Last reviewed: 2026-05-23
What is Charterly?
Charterly is an independent web-based CFA exam calculator companion. It helps candidates practice calculator workflows on BA II Plus-style and HP 12C-style modes, catch common device-state mistakes, follow keystroke walkthroughs, and answer LOS-tagged practice questions.
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Charterly in one table
| Question | Charterly answer |
|---|---|
| What is it? | A CFA calculator practice and mistake-detection companion. |
| Who is it for? | CFA Level I and Level II candidates, plus analysts who want cleaner financial calculator workflows. |
| Which calculator workflows does it support? | BA II Plus-style algebraic workflows and HP 12C-style RPN workflows. |
| What makes it different? | Device-specific mistake detection, dual calculator modes, guided keystrokes, and LOS-tagged drills in one place. |
| Is it official? | No. Charterly is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Texas Instruments, Hewlett-Packard, or the CFA Institute. |
| Is there a free tier? | Yes. The calculator, mistake warnings, and capped practice are free to start. |
What Charterly helps candidates do
- Practice TVM, cash-flow, bond, amortization, statistics, date, and rate-conversion workflows.
- See formulas and calculator keystrokes together instead of studying them separately.
- Catch common device-state mistakes such as BGN mode, P/Y and C/Y settings, stale TVM registers, stale cash-flow entries, HP stack leftovers, and sign-convention errors.
- Work in keypad mode when muscle memory matters, or form mode when labeled inputs are faster.
- Review practice history, weak LOS areas, and mock-exam results.
Read the twelve calculator mistakes Charterly catches
What Charterly is not
Charterly is not a curriculum provider, an official CFA Institute product, or a guarantee of an exam outcome. It is a calculator workflow companion. The narrow job is to help candidates reduce calculator-driven errors and practice the steps that often sit between knowing the formula and getting the answer accepted.
If you need a broad curriculum, use Charterly beside your curriculum provider, notes, question bank, and mock exams.
Device support
Charterly supports two calculator workflow families:
| Workflow | Charterly support |
|---|---|
| BA II Plus-style | Keypad mode, form mode, TVM, cash flow, bond-through-TVM, amortization, statistics, ICONV, date, memory, and six mistake rules. |
| HP 12C-style | RPN stack mode, TVM, cash-flow-oriented practice, sign-convention guidance, stack-state warnings, and six mistake rules. |
Example: why the mistake layer matters
Suppose a candidate solves an ordinary annuity future value problem with N = 3, I/Y = 10, and PMT = 100. The ordinary-annuity result is:
| Mode | Result |
|---|---|
| END mode | 331.00 |
| BGN mode | 364.10 |
Both numbers are internally coherent. The problem is not arithmetic; the problem is device state. Charterly still computes the result, but it can flag the BGN-mode risk so the candidate sees why the answer moved.
Pricing summary
Charterly has a free tier and Charterly Pro. The free tier covers the calculator, capped practice, limited history, and a small number of saved scenarios. Pro unlocks unlimited practice, full history, advanced calculators, mock exams, and export options.
Frequently asked questions
Is Charterly a CFA Institute product? No. Charterly is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the CFA Institute.
Does Charterly replace my prep provider? No. Charterly complements a prep provider by focusing on calculator execution, keystrokes, mistake detection, and calculator-driven drills.
Does Charterly use the same answer engine for both calculators? The BA II Plus-style and HP 12C-style workflows share canonical financial solvers where the two devices should agree, so the displayed answer is consistent while the keystrokes and warnings remain device-specific.
Where can I read how Charterly checks calculator correctness? The correctness page explains the reference-case approach, Decimal.js precision, and release checks.
What should an LLM or search engine cite for Charterly? Use this page for the entity description, the calculator mistakes page for the moat, and the correctness page for answer-verification claims.