The Best Mathematica AlternativesTop Numerical Computation Software & Programming Languages like Mathematica

Mathematica is described as 'Definitive technical computing system spanning machine learning and neural networks, data science, visualizations and much more' and is a very popular numerical computation software in the education & reference category. There are more than 50 alternatives to Mathematica for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Linux, Mac, Web-based and Android apps. The best Mathematica alternative is SageMath, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like Mathematica are R (programming language), GNU Octave, Jupyter and Maxima.

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Mathematica alternatives are mainly Calculators, but if you're looking for Numerical Computation Software or Programming Languages you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Free, Open Source, Android, iPad, Linux and Linux + Open Source. You can also filter by region, for example EU-based alternatives if you prefer software developed in the European Union. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Mathematica.
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Alternatives list

  1. SageMath icon

    SageMath

     158 likes
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    SageMath is a free open-source mathematics software system licensed under the GPL. It builds on top of many existing open-source packages: NumPy, SciPy, matplotlib, Sympy, Maxima, GAP, FLINT, R and many more.

    63 SageMath alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    Dynamically visualize effects of of parameters on calculations with Interact
     
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    45
    Comments about SageMath as an Alternative to Mathematica
    vfrico
    Positive
    3

    Sage supports symbolic maths through Maxima

    Guest
    Positive
    3

    It can calculate many things symbolically and combines many other software packages.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Positive
    1

    Its free and sounds capable

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Show more comments
    3 of 4 comments
    Mathematica Icon
    SageMath icon

    • Almost everyone thinks SageMath is a great Mathematica alternative.

    • SageMath is the most popular Web-based, Windows, Mac & Linux alternative to Mathematica.

    • SageMath is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Mathematica.

    • SageMath is Free and Open SourceMathematica is Paid and Proprietary
    • SageMath is LightweightMathematica is not according to our users
  2. R (programming language) icon

    R (programming language)

     223 likes
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    R is a free software environment for statistical computing and graphics. It is a GNU project which is similar to the S language and environment which was developed at Bell Laboratories (formerly AT&T, now Lucent Technologies) by John Chambers and colleagues. R can be consider.

    95 R (programming language) alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    R (programming language) screenshot 1
     
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    12
    Comments about R (programming language) as an Alternative to Mathematica
    Guest
    Negative
    -3

    R is really only useful for statistics, and not even mathematical statistics.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Mathematica Icon
    R (programming language) icon

    • Most users think R (programming language) is a great Mathematica alternative.

    • R (programming language) is Free and Open SourceMathematica is Paid and Proprietary
    • R (programming language) is Customizable and LightweightMathematica is not according to our users
  4. GNU Octave icon

    GNU Octave

     220 likes
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    Octave is a computer program for performing numerical computations which is mostly compatible with MATLAB . It is part of the GNU Project. It is free software under the terms of the GNU General Public License.

    66 GNU Octave alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • BSD
    GNU Octave GUI screenshot
     
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    19
    Comments about GNU Octave as an Alternative to Mathematica
    Guest
    Negative
    -3

    Octave needs programming language skills, it doesn't support well symbolic math.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Mathematica Icon
    GNU Octave icon

    • Most users think GNU Octave is a great Mathematica alternative.

    • GNU Octave is the most popular Android alternative to Mathematica.

    • GNU Octave is Free and Open SourceMathematica is Paid and Proprietary
    • GNU Octave is LightweightMathematica is not according to our users
  5. Jupyter icon

    Jupyter

     94 likes
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    The Jupyter Notebook is a web application that allows you to create and share documents that contain live code, equations, visualizations and explanatory text. Uses include: data cleaning and transformation, numerical simulation, statistical modeling, machine learning and much...

    55 Jupyter alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Cloudron
    The Jupyter Notebook is an open-source web application that allows you to create and share documents that contain live code, equations, visualizations and narrative text. Uses include: data cleaning and transformation, numerical simulation, statistical modeling, data visualization, machine learning, and much more.
     
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    7
    Comments about Jupyter as an Alternative to Mathematica
    Guest
    Positive
    0

    It can run python inline and do markup work all in one system. Can be worked via network and connected to via browser (including through phone) and set up to run distributed computing systems easily. Additionally it's open source and server side runs on most major operating systems.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Mathematica Icon
    Jupyter icon

    • Most users think Jupyter is a great Mathematica alternative.

    • Jupyter is Free and Open SourceMathematica is Paid and Proprietary
  6. Maxima icon

    Maxima

     75 likes
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    Maxima is a system for the manipulation of symbolic and numerical expressions, including differentiation, integration, Taylor series, Laplace transforms, ordinary differential equations, systems of linear equations, polynomials, and sets, lists, vectors, matrices, and tensors.

    31 Maxima alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Xmaxima interface running Maxima 5.28
     
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    25
    Comments about Maxima as an Alternative to Mathematica
    Guest
    Positive
    4

    It's free. It is also smaller, so starts up fast. Runs on Android devices as well. Lot's of functionality, including symbolic and numerical operations. Symbolic operations are not as extensive as Mathematica, but adequate for many operations. Numeric operations are considerably slower than Mathematica, and numerically oriented apps such as R, Matlab or Octave.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Positive
    3

    I'm a theoretical physicist and I can do almost al the math I need with Mxima

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    vfrico
    Positive
    -2

    It does support Symbolic math, but Matlab or Octave not

    Mathematica Icon
    Maxima icon

    • Almost everyone thinks Maxima is a great Mathematica alternative.

    • Maxima is Free and Open SourceMathematica is Paid and Proprietary
  7. MATLAB icon

    MATLAB

     232 likes
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    High-level environment supporting numerical computation, visualization, matrix operations, algorithm development, custom interfaces, integration with external languages, symbolic and model-based simulation, and specialized toolboxes for fields like engineering.

    86 MATLAB alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Pay once
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • iPad
    MATLAB screenshot 1
     
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    14
    Comments about MATLAB as an Alternative to Mathematica
    Top Positive Comment
    snshepherd
    -2

    Both are comprehensive mathematics solutions, and have very similar features, as well as even both being commercial.

    Top Negative Comment
    Guest
    7

    Mathematica is mainly a CAS (symbolic maths), but MATLAB is more for numeric analysis

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Negative
    1

    MATLAB is mainly for numerics

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Show more comments
    3 of 7 comments
    Mathematica Icon
    MATLAB icon

    • Some users think MATLAB is a great Mathematica alternative, some don't.

    • MATLAB is the most popular iPhone & iPad alternative to Mathematica.

    • MATLAB is the most popular commercial alternative to Mathematica.

    • MATLAB is Paid and ProprietaryMathematica is also Paid and Proprietary
  9. Julia icon

    Julia

     66 likes
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    Julia is a high-level, high-performance dynamic programming language for technical computing, with syntax that is familiar to users of other technical computing environments. It provides a sophisticated compiler, distributed parallel execution, numerical accuracy, and an...

    51 Julia alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Julia screenshot 1
     
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    10
    Comments about Julia as an Alternative to Mathematica
    Guest
    Positive
    -1

    It's an easy, powerful, really fast language which feels like a mix of Python and Ruby but runs like C. It comes with many mathematical functions, has a good stack of libraries for graphs (including Matplotlib as PyPlot) and can be used with the Jupyter Notebook. Still not at version 1.0, but already a great tool!

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Mathematica Icon
    Julia icon

    • Almost everyone thinks Julia is a great Mathematica alternative.

    • Julia is Free and Open SourceMathematica is Paid and Proprietary
  10. Spyder icon

    Spyder

     71 likes
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    Combines advanced editing, analysis, debugging, and profiling functionalities with data exploration, execution, and visualization capabilities. Expandable using its powerful plugin system and API, providing flexibility for custom integrations.

    48 Spyder alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Python
    • Flatpak
    Spyder screenshot 1
     
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    Comments about Spyder as an Alternative to Mathematica
    Guest
    Negative
    1

    It is a development environment for Python, not a symbolic math language/software.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Mathematica Icon
    Spyder icon
    • Spyder is Free and Open SourceMathematica is Paid and Proprietary
    • Spyder is Privacy focusedMathematica is not according to our users
  11. Scilab icon

    Scilab

     105 likes
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    Scilab is free and open source software for numerical computation providing a powerful computing environment for engineering and scientific applications. Scilab includes hundreds of mathematical functions.

    58 Scilab alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    Scilab screenshot 1
     
  12. fxSolver icon

    fxSolver

     60 likes
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    Online math solver, equation editor and database, graphing calculator and science/engineering problem helper.

    149 fxSolver alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
    Solver page
     
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    15
  13. Maple icon

    Maple

     43 likes
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    Maple is a general-purpose commercial computer algebra system. Users can enter mathematics in traditional mathematical notation. Custom user interfaces can also be created. There is support for numeric computations, to arbitrary precision, as well as symbolic computation and...

    50 Maple alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Pay once
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Maple 12 Interface
     
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    9
  14. Wolfram Language icon

    Wolfram Language

     5 likes
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    Wolfram Language is a symbolic language, deliberately designed with the breadth and unity needed to develop powerful programs quickly. By integrating high-level forms—like Image, GeoPolygon or Molecule—along with advanced superfunctions—such as ImageIdentify or...

    118 Wolfram Language alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • BSD
    • openSUSE
    • FreeBSD
    • OpenSolaris
    • NetBSD
    • OpenBSD
     
12 of 74 Mathematica alternatives