# Maxima

7 Hacker News commenters recommended Maxima and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 8 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** A free, long-running symbolic math system that people recommend for calculus, equation solving and symbolic computation, with a reputation for accurate answers.

## Why people recommend it

- Long-running, mature symbolic math tool (2 comments): "I've used Maxima much longer than Mathematica has existed." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49323781)) "I remember using it 20 years ago. very nice." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46173289))
- Good for symbolic computation (2 comments): "both Maxima and FriCAS are good examples (Math CAS)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49212594)) "a great tool for symbolic computation" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46173835))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Wolfram Alpha](https://hackerapproved.com/p/wolfram-alpha.md): 28 recommend
- [GeoGebra](https://hackerapproved.com/p/geogebra.md): 7 recommend
- [Derive](https://hackerapproved.com/p/derive.md): 5 recommend
- [Geomatic](https://hackerapproved.com/p/geomatic.md): 5 recommend
- [Polypad by Mathigon](https://hackerapproved.com/p/polypad.md): 5 recommend

## Cite as

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