Type "ai homework solver" into an app store in 2026 and you will get pages of nearly identical results: camera icon, chat bubble, promises of instant answers. Some of those apps are genuinely useful. Others are thin wrappers around a language model, padded with ads and aggressive subscription prompts. A few of the best-known names on older "best of" lists no longer even exist as apps.
This comparison covers seven options students actually search for: Sova, Photomath, Gauth (formerly Gauthmath), ChatGPT, Microsoft Math Solver, Socratic by Google, and Question.AI. We build Sova, so we have an obvious interest here — which is exactly why every section below lists real weaknesses, including Sova's. If you want background on how these tools work before comparing them, start with our AI homework solver guide.
Quick comparison table
| App | Subjects | Photo input | Step-by-step quality | Follow-up chat | Account required | Free tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sova | Math, physics, chemistry, biology, literature, history, geography, CS, economics | Yes (handwritten + printed) | Numbered steps; Turbo and Genius modes | Yes | No | Yes, with optional Premium |
| Photomath | Math only | Yes | Excellent for math; animated tutorials in Plus | No (limited) | No for basics | Yes; Plus is paid |
| Gauth | Multi-subject | Yes | Good; human tutors as paid add-on | Yes | Yes | Limited, with ads |
| ChatGPT | Everything | Yes (image upload) | Strong reasoning; not formatted for homework | Yes, best-in-class | Yes | Yes, with usage limits |
| Microsoft Math Solver | Math only | Web only now | Solid for equations | No | No | Free (web/OneNote); apps retired |
| Socratic by Google | Multi-subject | Was core feature | Curated explanations | No | No | Discontinued as standalone app |
| Question.AI | Multi-subject | Yes | Decent; weaker on complex problems | Yes | Yes for full use | Limited, with ads |
How did we compare these apps?
We judged each app on the things that matter during an actual homework session: how many subjects it covers, whether the camera reliably reads handwritten work, whether solutions teach the method or just print an answer, whether you can ask "wait, why?" afterwards, and how much the free tier actually lets you do. Pricing changes often, so all figures below are approximate as of mid-2026 — always check the current price inside the app before subscribing.
One more honesty note: two apps on this list, Microsoft Math Solver and Socratic, appear on almost every competitor roundup you will find in search results, yet neither is available as a standalone mobile app anymore. We kept them in because students still search for them, and knowing what replaced them is more useful than pretending they still exist.
1. Sova — multi-subject photo solving with no account
Sova is built around one loop: snap a photo of any problem — handwritten or printed — and get a numbered, step-by-step solution you can actually follow. It covers nine subjects, so the same app that walks through a calculus limit can also outline a literature essay question or explain a supply-and-demand graph in economics. Two solving modes let you match effort to the task: Turbo for quick answer checks, and Genius for multi-step reasoning on harder problems. Every solution opens into a follow-up chat, so you can ask why a particular step works, and your history is saved on-device and searchable. No account is required, and the core experience is free with an optional Premium tier. It is on iOS and iPadOS and Android.
Weaknesses, honestly: Sova is a smaller brand than Photomath or ChatGPT, so there is no decade of reviews to lean on and no community forum. Development is iOS-first, meaning the Android version can trail the newest features. There is no web version, so you cannot use it from a laptop, and there are no human tutors — it is AI-only. If you want to try the full loop yourself, you can download Sova free and test it on your own homework before judging.
2. Photomath — still the math specialist
Photomath, now owned by Google, remains the most polished pure-math scanner on the market. Point the camera at an equation and it recognizes it almost instantly, then shows clean step-by-step working. The free version already includes step-by-step solutions for many problem types, and Photomath Plus — roughly $9.99/month or about $70/year as of 2026 — adds animated tutorials and textbook-specific solutions. For algebra through calculus, its solution formatting is arguably the best in this list.
Weaknesses: it is math only. Chemistry equations, physics word problems, history questions — all out of scope, which is why so many students end up pairing it with a second app. There is no real follow-up chat: if a step confuses you, you cannot ask the app to explain it differently. Word problems and messy handwriting trip up the scanner more than clean printed equations do. If Photomath's scope feels too narrow, our roundup of math solver alternatives goes deeper on the options.
3. Gauth — multi-subject with human tutors, at a price
Gauth (formerly Gauthmath), built by ByteDance, has grown from a math app into a multi-subject homework helper with a genuinely unusual feature: when the AI is not enough, you can escalate to a live human tutor using a ticket system. The AI solutions themselves are good, follow-up chat exists, and coverage now spans well beyond math. For students who want a human safety net for the hardest problems, no other app here offers that.
Weaknesses: the free tier is limited and ad-supported, and the paid tier is the most expensive dedicated homework app in this comparison — around $11.99/month or about $100/year as of 2026, with tutor tickets sometimes costing extra on top. An account is required, and reviewers frequently warn about auto-renewal defaults, so watch your subscription settings. The upsell prompts are noticeably more aggressive than in most competitors.
4. ChatGPT — the most powerful, least homework-shaped option
ChatGPT is not a homework app, but it may be the most capable tool on this list. Upload a photo of a problem, and current models can reason through multi-step math, physics, and essay questions, then handle unlimited follow-up conversation — still the best back-and-forth experience anywhere. The free tier is genuinely usable, and Plus costs $20/month as of 2026 for higher limits and stronger models.
Weaknesses: everything homework-specific is missing. There is no scan-first interface, no numbered-solution formatting by default, no organized problem history — your solutions are buried in a general chat log next to everything else you have ever asked. It requires an account. And because it answers everything confidently, weaker prompting can produce plausible-looking but wrong math; you have to know enough to ask it to verify. For a student who wants "photo in, steps out" with zero setup, it is powerful but clumsy.
5. Microsoft Math Solver — retired as an app, alive on the web
This entry is mostly a public service announcement. Microsoft discontinued the Math Solver mobile apps in 2024 and retired the standalone Math Solver product in July 2025, directing users to the Math Assistant built into OneNote. A web version still resolves at Microsoft's math solver site as of 2026, and for typed equations it remains a solid, completely free step-by-step tool with graphing support.
Weaknesses: with the apps gone, there is no camera-first mobile experience anymore — you are typing equations into a browser or working inside OneNote. It was always math-only, there is no follow-up chat, and given that Microsoft has already retired the standalone product once, betting your study workflow on it feels risky. If you relied on the old app, any of the multi-subject scanners above, or the alternatives in our math solver comparison, will cover the gap.
6. Socratic by Google — what happened to it?
Socratic deserves its place here because students still search for it constantly. Google's homework helper was loved for a specific reason: instead of generating an answer, it found and curated high-quality explanations from across the web, organized by concept. That made it feel more like a study aid than an answer machine. But the standalone app is no longer available to download; its scanning functionality was folded into Google Lens and the main Google app around 2024-2025.
Weaknesses: as a discontinued product, the obvious one — you cannot install it. Google Lens does inherit some of the ability to point your camera at a problem and get results, but the experience is generic search, not a dedicated homework flow: no solving modes, no saved problem history, no step-by-step formatting, no follow-up chat. Former Socratic users looking for the same "explain the concept, not just the answer" spirit will find the follow-up chat in Sova, Gauth, or ChatGPT the closest modern equivalent.
7. Question.AI — broad, cheap, inconsistent
Question.AI is a multi-subject homework helper that covers a lot of ground: photo-based solving, follow-up chat, grammar checking, translation, and even PDF homework review. It is one of the most downloaded education apps in its category, and its premium tier is comparatively affordable — around $9.90/month or roughly $59/year as of 2026. For students who want one inexpensive app that does a bit of everything, it is a reasonable pick.
Weaknesses: breadth comes at the cost of depth. Independent reviews consistently note that accuracy drops on complex, multi-step problems — exactly the problems where you most need a solver to be right. The free tier is ad-supported and limited, and full use requires an account. The interface also leans toward getting you an answer fast rather than teaching the method, so it is easier to copy from than to learn from.
Which AI homework solver should you pick?
There is no single best app — there is a best app for how you study. Here is the honest matchmaking, and if you want a fuller framework, see our guide to choosing the right AI homework help app:
- You mostly do math, nothing else: Photomath. Its math-solution polish is still unmatched, and the free tier covers a lot.
- You take multiple subjects and hate creating accounts: Sova. It is the only multi-subject option here with photo input, follow-up chat, and no sign-up, and the Turbo/Genius split maps well to "check this quickly" versus "walk me through it."
- You want a human tutor on standby and will pay for it: Gauth. Nothing else here escalates to a real person.
- You already use ChatGPT daily and prompt well: stick with ChatGPT. It can do everything the dedicated apps do, just with more friction per problem.
- You want completely free and only type equations: Microsoft Math Solver on the web, while it lasts.
- You are on a tight budget and want maximum breadth: Question.AI — just double-check its answers on hard problems.
One category note: if a teacher or parent is choosing, favor apps whose default output is numbered steps with explanations (Sova, Photomath) over answer-first designs, because the format itself nudges students toward reading the method instead of copying the result.
Frequently asked questions
Are AI homework solver apps accurate?
Accuracy varies by subject and problem complexity. All the apps here handle standard textbook problems well; all of them can stumble on unusual notation, ambiguous word problems, or long multi-step reasoning. Apps with a deeper reasoning mode — like Sova's Genius mode or ChatGPT's stronger models — do better on hard problems than speed-optimized modes. The practical rule: treat any AI solution as a first draft, and check that each step makes sense before trusting the final answer. If a step looks wrong, apps with follow-up chat let you challenge it, which is itself a good accuracy filter.
Is using an AI homework solver cheating?
It depends entirely on how you use it and what your school's policy says. Copying answers into graded work you claim as your own is academic dishonesty everywhere. Using a solver to check your finished work, to see a worked example of a method you missed in class, or to ask follow-up questions until a concept clicks is closer to using a textbook's answer key or a tutor. Step-by-step formats exist precisely to support that second use. When in doubt, ask your teacher — many now set explicit rules for AI tools.
Which AI homework apps work without an account?
Of the actively maintained apps in this comparison, Sova works fully without an account — history stays on your device. Photomath's basic scanning also works without signing in, though Plus requires it. Gauth, ChatGPT, and Question.AI all require accounts for full functionality. If privacy is a priority, no-account apps have a structural advantage: there is no profile of your homework history sitting on a server tied to your identity.
Are these apps really free?
Every active app here has a free tier, and every one of them also sells a subscription — so "free" means "free with limits." As of 2026, the paid tiers range from roughly $59/year (Question.AI) to about $100/year (Gauth), with ChatGPT Plus at $20/month. The free tiers differ more than the paid ones: Photomath and Sova keep core solving free, while Gauth and Question.AI lean harder on ads and daily limits to push upgrades. Try the free tier for a full week of real homework before paying for anything.
