Over the years we have received many questions from students looking for the best financial calculator to help them with their finance/accounting classes and certification exams like the CFP or the CFA. In this article, we’ll cover the things you need to consider when choosing a financial calculator to make sure you pick the right one for your needs. Note: This article contains affiliate links and we will receive a commission for purchases made through these links. If you’re looking for a quick recommendation that will be suitable for most finance and accounting students, the calculator we use in our time value of money tutorials is the Hewlett Packard 10bII+. This calculator is usually around $25 on Amazon and is a good choice for business and finance needs to calculate loan repayments, interest rates, TVM, NPV, IRR, cash flows and more. This calculator is suitable for use in the CFP exam but not the CFA exam. If you need a calculator for CFA, go for the HP 12C or the TI BAII Plus below. There are lots of financial calculators to choose from and throughout this article, I’ll mention a number of different choices. I’ve seen many websites reviewing the calculators and going through a detailed pro’s and con’s list for each. I think this is overkill because fundamentally they all do pretty much the same thing. If you are a student, you’re either taking an introductory course–in which case you choose the cheapest calculator (the HP 10bII+)–or you’re studying for more advanced financial qualifications like the CFA or CFP–in which case you go with either the 12C or the TI BAII Plus. If you are an experienced financial professional and you need more advanced functionality like RPN data entry, then this article is probably not for you (although the HP 12C does provide that functionality, along with the HP 17bII). So, all that said, the best financial calculator for 99% of people studying finance, accounting, MBA, etc would be one of the following three: Before you run off and purchase a financial calculator, you need to think about exactly what you’ll be using it for. For example, if you’re taking the CFA exam, then the only allowed calculators are the HP12C and the BAII Plus. Here are a few considerations which will determine the best calculator for you: Let’s break these down and cover each consideration. If you’re in a rush and just want to skip ahead to the list of calculators, click here. Chances are that you are a student taking some form of introductory financial management course. Maybe you’re even one of our students here at Study Finance! For these types of course, the best calculator for you would be either the HP 10bII+ or the TI BAII Plus. Both of these calculators are less than $35 and will have all of the functionality you need to make calculations in your course. For undergraduate finance majors, finance professionals and MBA students, you might want to look for a higher-end model calculator which has the features these are missing. It’s like that for these financial needs you will be using spreadsheets though, so you may still be fine with the cheaper calculators. You have two main financial calculator budget ranges: In the more expensive bracket of calculator, you will find extra financial functions, graphing functions and advanced scientific math functions. If you don’t need these, stick the cheaper calculators. Now, if you are a business student and also take math alongside your finance or MBA classes, you will most likely need a graphing calculator for math class. In this case, the TI 83 Plus or the latest TI 84 Plus CE would be the right choice. Make sure you speak with your professors to find out what your needs are in the class before choosing. This is a very big consideration and you will need to check with your certification program to make sure you know what their calculator policy is. Most of them have a policy that prohibits the use of a calculator that can store text so that you can’t sneakily bring notes into the test. Here are the major policies for each exam board that you need to be aware of: For the CFA and CIPM, the only calculators you can use are the HP 12C and the BAII Plus. The CFP Board of Standards requires you to have a calculator with an IRR function and no alphabetic keys. This means your best choices here are the HP 10bII+, the HP 12C, the TI BAII Plus or the TI BAII Plus Professional. Graphing calculators (TI 83 Plus, TI 84 Plus CE) are not acceptable. The Investments & Wealth Institute allows the following calculators on their CPWA certification exams: HP 10b, HP 10bII, HP 10bII Plus, HP 12C, HP 12C Platinum, HP 17B, HP 17BII and HP 17BII Plus, as well as the Texas instrument BA II Plus, BA II Plus Professional and BA II Plus Business Analyst. They do not allow TI 83/84. Candidates are required to clear their financial calculator’s memory prior to the exam. Any notes, including manually programmed formulas, will not be allowed in the testing area. If the calculator has notes/formulas printed on the calculator or includes any other information, it must be removed or covered by solid color tape. Calculators are subject to inspections by test center staff. Check page 10 of theCPWA Candidate Handbookfor the full calculator policy. This is a nice and simple one. You’re not allowed to bring a calculator with you to these exams. If you request one, the examination center staff will provide a financial calculator for you. The Society of Actuaries calculator policy is to only allow the following Texas Instruments calculators: You can bring multiple backup calculators with batteries, as long as they are from this list. You must also show the supervisor that the memory has been cleared from the calculator. There doesn’t seem to be an official policy for financial calculators in the CPA exam. The general recommendation is that you ask for a calculator at the test center and they will most likely provide you a standard four-function calculator. For time value calculations in the CPA exam, you will be provided with TVM tables. If you require graphing or advanced scientific and math functions in your calculator, the best option would be the TI 83 Plus or the latest TI 84 Plus CE. Most finance professionals would not use graphing functions on a calculator anyway and would opt for creating spreadsheets instead. Notice I said “most” and not “all”. You’ve probably realized by now that there’s no “one size fits all” financial calculator. If there was, it would most likely be the TI BA II Plus because: I won’t recommend a calculator for you as the information in this article should help you figure it out yourself, but generally speaking: I hope that helps you to figure out the best financial calculator for your situation. Please note that links to calculators in this article are affiliate links. If you click a link and purchase a calculator, Study Finance receives a small commission. The price you pay does not change.
Top 3 Financial Calculators (for most people)
Name CFA CFP CPWA SOA Price Buy HP 10bII+ ? ✓ ✓ ? $25-35 Check Price → HP 12C ✓ ✓ ✓ ? $50-70 Check Price → TI BAII Plus ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ $35-55 Check Price → Main Considerations
Why do you need the financial calculator?
What is your budget?
Will you be taking financial certification exams?
CFA Institute (CFA and CIPM)
CFP Board of Standards
CPWA
FINRA (Series 6, Series 7, Series 63, etc)
Society of Actuaries
CPA
Do you need graphing/scientific functionality?
Conclusion
FAQs
1. Does CFA exam allow a scientific calculator?
No. Only HP or Texas Instruments calculators are allowed in Level 1 to ensure that all candidates in the exam use equal equipment. Yes, they provide you calculator at the center.2. Which financial calculator is best for CFA?
The CFA financial calculator policy requires the use of HP or Texas Instruments calculators that are accurate, have a four-function capability, cannot correct entries and cannot store data. The following models are approved for use on all levels of the Exam: BA II Plus Professional BA II Business Analyst HP 10b ii+ HP 12c Platinum HP 17b II+ HP 20b Elite HP 30b HP 12c Platinum Financial Calculator (Finance and Mortgage Pack), FICO 82212 Texas Instruments TI-30XS MultiView Calculator (or XB battery), Texas Instruments BAII Plus Professional (no backspace or correction)3. Is a scientific calculator the same as a financial calculator?
No. While a scientific calculator is mostly used for arithmetic functions, a financial calculator measures time value of money, cash flow conversions and many other financial functions.4. What calculator do investment bankers use?
Investment bankers use HP or Texas Instruments calculators. The following are approved for use on all levels of the Exam: BA II Plus Professional BA II Business Analyst HP 10b ii+ HP 12c Platinum HP 17b II+ HP 20b Elite Hp 30b Texas Instruments BAII Plus Professional (no backspace or correction).5. Does CFA Level 1 need a financial calculator?
Yes.
FAQs
Best Financial Calculator 2021: How to Choose a Financial Calculator? ›
Generally, this will mean the Hewlett Packard 10BII or the Texas Instruments BAII Plus. These usually cost about $30 to $35, though you may occasionally find them on sale for less. These are great financial calculators that will handle everything that you will probably need.
What is the best calculator to use for the CFP exam? ›The CFP Board of Standards requires you to have a calculator with an IRR function and no alphabetic keys. This means your best choices here are the HP 10bII+, the HP 12C, the TI BAII Plus or the TI BAII Plus Professional. Graphing calculators (TI 83 Plus, TI 84 Plus CE) are not acceptable.
Which calculator is best for FRM exam? ›The most preferred calculator for the FRM exam is the “Texas Instrument BA II financial calculator” as most students find it easier to use the calculator. Within Texas Instrument BA Calculator there are two calculators: Texas Instrument BA II Plus. Texas Instrument BA II Professional –
Which calculator should I use for CFA? ›Hewlett Packard 12C
This calculator series, including the Platinum, Prestige, and anniversary editions, is the standard device for financial professionals and has been in use since 1981.
Casio FC-200V Financial Calculator
Synonymous with manufacturing reliable and durable calculators for education and industries across the board, Casio is the one to beat. Casio's Financial Models are some of the most popular in the industry.
The TI 84 Plus is an easy to use financial calculator which will serve you well in all finance courses. This tutorial will demonstrate how to use the financial functions to handle time value of money problems and make financial math easy.
How can you avoid getting wrong answers on a calculator? ›Order matters !! It can matter what order you enter a calculation if it involves multiple steps. Your calculator will typically do multiplication and division steps before doing addition or subtraction. You can force the calculator to do the part of the problem that you have entered by using the [=] key.
Why is financial calculator so expensive? ›Because it's a limited, specialty market. There are a few scientific calculators that are approved for standardized tests, and this is one of the main uses for these. Like textbooks, it's a relatively small captive audience that will buy one of a specific few models.
Why do some calculators get different answers? ›In the case of the two calculators, one is using the order of operations and the other is not, commenters point out. "The iPhone Calculator is applying the order of operations (PEMDAS/BODMAS), which means it calculates multiplication and division before addition and subtraction.
How difficult is FRM compared to CFA? ›Which is more difficult CFA or FRM? Candidates who have done both CFA & FRM usually state that FRM is comparatively more difficult as the questions in FRM are all application based as there is very little theory in FRM. Although the course structure of CFA is lengthier and takes much more time to prepare.
What is the best combination with FRM? ›
While CFA provides knowledge of investments, FRM specialises in risk assessment and management. If your aim is to become a CFA with a specialisation in risk management, then opting for the CFA and FRM combination is a wise call.
What is the passing grade for the FRM exam? ›This means that on average, you'll need to get 50-53 questions correct in FRM Part 1 exam (out of 100 questions) to just make the cut-off score. That said, aiming for a score of 65% and above in practice exams is a good position to be in, since passing scores can vary by exam as they get recalibrated.
What calculator do accountants use? ›Some of the popular calculators used by accountants include the Texas Instruments BA II Plus, the HP 12C, and the Casio FC-200V.
Which CFA calculator to buy? ›Only two calculator models are authorized for use during CFA® Program exams: Texas Instruments BA II Plus (including BA II Plus Professional)
Can I bring two calculators to CFA? ›Can You Bring Two Calculators to the CFA Exam? Yes, you can bring a backup calculator if you'd like, as long as it's one of the approved models. For all calculators you bring, you need to leave the calculator manuals at home.
Can you bring two calculators to the CFP exam? ›Exam Procedures & Candidate Conduct
Make sure to bring: A valid, unexpired government-issued photo ID. One or more battery-powered, non-programmable, dedicated financial function calculator(s)
- Choose a good time to take the CFP exam.
- Create a study schedule that plans for life events.
- Study like you're preparing for a marathon with adequate breaks.
- Verbalize concepts as you study.
- Get help.
- Take as many practice questions as you can.
- Build your own practice exam as you study.
The pass rate for the March 2024 exam was 68%. “This unprecedented turnout for the March 2024 CFP® exam reflects the recognition of CFP® certification as the standard for competent, ethical financial planning,” said CFP Board CEO Kevin R.
Do you need to be good at math to be a CFP? ›Becoming a financial planner can be a great career option for individuals who want to focus on the human side of finance. Like other finance specialists, financial planners need sharp analytical and mathematical abilities, but this client-facing role also demands a robust interpersonal skill set.