Full Reference

Comprehensive all-in-one feature reference for Instacalc.

Here’s an all-in-one feature list (ctrl+f is your friend!). Each section header opens a live demo.

Basic Commands (click for demo)

Arithmetic (Add, Subtract, Multiply, Divide)
2 + 2
(3 * 5) / 2
sqrt(9)
5^2

Percentages
5%
100 * 17%
20 + 50%

Number shorthand
3.3 k
200 million
6.6 billion

Scientific
1.234e3
1e-3

Dollar formatting
$5 / 3

Comments
30 + 40

Click result column to show/hide details
x = 3

Variables and Rows

x = 9
y = x + 3
sqrt(x)
x + y
r1
r2
sum(r1:r3)
average(r1:r3)

Unit Conversions

Convert units: to, into, as, ->
15 feet into inches

Unit rates: /, per, every, until
15 miles/hour into feet/second
15 pounds per year in pounds per month

Custom units: plurals handled
15 sales/day in minutes per sale
15 sales/day in minutes until 5 sales

Autoconversion: @, at, with, for, using
15 mph @ 10 hours
15 mph @ 100 miles
150 dollars/sale @ 10 sales/day @ 10 days
150 dollars/sale @ 10 sales/day @ 750 dollars

Implied Conversion
15 mph in min
15 mph in /min
15 mph in km

SI units and prefixes (m, s, kg, newton, Pa, kWh...)
10 N -> base
10 kg m/s^2

Weight: oz, lb, g, kg, ug (microgram), ton...
150 lbs in kg

Length: mile, yard (yd), foot (ft), inch (in), km, m...
15 feet in inches

Area (square, ^2): acre, square mile, yd^2, in^2, cm^2...
2 acres in m^2

Volume (cubic, ^3): gallon, quart, pint, cup, fl oz, tbsp, tsp, L, mL...
1500 cc in cubic inches

Time: second, minute, hour, day, month, year, decade, century
3 days in minutes

Currency (3-letter code): USD, CAD, AUD, CNY, EUR, JPY, GBP, MXN...
15 USD in EUR

Stock price lookup
STOCK(AAPL)

Construction / Tape Measure
3' 4" x 2
180 cm as tape measure

Cell and Row Formatting

Currency formatting
$5 / 3

Add comment with double backslash
30 + 40

Row formatting
0x123 as decimal
.15 as percent
.15 as fraction
.15 as fraction over 5
15000 as money
15000 as scientific
15000 as engineering
3.5 inches as tape measure
100 as hex
100 as bin
100 cm as value
100 cm as unit
100 cm as tape measure
123 as roman
1234567 cm as scaled
1234567 as nearest 1k
pi to 2 decimals
1234 seconds as time

Other Number Features

random
random(10)
round(3.51)
roundup(3.01)
rounddown(3.99)
abs(-2)
3!

fractions and decimal
1/2 + 1/3 as fraction
pi as fraction

percentages
15% of 200
15% off 200
15 as a % of 200

greek letter shortcuts (pi), superscript exponents
r = 2
pi * r^2

plain english
fifteen plus five
15 squared

Scientific (Trig, Logs, etc.)

PI
E

sin(30)
sin(PI/4 rad)
exp(2)
E^2
ln(2)
log(2)
log_2(16)

x = 3
log_x(100)
6.022e23

Programming

hex and binary
0xff
0b1001
255 as hex
hex(255)
bin(9)
15 mod 2

binary operators
bin(19 and 7)
bin(19 or 7)
bin(19 xor 7)

data sizes assume bytes (write GB vs Gbit)
hex(1MB)
60GB / 700MB
10 mbit/s in minutes per gigabyte

More examples
0x56ef xor 0x123a
x = 3
x > 5
15 == x * 5
if (x >= 3) {"at least as big"} else {"smaller"}
y = x + 3; y + 10

Computer Units

data sizes
1kb
10 gb / 5mb
15MB * 3

data rates
1.5 mbps
time(1gb / 1.5 mbps)

operations
15 MFLOPS * 10 mins

Hz (cycles/sec)
15 Ghz * 10 bytes/cycle in MB

Excel Financial Functions

PMT(5%/12, 10 * 12, 100k)
PMT(5%/12, 10 * 12, 100k, 50k)
PMT(5% per year in per month, 10 years in months, 100k, 50k)

IRR(-70k, 12k, 15k, 18k, 21k, 26k)
RATE(4*12, -200, 8000)
PV(8%/12, 12*20, 500)
NPV(10%, r17:r19)

Excel Stats Functions

sum(r1:r5)
product(r1:r5)
avg(r1:r5)
mode(r1:r5)
max(r1:r5)
min(r1:r5)
var(r1:r5)
stddev(r1:r5)
range(r1:r5)
count(r1:r5)
percentile(r1:r5, 20%)
COMBINATION(10, 2)
PERMUTATION(10, 2)

Date/Time

Dates
today
tomorrow
yesterday
today + 5
today + 5 weeks
May 25 - Dec 31

Date formats
2024/12/05
5/12/2024
2023-08-08T13:15:30Z

Timezones
3pm PST in EST

Date math
200 miles / (sept 1 - jun 1)

Times: HH:MM by default
2:15 + 3 hours

Seconds (MM:SS)
2:15.0
2m15s

Time calculations
3:45 * 2
26.2 miles / 3:30 in mph

Complex Numbers

sqrt(-1)
e^(pi i) + 1
ln(-1)
i ^ i

z = 3 + 4i
re(z)
im(z)
abs(z)
z -> conj

complex arithmetic
z1 = 3 + 4i
z2 = 5 + 6i
z1 + z2
z1 * z2

phasor notation
3 + 4i as phasor
15 angle 30

Formatting Options

FormatDescriptionExample
percent, pct, %Formats as percentage.666 as percent = 66.6%
fraction, fracFormats as fraction.6666 as fraction = 2/3
fraction / NFraction with denominator.666 as fraction/10 = 7/10
decimal, decFormats as decimal2/3 as decimal = 0.66666667
hexFormats as hexadecimal255 as hex = 0x00ff
octal, octFormats as octal255 as octal = 0o377
binary, binFormats as binary255 as binary = 0b11111111
romanFormats as Roman numeral255 as roman = CCLV
scientific, sciScientific notation12345 as scientific = 1.2345e4
engineering, engEngineering notation12345 as engineering = 12.345e3
SICombine to compound SI unit15 kg m/s^2 as si = 15 newton
SIbase, baseSeparate to base SI units15 newton -> sibase = 15 kg m/s^2
finance, moneyFinancial notation (K/M/B)1234567 as finance = 1.2M
scaledScale to best unit1234567 cm as scaled = 12.3457 km
unitExtract unit from result12 cm as unit = 1 cm
value, valExtract raw number12 cm as value = 12
nearest XRound to nearest X1234567 as nearest 100000 = 1,200,000
N decimal placesRound to N decimals1.2345 to 2 decimal places = 1.23
tape measure, tapeFeet and inches1.5 feet as tape = 1’ 6”
timeUnit format (Xh Ym Zs)3661 seconds as time = 1h 1m 1s
noformatRemove formatting1.23 as finance as noformat = 1.23

Number Shorthand

    k: 1e3
    hundred: 1e2
    thousand: 1e3

    M: 1e6 (capital)
    million: 1e6
    mln: 1e6
    mio: 1e6 (German)

    b: 1e9
    billion: 1e9
    bil: 1e9
    bn: 1e9

    t: 1e12
    trillion: 1e12

    quadrillion: 1e15
    quintillion: 1e18
    sextillion: 1e21
    septillion: 1e24

    rad/radian/radians: 180/PI (degree conversion)
    googol: 1e100
    googolplex: 1e1000

Predefined Variables

    TAU: 2 * PI
    PI: 3.14159265...
    E: 2.71828183...
    PHI: 1.61803399... (golden ratio)
    RANDOM: random number 0-1

    // physics constants
    GRAVITY: 9.8 m/s^2
    SPEED_OF_LIGHT: 299,792,458 m/s
    C_LIGHT: 299,792,458 m/s
    SMALLG: 9.8 m/s^2
    BIGG: 6.67408e-11 m^3/kg/s^2
    PLANCK: 6.62607015e-34 J*s
    PLANCK_REDUCED / HBAR: 1.05457e-34 J*s
    ELECTRON_CHARGE: 1.602176634e-19 coulomb
    ELECTRON_MASS: 9.1093837015e-31 kg
    PROTON_MASS: 1.67262192369e-27 kg
    NEUTRON_MASS: 1.67492749804e-27 kg
    R_GAS: 8.31446261815324 J/K/mol
    F_FARADAY: 96485.33212331001 coulomb/mol
    AVOGADRO_CONST: 6.02214076e23 /mol
    K_BOLTZMANN: 1.380649e-23 J/K
  • 15 kg * gravity => 147 newton
  • Underscores can be swapped with spaces: speed_of_light or speed of light

Function Help Reference

    hex(x): convert x to hexadecimal, hex(255) = 0xff
    oct(x): convert x to octal, oct(255) = 0377
    bin(x): convert x to binary, bin(255) = 0b11111111
    dec(x): convert x to decimal, dec(0xFF) = 255

    if (condition) { result } else { result }
    IF(condition, true result, false result) // excel-style

    sin(x), cos(x), tan(x), sec(x), csc(x), cot(x): trig (degrees, use rad for radians)
    asin(x), acos(x), atan(x), atan2(y, x): inverse trig (result in degrees)
    sinh(x), cosh(x), tanh(x): hyperbolic functions

    re(z), im(z): real/imaginary part of complex number
    arg(z), angle(z): angle of complex number (radians)
    phasor(magnitude, angle): build complex number

    abs(x), ceil(x), floor(x), trunc(x), int(x)
    round(x, [decimal places]): round(pi) = 3, round(pi, 2) = 3.14
    roundup(x), rounddown(x)

    hypot(x, y): sqrt(x^2 + y^2)
    exp(x): e^x
    ln(x): natural log
    log(x): log base 10
    log2(x), log_2(x): log base 2
    sqrt(x), cbrt(x), root(x)
    pow(x, y): x^y

    time(seconds): convert seconds to HMS, time(10000) = 2h 46m 40s
    mod(x, y), gcd(x, y), lcm(x, y)
    sign(x), clamp(x, min, max)
    erf(x), erfinverse(x), gamma(x)
    square(x), cube(x)

    max, min, avg, sum, total, average, product: work with ranges (r1:r3) or values
    mean, mode, median, geomean
    var, variance, stddev, stdev: sample variance/stddev
    var.s, var.p, stdev.s, stdev.p: sample/population variants
    covar, covariance, covar.s, covar.p
    slope, intercept, correl, linest, forecast, confidence
    kurt, kurtosis, skewness, skew
    range, count, percentile, percentrank, sort, reverse

    combin/combination/c(n, k): n choose k
    permut/permutation/p(n, k): n permute k

    // Statistical distributions (Excel-compatible)
    norm.dist, norm.s.dist, norm.s.inv, norminv
    t.dist, t.inv, t.dist.2t, t.dist.rt, t.inv.2t
    chisq.dist, chisq.dist.rt, chisq.inv, chisq.inv.rt
    f.dist, f.dist.rt, f.inv, f.inv.rt
    binom.dist, negbinom.dist, weibull.dist, poisson.dist, gamma.dist
    z.test, t.test

    // Excel financial
    PMT(rate, nper, pv, [fv], [type]): loan payment
    IPMT, PPMT, ISPMT: interest/principal payments
    PV, FV: present/future value
    IRR(values, [guess]): internal rate of return
    NPV(rate, values): net present value
    RATE, NPER, CAGR, RRI, PDURATION

    // Friendly financial
    loan(amount, rate, term): loan(400k, 5%, 30y)
    invest(amount, rate, term): future value
    interest(amount, rate, term): interest cost

    stock(symbol): stock price, STOCK(AAPL)
    import(json_url): import data from public URL
    fib(n), fibonacci(n): nth Fibonacci number
    fac(n), factorial(n): factorial
    sigfig(x, n): round to n significant figures
    date(year, month, day): create date
    calc(id): import calculator by title or URL

    chart(r1:r3), barchart, linechart, piechart: charts of row ranges

Custom Functions & Array Methods

Define your own reusable logic and process arrays with built-in functional methods.

function name(args) { expr }        Define a named function
f(x) = expr                         Math-style shorthand
(x) => expr                         Arrow function
[...].map(fn)                       Transform each item in an array
[...].filter(fn)                    Filter array items by condition
[...].reduce(fn, [init])            Reduce array to a single value
[...].find(fn)                      Find the first matching item
[...].sort()                        Sort array (ascending)
[...].reverse()                     Reverse array order
[...].length                        Number of items in array
[...].sum                           Sum of array items
[...].avg                           Average of array items
[...].count                         Count of numeric items

Function help appears below your input as you type.

Plain English Operations

    add, "added to", plus: +
    minus, "take away": -
    times, "multiply by", by, mul: *
    div, "divide by", "divided by", "out of", over: /
    "to the power of", "raised to", power: ^
    "half of": 0.5 *

    "is what percentage of", "is what percent of": percentage calculation
    "as a percentage of", "as a percent of": percentage calculation
    "% of what is": inverse percentage

    choose, pick: combination
    permute: permutation

    "percentage of", "percent of": % of
    convert, as, into, to: -> (conversion)
    using, with, at, for: @ (autosolve)
    per, every, until: / (rate)

    cosine, sine, tangent, cotangent, secant, cosecant: trig functions
  • 15 times 3
  • half of 27
  • 13 is what percent of 25
  • 15 lbs convert to kg
  • 15 mph for 3 hours
  • 15 feet per day in feet per year

Currency Shorthand

    yen (JPY), euro (EUR), yuan (CNY), rupee (INR)
    peso (MXN), ruble (RUB), ringgit (MYR), won (KRW)
    loonie (CAD), aussie (AUD), baht (THB), dirham (AED)
    lira (TRY), riyal (SAR), lev (BGN), zloty (PLN)
    krona (SEK), franc (CHF), quetzal (GTQ), shekel (ILS)
    dong (VND), dinar (KWD), kuna (HRK), birr (ETB)
    taka (BDT), forint (HUF), rupiah (IDR), kyat (MMK)
    naira (NGN), bolivar (VES)
  • 15 dollars in loonie
  • 200 yen in USD

Alternate Symbols

    x, ×, ✕, •, ·: multiplication
    ÷, ⁄: division
    —, –: minus (em/en dash)
    **: exponent (same as ^)
    √: sqrt, ∛: cbrt
    ≠: !=, ≤: <=, ≥: >=    °: deg (degree)
    π: PI, φ: PHI, τ: TAU

Usually not typed directly, these may come in via copy-paste of text.

Symbol Insertion

Insert a symbol by writing \symbol and then pressing space, such as \pi or \alpha.

Greek letters: \Alpha through \Omega (uppercase), \alpha through \omega (lowercase)

Superscript exponents: \0 through \9, \-1 through \-9

Subscripts: \_0 through \_9

Math operators: \plus, \minus, \times, \div, \sqrt, \cbrt, \ne, \le, \ge, \deg, \approx

Calculus: \del, \partial, \grad, \nabla, \sum, \int, \oint

Other: \angle, \triangle, \star, \prop, \infty, \micro, \rightarrow, \bullet, \dot

Cursive letters: \A through \Z and \a through \z insert cursive script versions that don’t conflict with built-in units.