Best AI Math Solver Apps (2026): Free Steps, Prices and Which Were Retired

Every parent who has sat at a kitchen table at 9pm, staring at a quadratic equation they last touched twenty years ago, knows the appeal of a math solver app. You point a phone at the homework, the app reads it, and a worked solution appears in seconds. The question in 2026 is no longer whether an app can read your math. Almost all of them can. The questions are whether it shows the steps for free, what it costs when it does not, and whether it is still being made at all, because two of the most recommended apps of the last five years have been shut down.

This guide answers those three questions for the 11 math solvers worth using today. Prices and ratings were read on 4 November 2026.

Comparison of the best AI math solvers

Prices are in USD, from each vendor’s site or the lowest rows on its US App Store listing, and can vary by country.

1. Photomath: best for free step-by-step math help

Rating: 4.7/5

Price: Monthly $9.99 or annually $69.99 on its site; Plus from $5.99 in the US App Store | Free option: $0 Basic plan with steps

Best for: free step-by-step math help.

Photomath is the app most people picture when they hear the phrase math solver, and it earns the top spot for the reason that matters most to a family on a budget: the steps are free. The Basic plan includes step-by-step explanations, custom visual aids and extra “how” and “why” tips. Its own site lists the same bullets on all three plans, while the App Store listing says Plus adds animated tutorials and textbook solutions.

The US App Store lists the seller as Google LLC, and the app holds a 4.8 rating from 733K ratings.

Strengths: steps in the free plan, stated plainly on its own page. Photo input is the core of the product, so there is little to set up, and Google keeps it maintained.

Worth knowing: it is math only, so chemistry or biology homework needs a second app. Like every camera solver, it depends on reading the problem correctly.

2. Khanmigo: best for learning the method, not the answer

Rating: 4.5/5

Price: $4 a month or $44 a year for US learners and parents, sales tax not included; districts from $10 per student a year | Free option: Free for teachers

Best for: students who are tempted to copy.

Khanmigo, Khan Academy’s AI tutor, is the app to hand a student who is tempted to copy, because it is designed not to play along. It guides through questions rather than printing a finished solution, asks what the student thinks the next step is, and connects to Khan Academy lessons and exercises.

A parent subscribes and can enable access for up to 10 children under 18. Districts get a Starter tier for up to 1,000 licenses, with Enterprise by demo request. See our Khanmigo review, Khanmigo vs ChatGPT, Khanmigo vs Quizlet and Khanmigo updates in 2026.

Strengths: a tutoring model that makes the student do the thinking, a large content library behind it, and one low price for a whole family.

Worth knowing: the learner plan requires you to be 18 or older, live in the US and have a US billing address, so students elsewhere cannot buy it. If you just want to check an answer quickly, a guided tutor will slow you down.

3. Mathway: best for free steps on the web and fast answers

Rating: 4.1/5

Price: Steps from $9.99 a month or $39.99 a year in the US App Store (some rows are higher) | Free option: Web steps without signing up

Best for: fast answers across many topics.

Mathway, from Chegg, is the highest rated of the big three on the US App Store, at 4.9 from 425K ratings. You enter or photograph a problem and it returns a solution across a wide range of math topics, and its site also lists chemistry and physics.

Its homepage says “You can get step-by-step solutions to math problems without signing up”, and “An optional subscription unlocks the full work shown for every step.” In the app, that subscription is sold as Steps.

Strengths: breadth, a very large rating base, one of the cheaper annual plans here, and steps on the web with no account.

Worth knowing: the app and the website describe the free side differently, so it is hard to know in advance how much working you will see. It is an answer engine first, so it does less to stop copying than a guided tutor.

4. Symbolab: best for showing every intermediate step

Rating: 4.1/5

Price: From $2.49 a week, $7.99 a month, $24.99 a half year or $34.99 a year in the US App Store | Free option: Solver with working, in our check

Best for: students who want every step explained.

Symbolab is the solver for students who want to see everything. Its homepage describes solutions “broken down in a structured way” with an explanation for each step, and you can ask about any step by chatting with its AI, Symbo, or share a problem as a photo. It describes itself as “a Learneo, Inc. business”, and the US App Store seller is Eqsquest Ltd.

The free side looks wider than its plan list suggests. Signed out on 4 November 2026, the solver showed us the full working on three problems with no upgrade prompt, while the Pro list still says “Full access to solution steps”, along with full AI chat, practice and no ads. Its upgrade page showed us $6.99 a month and $29.99 a year, which may be regional. The app is rated 4.6 from 26K ratings.

Strengths: the most granular step detail in this list, the chance to ask about a single step, and a low yearly price.

Worth knowing: what stays free may change, so check before you pay. Several price rows for the same plan make it hard to know what you will be charged.

5. Mathos AI (formerly MathGPTPro): best for word problems and higher-level math

Rating: 4.0/5

Price: Basic $2.99 a week or $46.80 a year; Prime $4.99 a week or $98.80 a year | Free option: Free plan with daily limits, plus a 3-day trial of paid plans

Best for: problems you have to interpret before you can compute.

Mathos AI is a language-model solver with image input, voice input, a PDF Helper and daily video explanations. It is aimed at multi-sentence word problems. A different product, MathGPT at math-gpt.org, ranks for many of the same searches, and the Mathos iPhone app is sold under the name Mathtube, so check the address before you pay.

Basic includes unlimited use of the smart solver, 100 daily uses of the most accurate model and 15 video minutes a day. Prime makes that model unlimited, with 30 video minutes a day. The weekly prices show $5.98 and $9.98 struck through, and we could not tell whether the discount is limited. The homepage FAQ says “Our advanced beta model achieves 20%+ higher accuracy than GPT-5.2 in our internal benchmarks”, with no published method.

Strengths: flexible input, a design built for word problems, and a free plan to start on.

Worth knowing: at $2.99 a week, Basic comes to about $13 a month, so check the billing period before the trial ends. Language-model reasoning can read fluently and still be wrong in one step, so check the working.

6. Wolfram|Alpha: best for advanced math, science and data

Rating: 4.0/5

Price: Pro $9.99 a month or $59.99 a year in the US App Store, same for students and educators | Free option: Free Basic plan with sign-in, no steps

Best for: university-level math and science.

Wolfram|Alpha is the computational engine to reach for when a homework app runs out of depth. It covers mathematics, science, engineering and data, from algebra and calculus to differential equations and statistics.

Step-by-step solutions and the Problem Generator are Pro features, along with photo input in the mobile apps, uploads in more than 60 file formats and extended computation time. The web pricing page showed us figures tagged to our region, so we quote the US App Store prices.

Strengths: the widest computational range here, well beyond school math, with plans for students and educators.

Worth knowing: there are no steps on the free plan. The app is rated 2.8 from 133 ratings on the US App Store, which fits its position as a power tool rather than a homework camera.

7. Gauth: best for broad multi-subject homework help

Rating: 3.9/5

Price: Gauth PLUS $11.99 a month, $31.99 a quarter, or $99.99 a year with a 3-day trial in the US App Store (offer rows run lower) | Free option: Free download with in-app purchases

Best for: households with more than one subject.

Gauth is the broadest tool here by subject: its App Store listing names math, biology, physics and chemistry, plus others. It adds an AI Live Tutor you can talk to by voice and describes 24/7 support from a global network of subject experts. The app holds a 4.8 rating from 1.5M ratings. Check that the seller is Gauthtech Pte. Ltd. before you subscribe.

We compare it with our top pick in Photomath vs Gauth. For homework that is mostly science, see our guide to the best AI chemistry and physics solver apps.

Strengths: the widest subject coverage, human experts as well as AI, and a very large rating base.

Worth knowing: overlapping trial and offer rows make the real price hard to predict, and the free limit is not published.

8. MathPapa: best for algebra practice

Rating: 3.8/5

Price: Premium $9.99 a month or $59.88 a year on its site | Free option: Algebra calculator

Best for: students working through algebra.

MathPapa is an algebra calculator that says it can “solve your algebra problems step by step”, with lessons and practice in Premium. Signed out on 4 November 2026, Show Step-By-Step opened the full working for a quadratic with no prompt. The app is rated 4.7 from 17K ratings on the US App Store.

Strengths: a narrow focus, plain pricing and a 7-day refund on paid plans.

Worth knowing: its pricing page does not state which steps stay free, and we checked one problem.

9. QuickMath: best for quick browser calculations

Rating: 3.4/5

Price: None stated on its homepage | Free option: Works in a browser

Best for: a quick equation, factor, graph or integral.

QuickMath calls itself a step-by-step math problem solver, with tools for equations, inequalities, factoring, graphing, differentiation and integration. Its app badges lead to a separate app, Algebrator.

Strengths: simple, single-purpose tools with nothing to install.

Worth knowing: the homepage says nothing about price or how many steps you get.

10. Google Lens: best as one camera tool for every subject

Rating: 3.7/5

Price: None stated | Free option: Free to open, no price stated

Best for: photographing a question in any subject.

Google Lens offers “step-by-step homework help”: point it at a problem and it finds explainers, videos and results from the web for math, history, chemistry, biology, physics and more. It is also where Socratic now leads.

Strengths: every subject in one tool, from a company that keeps it running.

Worth knowing: it points you to help from the web rather than working the problem the way a dedicated solver does.

11. AI Math Solver GPT: best for free steps in a browser

Rating: 3.9/5

Price: None, free | Free option: Everything, with no account

Best for: free steps on a typed problem.

AI Math Solver GPT is a free, independent browser solver built and run by one developer. It works like a chat, with no account and no paywall, and it has dedicated calculators for topics such as quadratics, derivatives and integrals, plus a graphing tool.

How we used it: we typed six problems into the chat box: a quadratic, a system of equations, a derivative, a definite integral, a train word problem in plain English, and a trick question with no real solution. Answers came back in about 15 seconds.

What we liked:

• All six answers were correct, and it said plainly when the trick question had no real solution and no valid prime.
• Every answer comes in numbered steps with the reason for each one, and the quadratic ended by checking both roots.
• The plain-English word problem worked with no rewriting.
• All of it is free, with no sign-up.

Worth knowing: there is no photo upload, so you type each problem. A note on the page says solutions come from math-solver.io. We did not find a privacy policy on the site, so keep personal details out of your questions.

Free online math solvers with steps (no app needed)

If you searched for a math solver online with steps, you may not need to install anything. These all work in a browser:

• Mathway: steps without signing up, with a subscription for the full work.
• Symbolab: showed us full working signed out, though Pro still lists full steps.
• Wolfram|Alpha: free answers with no steps, so use it to check a hard result.
• MathPapa: algebra, with steps that opened free on our one check.
• QuickMath: equations, factoring, graphing and calculus, with no plans stated.
• Google Lens: finds homework help from the web, from a photo.
• AI Math Solver GPT: numbered steps on typed problems, free with no sign-up.

Photomath vs Mathway vs Symbolab

These three are the names most people compare first, and they make different bets about what to give away.

The practical difference comes down to the free tier. Photomath puts steps in its $0 plan in plain words. Mathway gives web steps and charges for the full work. Symbolab has the most detail, and its free side currently shows more than its plan list suggests. If you will pay, Symbolab’s yearly row at $34.99 and Mathway’s at $39.99 are the cheapest annual options of the three on the US App Store. For a head to head with a fourth app, see Photomath vs Gauth.

Retired apps: Microsoft Math Solver and Socratic

Two apps that still appear in many “best math solver” lists no longer exist in the form those lists describe. If a page still recommends either one as a current download, it has not been checked recently.

Microsoft Math Solver was retired on 7 July 2025

Microsoft announced the retirement in a post on its official X account (“Math Solver will be retired on July 7, 2025”), also recorded by Wikipedia. The official site, math.microsoft.com, no longer offers a solver. It now presents Math Assistant in OneNote for Microsoft 365 Education and Math Progress in Teams for Education. So the answer to “Is the Microsoft Math Solver app free?” is that it was, and it is gone. Photomath Basic is the closest free replacement with steps.

Socratic by Google now redirects to Google Lens

socratic.org redirects to the homework section of Google Lens, and Wikipedia lists Socratic as discontinued with its features merged into Lens. If you were looking for the Socratic math calculator, Google Lens is its successor, and Photomath is Google’s dedicated math app.

Does Google have a math solver?

Yes, and it now has two routes. Photomath is sold by Google LLC on the US App Store, and its free Basic plan includes step-by-step explanations. Google Lens finds explainers, videos and web results from a photo. If you want a dedicated math app, use Photomath; if you want one camera tool for every subject, use Lens.

Is using a math solver cheating? School and exam rules

These apps can be used to cheat. A student can photograph a worksheet, copy the answers and learn nothing, and answer-first apps make that easy. But the same tool, used differently, is one of the best learning aids a student has had.

Copying versus checking

The value is in the steps. A student who works the problem first, then uses the app to check the answer and study where they went wrong, is learning. A student who photographs and copies is borrowing a grade they will lose the moment the phone is taken away. Guided tutors like Khanmigo are designed to make copying harder.

Exams and coursework rules

Rules on AI help vary by school, by teacher and by exam, and they change. Check the syllabus or ask the teacher before using a solver on graded work. For the College Board’s position, see our guide to whether AI is allowed on AP exams. Students preparing for exams may also want our roundups of AI SAT prep apps and AI AP exam prep apps.

What parents can set up

A parent can cover the final line of a solution and ask the student to explain the working out loud. If the student cannot repeat the method, the app did the learning for them. For a broader view of tutoring apps, see our guide to the best AI tutoring apps.

How to choose

If the goal is to understand the material and do better on an exam taken without a phone, you want a tool built to teach, which points to Photomath or Khanmigo. If the goal is just to check an answer you have already worked out, a fast answer engine like Mathway or Symbolab does the job.

Match the subject to the tool. Photomath is math only. For a household juggling math, chemistry and biology, Gauth or Google Lens can mean one app instead of three. For word problems and higher-level reasoning, Mathos AI targets exactly that, with the caveat that its reasoning needs checking. For university-level computation, Wolfram|Alpha goes furthest. For algebra practice, MathPapa keeps it simple.

Check how the app read the problem. Every camera solver can misread a faint exponent or sign, and a misread symbol produces a confident wrong answer. Teach the student to compare the recognized problem with the page before trusting the solution.

Finally, read the billing period. Mathos AI defaults to weekly billing, Symbolab sells a weekly plan, and Gauth and Mathway list several overlapping price rows. The cheapest annual options on the US App Store are Symbolab from $34.99 and Mathway Steps from $39.99, while Khanmigo’s $44 a year covers a whole family in the US. If you just want free steps on a typed problem with no account, AI Math Solver GPT is worth a try. For more study tools, see the best AI tools for students, our list of AI tools for high school students and the best AI tools for studying and summarizing.

Our verdict

Our top pick is Photomath, because step-by-step explanations are in its $0 plan and Google keeps it maintained. Right behind it, Khanmigo earns its place for the opposite reason. It is designed not to hand over answers, and at $4 a month for US families it is the cheapest paid plan here.

Mathway is the fast answer engine with web steps and no account. Symbolab is for the student who wants every intermediate step and an AI chat about each one. Mathos AI is the pick for wordy, higher-level problems, if you watch the billing period. Wolfram|Alpha is the power tool for advanced math and science. Gauth is the multi-subject helper. MathPapa suits algebra, QuickMath suits a quick calculation, and Google Lens covers every subject from a photo. AI Math Solver GPT is the free browser option, and it handled all six of our test problems.

Skip any guide that still recommends Microsoft Math Solver or Socratic. Pick the tool that makes your student do the thinking, treat the answer as something to check rather than to copy, and these apps become what they should be, a patient tutor that is awake at 9pm when nobody else is. Teachers can find classroom options in our guide to AI tools for math teachers.

How we reviewed

We rate each app out of five on two equal questions: how much real teaching it offers, especially for free, and how clear and fair its pricing is. We read each vendor’s site and US App Store listing on 4 November 2026, and we ran AI Math Solver GPT through six problems ourselves. Store ratings are context, not a score input, and we do not publish accuracy percentages we did not measure.

Written by

Faz

Faz is the founder of AIToolsBakery. Some tools here are tested hands on. Others are assessed from vendor documentation and pricing verified on the live page, and every review says which one it is. Sponsors can buy a position in a guide. They cannot buy the score, the criticism, or silence about a better option.

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