The short answer
- Cheapest good option for math: Photomath (owned by Google). The Basic plan is $0 with step-by-step explanations; Plus is $9.99/month or $69.99/year.
- Free for every subject: Google Lens homework help in the Google app costs nothing.
- Most features, highest price: Gauth PLUS lists at $11.99/month, $31.99/quarter or $99.99/year, with an AI live tutor and 24/7 human experts. Gauth is linked to ByteDance and was among the apps pulled in the US in January 2025; it is listed in the US App Store again as of October 2026.
- Brainly is a K-12 homework community turned “AI Learning Companion,” with live tutors on its paid plan (exact price not published in a form we could confirm).
- Mathway (Chegg) and Symbolab give free answers or basic steps; full or advanced steps need a subscription.
- Gone: Microsoft Math Solver was retired on July 7, 2025, and Socratic by Google was merged into Lens in 2025.
- Before installing for a child: App Store ratings (4+, 12+) are content ratings, not the minimum age in the app’s terms. Read the terms and data practices.
Photo-solver apps promise the same thing: point your phone at a problem and get the answer with steps. Behind that promise are very different companies, prices and data practices. This page compares the six options a US student is most likely to see, flags two that no longer exist, and explains what parents should check before installing one.
How do Gauth, Brainly, Photomath and the others compare?
The short version: the free tiers are closer than the paid ones.
| App | Owner / seller | Subjects | Free tier | Paid tier (US list price) | App Store rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Photomath | Math, elementary to calculus, including word problems | Basic $0 with step-by-step explanations | Plus: $9.99/mo or $69.99/yr | 4+ | |
| Gauth | GAUTHTECH PTE. LTD. (Singapore); listed among ByteDance apps | Math, biology, physics, chemistry and more | Free download | PLUS: $11.99/mo, $31.99/quarter, $99.99/yr | 4+ |
| Brainly | Brainly sp. z o.o. (Poland and New York) | K-12 math, reading, science and more | Free with limits | Brainly Tutor with live tutors (price not confirmed) | 12+ |
| Mathway | Chegg, Inc. | Basic math to calculus, statistics, linear algebra, chemistry, physics | Free answers and steps without sign-up | Full work for every step (price not confirmed) | 4+ |
| Symbolab | Learneo, Inc. (formerly EqsQuest; bought by Course Hero in 2020) | Pre-algebra to calculus, trig, physics, statistics | Basic steps free | Pro unlocks advanced steps (price not confirmed) | 4+ |
| Google Lens | Math, history, chemistry, biology, physics and more | Free | None | Part of the Google app |
Where a price says “not confirmed,” the vendor’s pricing page blocked our checks. Treat any figure you see elsewhere as something to verify in the app before paying.
What does each app actually do?
Photomath is Google’s dedicated math app. Its site says it handles problems from elementary math through calculus, including word problems, shows step-by-step solutions “sometimes with multiple methods,” and adds “how” and “why” tips. Google agreed to buy it in 2022 and the deal closed in 2023; at the time of EU clearance it had 300M+ downloads in 30+ languages. Plus adds animated tutorials and textbook solutions.
Gauth is the most feature-heavy. Its App Store listing describes an AI Live Tutor with voice and a virtual whiteboard, a DeepThinking mode, a “Smart Study Converter” that turns notes, audio or lecture links into quizzes and flashcards, a writing assistant, and 24/7 human experts. It also has the highest subscription price on this list.
Brainly started in 2009 in Poland as a peer homework Q&A community. It added AI in 2023, test prep in 2024, and in 2025 repositioned itself in the US as an “AI Learning Companion.” Wikipedia reports about 15 million daily active users (2024). The paid Brainly Tutor plan adds live tutors; the listing mentions a grade-improvement guarantee and a 30-day refund.
Mathway, “backed by Chegg,” gives free answers and steps without sign-up, and a subscription unlocks “full work shown for every step.” Symbolab accepts typed, plain-language or photo input, offers practice with hints, quizzes, notebooks, a Chrome extension and an AI chat called “Chat with Symbo.”
Google Lens is not a dedicated solver, but its homework help covers more subjects than any app above, at no cost. Our Google homework help guide has step-by-step instructions.
Which photo-solver apps no longer exist?
Two names still show up in old articles and school handouts.
| App | Status | What to use instead |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Math Solver | Retired July 7, 2025; iOS app unavailable since August 2024 | Photomath Basic, Google Lens, Mathway or Symbolab free tiers |
| Socratic by Google | Merged into Google Lens in 2025; socratic.org redirects to lens.google/#homework | Google Lens in the Google app |
Be careful with the App Store here. A search for “Socratic by Google” in the US store returns third-party apps from other sellers (for example “Socratic AI - Homework Helper” by BEFUN AI TECH. PTE. LTD. and “Socratic Homework AI” by Driftwave Labs LLC). They are not Google products.
Who should use which app?
Pick by the job, then by price.
| If you are… | Consider | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| A student who mainly needs math steps | Photomath Basic | Free step-by-step, owned by Google |
| A student working across subjects on a budget | Google Lens | Free, multi-subject, already in the Google app |
| A college or AP student in calculus, stats or linear algebra | Mathway or Symbolab free tiers | Cover higher math; upgrade only if the free steps aren’t enough |
| A family wanting a human tutor on demand | Brainly Tutor or Gauth PLUS | Both list live or human help on paid plans; compare prices in-app |
| A parent of a younger child | Start with Photomath Basic or Lens, supervised | Lowest cost and a large, known owner; still read the terms |
Whatever you pick, the app is only useful if the student can do the next problem alone. Use the steps to find where you went wrong, then close the app and redo it. A simple check: if the app solves 5x − 3 = 2x + 12 for you, you should be able to explain both moves yourself (subtract 2x from both sides to get 3x − 3 = 12, then add 3 and divide by 3 to get x = 5). Our AI math help guide and AI math solvers roundup go further.
What should parents check on privacy and age?
Ownership, data practices, and the real minimum age.
- App Store ratings are not age limits. A 4+ or 12+ rating describes content. The minimum age to create an account is set in the app’s terms of service, and we could not confirm it for Gauth, Brainly, Mathway, Symbolab or QuestionAI because their terms pages blocked our checks. Read them yourself.
- Know who owns the app. Gauth’s seller is a Singapore company, and Wikipedia lists Gauth among ByteDance’s apps. On January 18, 2025, it was one of four ByteDance apps (with CapCut, Lemon8 and Hypic) reported banned in the US under the TikTok law. It is listed in the US App Store as of October 14, 2026. Families who avoid ByteDance products for privacy reasons should know the connection.
- Look at the privacy reputation. Brainly has a ToS;DR grade of D, according to Wikipedia. In 2020, AMC competition questions were posted to Brainly with answers, which led to an honor-code update.
- Check the seller name before installing. Several apps share names with unrelated products. QuestionAI’s website is run by FlowMind Technology Inc., while an iOS app with a similar name is sold by a different company. Several unrelated iOS apps also use the NoteGPT name.
- Remember the law. In the US, COPPA requires parental consent before apps collect personal data from children under 13. That applies across the board, whatever an individual app says.
For a broader view of age-appropriate tools, see safe AI tools by age. For chat-based helpers with free tutor modes, see free AI homework helpers compared.
Can these apps get a student in trouble?
Copying from them can. Many schools allow AI for explanations but not for completing graded work. Our tracker of AI policies in 32 large US districts shows how varied the rules are, from permission-based use to outright restriction for some grades. The safe habit is the same everywhere: use the app to understand, do the graded work yourself, and say what tools you used if your teacher asks. Read how to use AI for homework without cheating for the full routine.
Sources
- App Store listings (US, checked Oct 14, 2026): Photomath; Gauth; Brainly; Mathway; Symbolab; QuestionAI; App Store search for “Socratic by Google”
- Official sites: Photomath; Mathway; Symbolab; Google Lens; QuestionAI; NoteGPT pricing
- Reference: Wikipedia: Photomath; Brainly; Symbolab; ByteDance; Microsoft Math Solver; Socratic (Google); N1 on the EC Photomath clearance
Prices are US list prices as shown on October 14, 2026 and may vary by region. Confirm in the app before subscribing.