Best Graphing Calculator 2021

 

Best Graphing Calculator

If you have complicated math equations and problems, the best graphing calculator is the way to go. There’s no better, and more reliable, way to tackle statistics, trigonometry, algebra or  problems than making use of graphing calculator one of these, not to mention that they’re also an ideal portable calculator for engineering.

It can be a bit hard trying to finding the best graphing calculator for both science professionals and students. To worsen matters, a lot of the manufacturers aren’t letting out everything the calculators are capable and not capable of – you might end up investing your money in one that’s missing an important feature that you need. And, what’s the use in spending on something that doesn’t do what you bought it for?

That is why we are analyzing the best cos we want to help you get the best graphing calculator for your needs, whether you’re looking at more traditional physical ones or you are looking at their mobile software counterparts. 

If you are a professional or you’re a student going back to school (even remotely) and taking standardized tests, or you are doing a lot of general lab work, or have your own business, you’ll find something good to suit your needs on this list. 

Best Graphing Calculators List

1. Texas Instruments TI-84 Plus CE

2. Texas Instruments TI-83 Plus

3. HP Prime 

4. Casio FX-9750GII

5.Desmos Web and Mobile App

1. Texas Instruments TI-84 Plus CE

The school room staple gets a color upgrade

Features

Display: High-resolution back-lit color

Battery: Rechargeable Lithium-ion

Memory: 154KB RAM

Approved exams: PSAT, NMBST, AP, SAT, ACT, IB

Dimensions (H x W x D): (190.5 x 86.86 x 15.74 mm) 7.5 x 3.42 x 0.62 

Weight: 340 grams (12 ounces)

+ Lightweight

+ Rechargeable battery

+ Back-lit screen

+ Expensive

When it comes to the best graphing calculators for college students and high school,  the TI-84 series calculators is one of the best. It is the latest model of the TI-84 Plus CE, and has all the functionality you'd expect from a classroom graphing calculator but with a modern back-lit color screen and  it comes pre-loaded with several useful math applications.

It has got a rechargeable battery that should last you about two weeks on a single charge, which will be able to save you some extra cash on batteries for several years of college, high school, and graduate-level math courses.

2. Texas Instruments TI-83 Plus

The Cadillac of pre-calculus graphing calculators

Features

Display: Monochrome LCD

Approved exams: SAT, ACT, PSAT, NMBST, AP, IB

Dimensions (H x W x D): (287 x 190.5 x 35.5 mm)11.3 x 7.5 x 1.4  

Weight: 7.2 ounces (204.1 grams)

Memory: 24KB RAM

Battery: 4xAAA alkaline

+ Perfect for pre-calculus work

+ Limited display

+ Bulky

Graphing calculators are divided into two categories, those that can't do calculus calculation and those that can. If you don't need to do integration or differentiation, then the Texas Instruments TI-83 Plus is definitely the best graphing calculator you can buy. 

The Calculator isn't the most powerful neither is it the flashiest calculator out there, but its perfect for visualizing exponential and quadratic functions. While its not the cheapest calculator out there, its been around for a long time that you can find some great deals online without much effort.

3. HP Prime

A touchscreen twist on the graphing calculator

Features

Display: High-resolution color touchscreen

Battery: Rechargeable Lithium-ion

Memory: 256MB Flash

Approved exams: PSAT, NMBST, SAT, IB, ACT, AP

Dimensions (H x W x D): (182.3 x 85.8 x 13.9 mm)7.13 x 3.38 x 0.55  

Weight: 8.04 ounces (228 grams)

+ Large memory capacity

+ 16-bit color touchscreen

+ Expensive

The HP Prime definitely is an update of the standard of graphing calculator design to feature a more modern form factor and multi-touch, with 16-bit display. It also features about 256MB of flash memory, which is much more far than you're going to find in a lot of other graphing calculators out there.

4. Casio FX-9750GII

The perfect pocket graphing calculator

Features

Display: Monochrome LCD

Battery: 4xAAA alkaline batteries

Memory: 62KB RAM

Approved exams: IB , SAT, ACT, NMBST, PSAT, AP, 

Dimensions (H x W x D): 7.5 x 3.42 x 0.62 in. (190.5 x 86.86 x 15.74 mm)

Weight: 7.6 ounces (215.45 grams)

+ Very affordable

+ Highly portable

+ No built-in battery

The Casio FX-9750GII is powerful enough to handle everything from finance and statistics to calculus without any of the bells that run up the costs of other graphing calculators. 

Majorly, one of those missing features is a rechargeable battery, but the four AAA batteries should last you for about 200 hours of use, which might be enough to get you through your final exam. If you need it beyond that, you can just shell out for new batteries at the start of the next semester.

5. Desmos Web and Mobile App

Because everything is free on the internet

Features

Display: N/A

Weight: N/A

Approved exams: None

Battery: N/AMemory: N/A

Dimensions (H x W x D): N/A

+ Powerful functionality

+ Looks great

+ Free

+ Did we mention that it's free?

+ Probably you can't make use it on any other tests either

+ Cannot use it on any standardized tests

Why do you wanna pay for a graphing calculator when you can just use Desmos's free web or Demos mobile app? Well, if you want to use it for the AP or SAT Calculus exam, we guess, but if you just want some homework help, you don't need any other than Desmos.

Its simple and elegant design allows you to do everything from graphing differentiation and integration, to algebraic equations with ease. While the handheld graphing calculator screens are somewhat little, Desmos lets you graph as many interactive functions as you want on a full screen display making a very dynamic visualizations.