source details come from each project's README (AI-assisted, refreshed weekly) and GitHub data; AI-tool details are editorial. Spotted something wrong? Let us know from either product's page.