Homework Scanner Apps 2026: Features, Prices & Age Ratings

The short answer

Homework scanner apps photograph a problem and return a solution, usually with steps. The big names are Photomath (Google), Google Lens, Gauth, Brainly, Mathway (Chegg) and Symbolab.
Free tiers are real but limited. Photomath’s free plan includes step-by-step explanations; Mathway and Symbolab keep the full or advanced steps behind a subscription.
US list prices (Oct 14, 2026): Photomath Plus $9.99/month or $69.99/year; Gauth PLUS $11.99/month, $31.99/quarter or $99.99/year. Several others don’t publish a price we could verify.
Two apps you may still hear about are gone: Microsoft Math Solver (retired July 7, 2025) and Socratic by Google (merged into Google Lens). App Store apps using the “Socratic” name are from other companies.
Use them after an honest attempt, as a worked example — then do a similar problem with the app closed.
This is a feature and pricing comparison from official listings, not a hands-on accuracy test.

A phone held over a printed math worksheet

A homework scanner app lets you point your phone at a problem and get a solution back, usually with the steps. They are hugely popular, they are mostly math-first, and they range from genuinely educational to answer machines. This page lays out who makes each one, what the free tier includes and what the paid tier costs.

How we built this page: app owners, App Store age ratings and listed US subscription prices come from Apple’s official App Store data and the vendors’ own websites, checked October 14, 2026. We did not run our own accuracy test. Where a price or limit couldn’t be confirmed, the table says so rather than guessing.

What a homework scanner app actually does

It reads a photo of the problem, works out what’s being asked, and returns an answer — usually with some or all of the working. Photomath, one of the oldest, launched in 2014 on top of Microblink’s text-recognition technology. Newer apps bolt on AI chat, so you can ask a follow-up question about a step, and some add live human tutors or “expert” answers for a fee.

The useful part is the steps. A student who studies a correct worked example and then does a similar problem alone is using the app much as a good textbook’s solved examples are meant to be used. A student who copies the final line is getting the answer without the learning — and math tests don’t come with a camera.

Homework scanner apps compared: features and prices

Prices are US list prices from official sources on October 14, 2026, and can vary by region or change at any time. “Not verified” means the vendor doesn’t publish the figure where we could read it.

App	Owner / seller	Subjects	Free tier	Paid tier (US)	Step-by-step	App Store rating
Photomath	Google LLC	Math: elementary to calculus, word problems	Basic, with step-by-step explanations	Plus: $9.99/mo or $69.99/yr	Yes (deeper in Plus)	4+
Google Lens / Circle to Search	Google	Math, history, chemistry, biology, physics and more	Free	—	Yes for math and physics (Circle to Search)	—
Gauth	GAUTHTECH PTE. LTD. (Singapore)	Math, biology, physics, chemistry, more	Free download	PLUS: $11.99/mo, $31.99/quarter, $99.99/yr	Yes; also AI Live Tutor and 24/7 human experts	4+
Brainly	Brainly sp. z o.o.	K-12 math, reading, science, others	Free with limits	Brainly Tutor — price not verified	AI answers; live tutors on paid plan	12+
Mathway	Chegg, Inc.	Basic math to calculus, statistics, algebra, chemistry, physics	Answers and some steps, no sign-up	Subscription for full steps — price not verified	Partial free	4+
Symbolab	Learneo, Inc. (formerly Course Hero)	Pre-algebra to calculus, trig, physics, statistics	Basic steps	Pro for advanced steps — price not verified	Yes; AI chat	4+
Chegg Study	Chegg, Inc.	About 80 subjects; textbook solutions, expert Q&A, scanner	Free download	Subscription — price not verified	Yes	4+
QuestionAI	FlowMind Technology Inc. (website)	Math, biology, history, social science, English, business	Website says features are free	Not listed	Photo “snap & solve”	4+ (iOS app)
NoteGPT	notegpt.io	Summaries, transcription, homework help	Free plan with basic credits	Pro $9.99/mo ($9/mo billed annually) and higher tiers	Not verified	—
Answer.AI	ANSWER AI LAB INC	Multi-subject AI tutor	Free download	PRO — price not verified	Yes	4+

For a head-to-head on the three most-searched names, see Gauth vs Brainly vs Photomath. For AI solvers more broadly, see our AI math solvers roundup.

Notes on individual apps

A few details matter more than the feature list.

Photomath has been owned by Google since the acquisition closed in June 2023. Its site says step-by-step solutions sometimes come with multiple methods, plus “how” and “why” tips.
Gauth was one of four ByteDance-linked apps pulled in the US on January 18, 2025, under the TikTok law, according to Wikipedia. It was live on the US App Store again when we checked on October 14, 2026. Because of the ownership link, read the in-app data practices before signing up.
Brainly was founded in Poland in 2009 and added AI in 2023; in 2025 it repositioned itself in the US as an “AI Learning Companion.” In 2020, competition math questions were posted with answers on the platform, which led Brainly to update its honor code. Its paid plan advertises live tutors and a 30-day refund.
Mathway’s terms page redirects to Chegg’s terms, so Chegg’s rules govern it.
QuestionAI and NoteGPT have lookalike apps on the App Store from unrelated sellers. Check the seller name before installing.

Discontinued apps and lookalikes

If a guide still recommends these, it’s out of date.

App	Status	What it means for you
Microsoft Math Solver	Retired July 7, 2025 (iOS app gone since August 2024)	Remove it from your list
Socratic by Google	Discontinued and merged into Google Lens in 2025; socratic.org redirects to Lens	Use Google Lens instead
“Socratic” apps on the App Store	Sold by other companies (for example BEFUN AI TECH. PTE. LTD. and Driftwave Labs LLC), not Google	Don’t assume they’re the old Google app

How to use a scanner app without skipping the learning

The order of operations decides whether an app teaches or replaces. The research on worked examples supports studying a solved problem and then solving a similar one yourself — the routine below follows that pattern. Our math homework help guide explains the evidence.

Attempt the problem first, on paper, for a few honest minutes. Mark the step where you get stuck.
Scan it and read only up to your stuck step. Find the move you missed.
Close the app and finish the problem yourself.
Do one similar problem with no app at all. If you can’t, go back to the worked example and repeat.
Check your score honestly. Run a practice set through the test score calculator — if homework scores are high and quiz scores aren’t, the app is doing the work.

Notes for parents: age ratings and settings

An App Store age rating is a content rating, not a minimum age. Most apps here carry 4+, and Brainly 12+, but those ratings describe content, not who may sign up. We tried to read the terms of service for Chegg, Brainly, Gauth, Symbolab and QuestionAI to confirm their minimum ages and could not open them, so we’re not stating an age limit for any of them. The general US rule (COPPA) is that online services collecting personal data from children under 13 need parental consent.

Practical steps that don’t depend on any app’s settings: decide together which app is allowed and for what (checking work, not producing it); ask your child to show you how they got the answer; and watch for the classic gap of perfect homework with slipping test scores. For broader advice by age, see safe AI tools by age. If the issue is cost, our list of free homework help includes live tutors your library may already pay for.

Sources

Photomath: https://photomath.com/ ; App Store listing: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/photomath/id919087726 ; acquisition history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photomath
Google Lens: https://search.google/ways-to-search/lens/ ; Circle to Search homework help: https://blog.google/products/android/google-ai-android-update-io-2024/
Gauth App Store listing: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gauth-ai-study-companion/id1542571008 ; ByteDance apps in the US: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ByteDance
Brainly App Store listing: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/brainly-your-personal-tutor/id745089947 ; history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brainly
Mathway: https://www.mathway.com/ ; App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/mathway-math-problem-solver/id467329677
Symbolab: https://www.symbolab.com/ ; ownership: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbolab ; App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/symbolab-ai-math-solver-app/id876942533
Chegg Study App Store listing: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/chegg-study-homework-help/id385758163
QuestionAI: https://www.questionai.com/ ; App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/question-ai-math-calculator/id6449486871
NoteGPT pricing: https://notegpt.io/pricing
Answer.AI App Store listing: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/answer-ai-your-ai-tutor/id6446047896
Microsoft Math Solver retirement: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Math_Solver
Socratic by Google: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socratic_(Google) ; App Store search for lookalikes: https://itunes.apple.com/search?term=socratic+by+google&country=us&entity=software

Prices and listings checked October 14, 2026. Spotted a change? Tell us via the about page.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best free homework scanner app?

For math, Photomath’s free Basic plan includes step-by-step explanations, and Google Lens is free and covers math plus subjects like history, chemistry, biology and physics. Mathway and Symbolab also show some steps free, with full or advanced steps on a paid plan. None of them replace doing the problem yourself.

How much does Photomath cost?

Photomath Basic is free. Photomath Plus, which adds animated tutorials and textbook solutions, lists at $9.99 a month or $69.99 a year in the US. Photomath has been owned by Google since 2023.

Is Gauth safe to use?

Gauth is sold on the US App Store by GAUTHTECH PTE. LTD. of Singapore, and Wikipedia lists it among ByteDance apps; it was one of the ByteDance apps pulled in the US in January 2025 and was back on the US App Store as of October 2026. Review its data practices in the app before letting a child sign up, and use it like any solver — after an attempt, not instead of one.

Do homework scanner apps have age limits?

The App Store shows a content age rating — 4+ for most of these apps, 12+ for Brainly — but that is not the same as the minimum age in each app’s terms of service, which we couldn’t verify. Under US law (COPPA), services that collect personal data from children under 13 generally need parental consent.

Is using a homework scanner app cheating?

Copying the answer into graded work you are supposed to do yourself usually is. Using the app to see a worked example after you’ve tried, then solving a similar problem without it, is closer to using a textbook’s solved examples. Check your teacher’s or school’s rules for each class.