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FriCAS vs Maxima: catalog facts
FriCAS	Maxima
Free Free and open source under a modified BSD license.	Free Free and open source under the GPL.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line	Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line
Powerful symbolic mathematics engine Strongly typed mathematical language	Broad symbolic maths: calculus, ODEs, linear algebra, tensors Exact and arbitrary-precision arithmetic
Command-line interface rather than a modern GUI Niche audience of mathematicians and researchers	The core program is a plain terminal interface Lisp heritage and syntax take some learning
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: BSD-3-Clause	License: GPL-3.0-or-later
No account needed	No account needed
Works offline	Works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 2, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 2, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.