Photomath (Free / Plus) review 2027

What problem does Photomath solve?

Photomath is for the moment a math problem stops making sense. Point the camera at it and the app returns every step, so you can see where a calculation went wrong instead of staring at a wrong answer. Our testers put 20 math and chemistry-math questions to it and it solved 19 correctly with steps. It also explains alternative methods, so a single problem can be approached more than one way. The free tier covers most homework, and handwriting recognition works, which matters when the problem is on paper rather than typed. The verdict is blunt about the limit: it covers one subject, which keeps it out of the top spot overall. It is still the right tool for anyone stuck on a math problem at 10 pm.

How did Photomath score?

Five criteria, 100 points total, and the breakdown explains the 7.7 overall.

• Answer quality — 24/30. Correctness and explanation of our 30 test questions, graded blind by two teachers.
• Coverage — 12/20. Subjects, textbook editions, grade levels and how often our questions already had an answer. This is where the math-only scope costs it.
• Study tools — 15/20. Flashcards, practice tests, step-by-step solvers, writing feedback, tutoring access.
• Learning & integrity — 8/10. Whether the tool teaches the method rather than hands over the answer, and its honour-code policies.
• Value — 18/20. Monthly price and what the free tier gives.

The pattern is clear: where the app does the work itself, it scores well. Where breadth is required, it does not.

What does Photomath do best?

The step-by-step solver is the product. It solved 19 of our 20 math and chemistry-math questions correctly with steps, and the blind teacher grade came in at 85/100 — nearly as high as Khan's. It explains alternative methods rather than one fixed route, which helps when a teacher's approach differs from the app's. The free tier covers most homework, so the core experience is not paywalled. Handwriting recognition works, meaning a photographed worksheet is enough. For different learning styles, the same problem can be read as a worked example, a method comparison or a check on your own attempt.

How does the camera-to-steps solving work?

You frame the problem and the app reads it, either typed or handwritten. The solver then works the expression symbolically, the way a person would on paper, and prints each transformation as a separate line. That is why the output is a sequence of steps rather than a final number: each line shows the rule applied at that stage. Because the steps are generated from the mathematics rather than looked up, the same engine handles arithmetic through calculus. The Plus tier adds animated tutorials and textbook solutions on top of the step explanations.

What do you get, and what does it cost?

The parts are simple, and there is no hardware.

• Price: Free; Plus $9.99/mo for animated tutorials and textbook solutions.
• Free tier: Yes.
• Levels: Arithmetic to calculus.
• Subjects: Math only.
• Live tutors: No.
• Textbook solutions: Yes (Plus).
• AI assistant: Solver with step explanations.
• Apps: iOS, Android.

Owned by Google since 2023, it is a phone app first: the camera is the input method, and the two mobile platforms are where it lives.

How does it compare with the other homework apps we tested?

Against Khan Academy (8.8, free; Khanmigo $4/mo), Photomath wins on speed and on camera input, but Khan covers math, science, economics, humanities and computing across K–12, early college and SAT/MCAT/LSAT, with a Socratic AI tutor that guides rather than answers. Khan has no textbook solutions; Photomath has them on Plus.

Against Quizlet (8.2, free with ads; Plus $7.99/mo or $35.99/yr), Photomath is the deeper math explainer, while Quizlet spans all levels and all subjects through user-made sets, with textbook solutions on Plus and Magic Notes and Q-Chat as its AI.

Against Chegg Study (7.9, $15.95/mo; Study Pack $19.95/mo), Photomath is cheaper and faster on a single problem, but Chegg covers STEM, business and humanities with 9,000+ textbook titles and expert Q&A. Chegg's answers were the most complete in our test, and the ones to use carefully.

Against Wyzant (8, from about $35/hr), the comparison is human versus machine: Wyzant is one-to-one tutors in 300+ subjects who see your actual work, and the only service where our essay questions got real feedback. Photomath has no live tutors at all.

Against Course Hero (7.1, $9.95/mo billed yearly; $39.95 monthly), Photomath is the more focused math tool; Course Hero is a college-level library of student-uploaded notes and study guides with textbook solutions and AI.

Where does Photomath fall short?

Coverage is the reason it lost: math only. That single limitation caps the coverage criterion at 12/20 and keeps a strong solver out of the top spot overall. Word problems and proofs are hit and miss, so the questions that need the most interpretation are the ones it handles least reliably. And because the steps are right there, it is easy to copy them without reading them — the integrity criterion scored 8/10 partly for that reason. There are no live tutors, so nothing here replaces a person when you need one.

Is Photomath worth the price?

Free (Plus $9.99/mo). The free tier covers most homework, and value scored 18/20 — the highest of its five criteria — on monthly price and what the free tier gives. For a student who needs math help and nothing else, the paid tier is optional rather than required.

Who should buy Photomath?

Anyone stuck on a math problem at 10 pm. That is the buyer: a student who needs the working shown now, on arithmetic through calculus, and who will read the steps rather than copy them. If you need other subjects, live tutors or textbook coverage across a degree, the rivals above cover more ground. If the problem is math and the clock is late, this is the fastest route to the step where it went wrong.