TI-83 Plus
Hacker ApprovedRanked 4 of 21 calculators by recommenders
Many people say it taught them to program, and it lasts for years; the built-in BASIC is limited and awkward to type on, and critics call the price high.
Many people say it taught them to program, and it lasts for years; the built-in BASIC is limited and awkward to type on, and critics call the price high.
29 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 21
- criticize it
- 8
- approval share
- 72%
Recommended in 6 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Owned for 30 years
Median of the 3 owners who said how long they have had it.
Each square is one year.
Why it carries the badge
- 21 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 2.6 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 6 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
Taught people to program
“My ti-82/83 got me into programming because I hated math so much that I taught myself to code an app”
Comment from 2 May 2026 in “Ti-84 Evo” “taught an entire generation that programming was possible on hardware you already owned”
Comment from 7 May 2026 in “Boris Cherny: TI-83 Plus Basic Programming Tutorial (2004)” “I make a living today because my dad brought home a Ti-83 Plus”
Comment from 1 May 2026 in “Ti-84 Evo” - Comment from 1 May 2026 in “Ti-84 Evo”
- Comment from 20 Mar 2026 in “Drugwars for the TI-82/83/83 Calculators”
- Comment from 26 Oct 2026 in “Why I Am a Programmer”
- Comment from 1 May 2026 in “Ti-84 Evo”
Lasts for decades, passed down
“the older models lasted forever on 4 AAAs”
Comment from 1 May 2026 in “Ti-84 Evo” “I will be passing that down to my kids.”
Comment from 7 May 2026 in “Boris Cherny: TI-83 Plus Basic Programming Tutorial (2004)” Advanced handheld for its time
“it was easily the most advanced handheld computing hardware I had ever been exposed to”
Comment from 1 May 2026 in “Ti-84 Evo” “it was simply the most mindblowing device at the time”
Comment from 2 May 2026 in “Ti-84 Evo” Dependable, dedicated single-purpose device
“My TI-83 is deterministic and will give me exactly what I ask for, and will always do so”
Comment from 17 Nov 2025 in “Open-source Zig book” “dedicated to a single use that it does very well”
Comment from 1 Feb 2026 in “Ask HN: Do you still physical calculators?”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Price high; frequent upgrades
“The TI-83 is just a $160 tax on every high school student.”
Comment from 1 May 2026 in “Ti-84 Evo” “TI has always gouged their captive market.”
Comment from 1 May 2026 in “Ti-84 Evo” “I was having to upgrade every few years.”
Comment from 2 May 2026 in “Ti-84 Evo” Hard to program with buttons
“Authoring programs using the buttons on the calculator was not fun.”
Comment from 7 May 2026 in “Boris Cherny: TI-83 Plus Basic Programming Tutorial (2004)” “It was OK, just needed to memorize the commands”
Comment from 7 May 2026 in “Boris Cherny: TI-83 Plus Basic Programming Tutorial (2004)” Small screen, memory errors
“the calculator screen can only show you 8 lines at a time”
Comment from 20 Mar 2026 in “Drugwars for the TI-82/83/83 Calculators” “As kid I got ERR:MEMORY allot while trying to create games.”
Comment from 7 May 2026 in “Boris Cherny: TI-83 Plus Basic Programming Tutorial (2004)” Built-in BASIC too limited
“Also there are only 27 variables. Which made it hard for me to write a Snake clone until I figured out how to use Lists.”
Comment from 7 May 2026 in “Boris Cherny: TI-83 Plus Basic Programming Tutorial (2004)” “The Basic was SO BAD that I had to learn Z80 assembly to make anything good.”
Comment from 7 May 2026 in “Boris Cherny: TI-83 Plus Basic Programming Tutorial (2004)”
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 PlusThis page | 21 | 8 | 72% | 6 | 30 yrs3 owners | Approved |
| HP 48G | 16 | 1 | 94% | 9 | — | Approved |
What people said
27 of the 29 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“TI-83 was also my gateway drug into programming.”
“taught an entire generation that programming was possible on hardware you already owned”
“As kid I got ERR:MEMORY allot while trying to create games.”
“Also there are only 27 variables. Which made it hard for me to write a Snake clone until I figured out how to use Lists.”
“I will be passing that down to my kids.”
“The Basic was SO BAD that I had to learn Z80 assembly to make anything good.”
“I loved my Silver TI-83 plus”
“It was OK, just needed to memorize the commands”
“Authoring programs using the buttons on the calculator was not fun.”
“I was having to upgrade every few years.”
“it was simply the most mindblowing device at the time”
“My ti-82/83 got me into programming because I hated math so much that I taught myself to code an app”
“The TI-83 is just a $160 tax on every high school student.”
“it was easily the most advanced handheld computing hardware I had ever been exposed to”
“The TI-83 Z80 was how I learned assembly as a teenager”
“The interface is great for what it does though.”
“I make a living today because my dad brought home a Ti-83 Plus”
“I learned to program on a TI-83”
“the older models lasted forever on 4 AAAs”
“I cannot being to quantify the amount that I was able to learn with the assistance of that calculator”
“I don't actually remember using it for anything, even once”
“TI has always gouged their captive market.”
“That calculator is where I really learned to program.”
“the calculator screen can only show you 8 lines at a time”
“dedicated to a single use that it does very well”
“a TI 83 plus, that I never use”
“My TI-83 is deterministic and will give me exactly what I ask for, and will always do so”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.