A computer algebra system written in pure Python for symbolic math, usable as a library or interactive console.
15.1K+21 this week5.7KPythonOtherUpdated 3 hours ago
4 alternatives
4 best open-source alternatives to Mathematica (2026)
Looking for a free, open-source alternative to Mathematica? These 4 projects can replace it. Each one passed our quality screening and is explained in plain words, so you can compare stars, license and maintenance at a glance.
How to choose
Start with the job you need done. For symbolic math such as simplifying and solving expressions, sympy/sympy is a computer algebra system in pure Python, usable as a library or an interactive console. For numerical work where precision matters, mpmath/mpmath covers arbitrary-precision floating-point arithmetic, special functions and numerical methods. If what you miss is the notebook way of working, with live code, output and text in one document, jupyter/notebook is that environment in the browser. They can be combined, but all of this sits in the Python world, so decide first whether that workflow suits you.
- sympyBest for anyone who needs symbolic math in Python, either as a library or in an interactive console.
- mpmathBest for people who care about numerical precision and need arbitrary-precision floating-point arithmetic, special functions and numerical methods.
- notebookBest for people who want live code, output and text together in one document, in a web-based notebook.
Quick comparison
| Project | Stars | License | Last commit |
|---|---|---|---|
| sympy/sympy | ★ 15.1K | Other | 3 hours ago |
| jupyter/notebook | ★ 13.5K | BSD-3-Clause | yesterday |
| Qalculate/libqalculate | ★ 2.7K | GPL-2.0 | yesterday |
| mpmath/mpmath | ★ 1.2K | BSD-3-Clause | 3 days ago |
A web-based notebook environment for interactive computing, mixing live code, output and text in one document.
13.5K+2 this week5.8KJupyter NotebookBSD-3-ClauseWell maintainedUpdated yesterday
A cross-platform desktop calculator library and command-line tool supporting units, symbolic math, arbitrary precision and uncertainty propagation.
2.7K+5 this week201C++GPL-2.0Updated yesterday
A Python library for arbitrary-precision floating-point arithmetic, special functions, and numerical methods.
Data & Analytics#arbitrary-precision#numerical-methods#special-functions#floating-point#scientific-computing
1.2K+2 this week231PythonBSD-3-ClauseWell maintainedUpdated 3 days ago
FAQ
- Is there a free, open-source alternative to Mathematica?
- Yes. The most popular open-source alternatives to Mathematica on Repolode are sympy, notebook, libqalculate.
- Which Mathematica alternative should I choose?
- sympy has the most GitHub stars and is released under Other. Compare the license and last commit of each option in the table above before choosing.
How this list is made: AI reads each project's documentation to match it with products it can replace, every project passes our quality screening, and the list is ranked by GitHub stars. Stars updated Nov 7, 2026. How Repolode works