# Casio calculator

14 Hacker News commenters recommended Casio calculator and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 5 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** People recommend Casio calculators for being cheap, durable and simple enough for school exams and everyday math. Critics say the functions are limited and cannot store formulas or programs.

## Why people recommend it

- Lasts for years, through school (3 comments): "I still have my casio calculator from college and that's what I use" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48677343)) "It got me all the way through my exams in school and university." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47983204)) "still have my trusty Casio that I bought over 20 years ago" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48381213))
- Used through school and exams (3 comments): "A friend in high school bucked the trend and used a casio in our TI based education, and did just fine for himself" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47981492)) "It got me all the way through my exams in school and university." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47983204)) "I used this to double check my answers in my exams." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47984576))
- Cheaper than TI calculators (2 comments): "way cheaper than the equivalent TI" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47981169)) "Look what you can get for $20" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47980450))
- Enough for simple calculations (2 comments): "I'm using to do simple calculations, including checking Claude code/opus math and logic." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46887889)) "it was just the right amount of functionality to help me with math" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47981142))

## What people warn about

- Cannot store formulas or programs (2 comments): "Powerful enough to write formulas and complex calculations, but can't store formulas or programs." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48955936)) "Display was nice, functionality sucked." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47984213))
- Less capable overall (1 comments): "Casio was definitely more friendly and polished in UI, but dumber" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47987804))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [HP 15C](https://hackerapproved.com/p/hp-15c-calculator.md): 24 recommend
- [Casio S100X Japanese Lacquer Edition](https://hackerapproved.com/p/casio-s100x-japanese-lacquer-edition.md): 16 recommend
- [SwissMicros DM42n](https://hackerapproved.com/p/swissmicros-dm42n.md): 13 recommend
- [SwissMicros R47 RPN calculator](https://hackerapproved.com/p/r47-rpn-calculator.md): 11 recommend
- [HP 42S calculator](https://hackerapproved.com/p/hp-42s-calculator.md): 8 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Casio+desk+calculator&tag=YOURTAG-20) (affiliate link)
- [Official site](https://www.casio.com/us/)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Casio calculator", https://hackerapproved.com/p/casio-calculator/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).