Calculator vs Files
Which should you use? A side-by-side look at what each one does, who it suits, what it costs, how hard it is to set up, and where each falls short.
Open source · MIT
The Windows Calculator app source code, the one that ships pre-installed with Windows.
Open source · MIT
A modern Windows file manager for organizing files and folders.
The short answer
Choose Calculator if you need…
- Windows 11 users who want to read or modify the built-in calculator
- Developers studying how a XAML and UWP desktop app is structured
- Contributors who want to report bugs or suggest changes to the official calculator
- Students learning how a real-world Windows app is organized
Choose Files if you need…
- Windows users who want a more modern alternative to File Explorer
- People who manage many folders and want a tabbed or organized browsing experience
- Developers interested in contributing to a WinUI or C# desktop app
- Beginners looking for an open-source, free file manager
Side-by-side
| Calculator | Files | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | App | App |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 31.1k | 46.4k |
| Setup difficulty | Intermediate | Intermediate |
| How you get it | Clone and build from source | Clone and build from source |
| Main language | C# | C# |
| Last code update | 13 days ago | 4 days ago |
What each one is
Calculator
This is the source code for the Calculator app included with Windows 11. It offers standard, scientific, and programmer modes, plus date calculations, unit and currency converters, and calculation history. The code is written in C++ and C# and is published under the MIT License.
Files
Files is an open-source file manager for Windows, built with C# and the WinUI framework and styled with Microsoft's Fluent design. It is meant to be a more modern replacement for the standard Windows file explorer, helping people browse and organize their files and folders. The project is MIT licensed and has a large community of users and contributors.
Best for
Calculator
- Windows 11 users who want to read or modify the built-in calculator
- Developers studying how a XAML and UWP desktop app is structured
- Contributors who want to report bugs or suggest changes to the official calculator
- Students learning how a real-world Windows app is organized
Files
- Windows users who want a more modern alternative to File Explorer
- People who manage many folders and want a tabbed or organized browsing experience
- Developers interested in contributing to a WinUI or C# desktop app
- Beginners looking for an open-source, free file manager
Strengths
Calculator
- Mature, widely used app with over 31,000 GitHub stars at the time of this snapshot
- Covers standard, scientific, programmer, and date calculation modes in one codebase
- Released under the permissive MIT License
Files
- Open source under the MIT license, so the code can be inspected and reused
- Actively maintained, with a recent push date in the metadata
- Built on a widely used Microsoft UI framework and Fluent design language
Not ideal for
Calculator
- People who only want a calculator to use: the Microsoft Store or the built-in app is the simpler choice
- Anyone on Windows 10 or earlier, since the README requires Windows 11 build 22000 or newer
- Users who need graphing: the README says developer builds lack working graphing functionality
- Developers wanting a cross-platform project: this targets Windows only
Files
- Users on macOS or Linux, since the project is built for Windows (reason: its stack is WinUI and Windows-specific)
- People who need a stable, fully polished release, since the latest release listed has no downloadable binaries (reason: install path is unclear from the metadata)
Trade-offs
Calculator
- Requires Windows 11 and a fairly large Visual Studio setup with UWP tooling
- Developer builds use mock currency data and a mock graphing engine, so some features behave differently from the retail app
- Diagnostic data collection is part of the project, which the README notes is disabled by default in dev builds
Files
- The latest listed release has no binaries, so installing may require building from source
- Windows-only, so it does not help users on other operating systems
- The README was truncated here, so details on features and setup are limited
Getting started
Calculator
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/Microsoft/calculator.gitFiles
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/files-community/FilesFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between Calculator and Files?
Calculator: The Windows Calculator app source code, the one that ships pre-installed with Windows. Files: A modern Windows file manager for organizing files and folders. Calculator suits windows 11 users who want to read or modify the built-in calculator, while Files suits windows users who want a more modern alternative to file explorer.
Are Calculator and Files free?
Calculator: Free and open source. Files: Free and open source.
Is Calculator or Files more popular?
Files has more GitHub stars (46.4k) than Calculator (31.1k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to Calculator and Files?
Other options people compare them with include DevToys, UniGetUI, PowerToys, Notepads, Yazi.
Keep comparing
Built from our catalogue entries for both products: open-source details come from each project's README (AI-assisted, refreshed weekly) and GitHub data; AI-tool details are editorial. Spotted something wrong? Let us know from either product's page.