# SageMath

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/sage/

11 people recommended SageMath in Hacker News comments, 4 had mixed feelings and 3 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 6 of 12 months, in 9 threads. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Free open-source computer algebra system people use as an open alternative to Mathematica. Caveat: critics call it poorly integrated, a glue of separate projects.

Summary written by Claude from 16 comments.

## Why people recommend it

- Go-to choice for algebra (2 comments in the sample): "I would just use Wolfram Alpha or SageMath" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47981157)) "If I need algebra I’ll use Sage." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47981041))

## What people warn about

- Poorly integrated set of separate projects (2 comments in the sample): "it's just a Python glue on multiple smaller projects of different quality and poorly integrated" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46171920)) "not a bunch of tools glued together, poorly integrated, as you point out." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46172134))

## Other math software people recommend

- [Wolfram Mathematica](https://hackerapproved.com/p/mathematica/): 65 recommend, 34 mixed, 47 criticize
- [Wolfram Alpha](https://hackerapproved.com/p/wolfram-alpha/): 24 recommend, 4 mixed, 7 criticize
- [Maxima](https://hackerapproved.com/p/maxima/): 7 recommend, 0 mixed, 0 criticize
- [SymPy](https://hackerapproved.com/p/sympy/): 7 recommend, 2 mixed, 7 criticize

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "SageMath", https://hackerapproved.com/p/sage/ (11 recommend, 4 mixed, 3 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.