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Maxima vs Wolfram Mathematica: catalog facts
Maxima	Wolfram Mathematica
Free Free and open source under the GPL.	Paid Commercial software sold under paid licences.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line	Windows, macOS, Linux
Broad symbolic maths: calculus, ODEs, linear algebra, tensors Exact and arbitrary-precision arithmetic	Symbolic mathematics alongside numerical computation Interactive notebooks that mix code, results and text
The core program is a plain terminal interface Lisp heritage and syntax take some learning	Commercial licence required Proprietary language and file format
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Closed source
License: GPL-3.0-or-later	License: Proprietary
No account needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Works offline	Not stated if it 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.