HP-11C calculator
Ranked 17 of 21 calculators by recommenders
People recommend it for its solid, tactile buttons and its long working life. Several say it still works decades later and is portable.
People recommend it for its solid, tactile buttons and its long working life. Several say it still works decades later and is portable.
7 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 7
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 7 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Solid, tactile physical buttons
“Physical buttons are easier to use than mousing on a screen. And it's highly portable.”
Comment from 1 Feb 2026 in “Ask HN: Do you still physical calculators?” “the solid physical construction (the buttons on the 11C and 15C were awesome)”
Comment from 15 May 2026 in “I designed a nibble-oriented CPU in Verilog to build a scientific calculator” “Nobody gets keys right like the old HP calculators.”
Comment from 15 May 2026 in “I designed a nibble-oriented CPU in Verilog to build a scientific calculator” Lasts decades with battery swaps
“Still works. Had to replace the batteries this year, after 20 years.”
Comment from 2 Jun 2026 in “HP re-releases classic computer science calculator: The HP-16C” “So does my old HP-11C calculator I used to write the first programs”
Comment from 27 Mar 2026 in “The Last Gasps of the Rent Seeking Class”
Other calculators people recommend
The four most recommended other calculators, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas Instruments TI-84 Evo | 41 | 53 | 44% | 4 | 10 yrs7 owners | — |
| TI-89 calculator | 31 | 8 | 79% | 8 | 28 yrs4 owners | Approved |
| HP 15C | 24 | 6 | 80% | 5 | 41 yrs5 owners | Approved |
| TI-83 Plus | 21 | 8 | 72% | 6 | 30 yrs3 owners | Approved |
| HP-11C calculatorThis page | 7 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
6 of the 7 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Still works. Had to replace the batteries this year, after 20 years.”
“Will die on that hill defending RPN!”
“Nobody gets keys right like the old HP calculators.”
“the solid physical construction (the buttons on the 11C and 15C were awesome)”
“So does my old HP-11C calculator I used to write the first programs”
“Physical buttons are easier to use than mousing on a screen. And it's highly portable.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.