Updated

Is Chegg worth it in 2026?

Chegg is worth it if you use worked textbook solutions most weeks and you are happy to type the answers in yourself. It is a weaker buy if a free tool covers the few questions you get stuck on, or if your homework lives on WebAssign, MindTap, Connect or MyLab, because Chegg is a separate site and cannot enter anything there for you.

How it works

Disclosure: we make Silent Student, one of the tools on this page. Chegg’s website showed us no price without an account, so the Chegg price here is the one on its own App Store listing. Checked .

What you get
Silent StudentThe assignment worked and submitted
CheggSolutions you read
Enters answers on the platform
Silent StudentYes
CheggNo, you do
Price
Silent StudentFrom $11.99 a month
CheggChegg Study $15.99 in its iOS app

Short answer

  • What Chegg Study is: a library of solved textbook and homework questions with expert Q&A. Its App Store listing says it has over 60 million fully solved questions and that expert answers take 46 minutes on average.
  • Price: the Chegg Study subscription is $15.99 as an in-app purchase on Chegg’s App Store listing, and it renews automatically. Checked October 20, 2026.
  • Worth it when: you work textbook problem sets every week and your edition is in its library.
  • Not worth it when: you need help a few times a month (free tools cover that), or the work has to be entered and submitted inside an online-homework platform.

Is Chegg worth it in 2026?

It depends on how often you would use it and what kind of homework you have. Chegg Study sells two things: a searchable library of solved questions and a way to ask an expert when a question is not in it. If you open it several times a week, the subscription pays its way. If you open it twice a month, a free tool will usually do.

Here is how that plays out for the situations students ask about most.

Is Chegg worth it? By situation, not ranked. Checked October 20, 2026.

Your situationIs Chegg worth it?What else fits
Weekly textbook problem sets (math, science, business)Usually yes, if your textbook edition is in its library. Worked, step-by-step solutions are the core product.Numerade (video solutions), Course Hero (textbook solutions)
Accounting homework in McGraw Hill ConnectPartly. Chegg can explain a journal entry, but you still type every cell into Connect’s worksheet yourself.Silent Student fills Connect accounting grids cell by cell. McGraw Hill’s Terms of Use bar AI agents, so read them first
Engineering coursesOften, for end-of-chapter problems with worked steps. Search for your exact edition before you pay.Numerade, Wolfram|Alpha
A few hard questions a monthProbably not. A free tool covers the occasional question.Khan Academy (free), ChatGPT’s free plan, Photomath Basic (free, math only)
Studying for an exam you sit yourselfIt helps with practice problems, but drilling is a different tool.Quizlet, Khan Academy
Online homework on WebAssign, MindTap, Connect or MyLabIt explains. It does not enter or submit anything, so every answer still goes through you.Silent Student (we make it) works the assignment from your Canvas link

Is Chegg worth it anymore, now that AI chat is free?

Chegg has changed what it sells. Its App Store listing now leads with “AI solutions backed by experts” next to the solution library and expert Q&A. Its website also offers a math solver, a study planner, plagiarism and grammar checkers, expert proofreading and an internships service (chegg.com/study, checked October 20, 2026).

A free AI chat can explain most textbook problems, so the case for Chegg rests on its library: a worked solution to the exact problem in your edition that someone has already checked. Whether that is worth $15.99 comes down to how many weeks you would use it. Here is the math for one four-month semester, using each company’s own listed prices.

OptionArithmeticFour months
Khan AcademyFree$0
Photomath Plus (math only)4 × $9.99$39.96
Silent Student Base (we make it)4 × $11.99$47.96
Chegg Study (iOS in-app price)4 × $15.99$63.96
Numerade monthly (iOS in-app price)4 × $29.99$119.96

Chegg’s listing does not state the billing period for its $15.99 subscription; the table assumes monthly. Prices bought through Apple can also differ from prices on a company’s website, so check Chegg’s own checkout before you pay. Silent Student does a different job from the others in this table: it works the assignment rather than explaining it.

Chegg vs ChatGPT

This is the comparison most people searching “is Chegg worth it” have in mind. Both explain homework problems. They get their answers in different ways, and neither one types anything into your homework platform.

Chegg Study and ChatGPT, side by side. From each company’s own pages, checked October 20, 2026.

Chegg StudyChatGPT
What it isHomework-help service from Chegg, Inc.: a solved-question library, expert Q&A and flashcardsGeneral AI assistant from OpenAI
Where answers come fromA library Chegg says holds 100M+ expert-verified solutions, plus “AI solutions backed by experts” and answers from Chegg experts (46 minutes on average, its App Store listing says)Written on the spot by the model you are using
Photo of a problemYes, with the question scanner in its appYes, image uploads. The Free plan lists “limited messages with uploads”
Study featuresFlashcardsA “Study mode” is listed on its pricing page
PriceChegg Study $15.99 as an in-app purchase on its App Store listingFree plan, plus paid Go, Plus and Pro plans (chatgpt.com/pricing)
Works inside WebAssign, MyLab or ConnectNo. You copy the answer into the platformThe chat does not. You copy the answer in
Submits the assignmentNoNo

Is Chegg better than ChatGPT?

For an end-of-chapter problem from a textbook Chegg covers, Chegg gives you a worked solution to that exact problem. ChatGPT works it out fresh each time, which is quicker for follow-up questions and for topics outside a textbook, but a chat model can be wrong, so check its steps. For $0, ChatGPT’s free plan covers more ground. For problem sets tied to one textbook, Chegg’s library is the reason to pay.

OpenAI also sells agent and browser features that act inside web pages. Those are a different question; see ChatGPT for online homework.

What part of Chegg do you need to replace?

Chegg bundles several jobs, so the right alternative depends on the one you use. We don’t rank the tools below, and we make one of them. Facts come from each company’s own site, app listing or store page, checked October 20, 2026, unless a different date is shown.

Khan Academy

Free lessons and practice from a nonprofit (its about page, checked October 19, 2026). A free way to learn a method from the start. Its exercises draw on a question bank, so answers copied from someone else’s exercise may not match yours, as Is there a Khan Academy answer key? explains.

ChatGPT

A free plan, with paid Go, Plus and Pro plans. It explains a problem you paste or photograph and takes follow-up questions. Check its working; a chat model can be wrong.

Course Hero

A library of study documents students upload, with Ask AI, tutors and textbook solutions on its Premier plans. Course Hero shows no price before sign-up on its plans page, and it lets you gain free access by uploading your own documents. Compared in detail: Course Hero vs Studocu vs Chegg.

Studocu

Notes, summaries and past materials uploaded by students, with Ask AI and an AI quiz maker. Studocu’s website offers a free 7-day trial; in Studocu’s iOS app, Premium is $34.99 a quarter or $79.99 a year (App Store listing).

Numerade

Video solutions to STEM textbook questions from educators, an AI tutor, and some free ad-supported videos. In its iOS app Numerade is $9.99 a week, $29.99 a month or $95.90 a year (App Store listing); Numerade’s website says the app comes with 5 free solutions.

Photomath

A phone app for math only. Basic is free; Plus is $9.99 a month or $69.99 a year (photomath.com). Its site links only to the App Store and Google Play, with no computer version listed.

Quizlet

Flashcards, Learn mode and practice tests for material you need to memorize. Its App Store listing shows Quizlet Plus at $9.99 and $44.99 and says Plus renews monthly or annually. Compared in detail: Quizlet vs Chegg.

Solvely

A homework app and Chrome extension from Aignite Inc. The free Starter plan includes 2 solves; Pro is $3.99 for the first week, then $8.99 a week (solvely.ai/pricing). Solvely’s extension lists 100,000 users and a “One-Click Solve” that answers a whole page of questions (store listing).

AskSia

An AI study assistant for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Windows, the web and Chrome. Free use includes 300 minutes of lecture transcription and 100 PDF pages a month; paid plans are called Plus, Super and A+ (App Store listing). Its Chrome extension collects course content from your LMS (store listing).

Screenshot extensions: SnapGPT, Apex Vision AI, Mindko

Browser extensions that answer the question on your screen. SnapGPT has a free plan of 5 screenshots a day and Plus at $9.99 a month (pricing); Apex Vision AI starts free with 30 requests, then $7.99 to $19.99 a month (pricing); Mindko offers a 3-day free trial, then $19.99 a month (mindko.com). You still enter and submit the work. Our pages: SnapGPT, Apex Vision AI, Canvas quiz extensions.

Silent Student (we make it)

A desktop app for Mac and Windows that opens your assignment from Canvas, works it on the platform and submits it. $11.99, $24.99 or $49.99 a month; no free plan. It fits the online-homework job that Chegg leaves to you. More below.

Chegg alternatives by job, not ranked. Prices from each company’s own site or app listing, checked October 20, 2026.

JobToolsPrice (own site or app listing)Our page
Explanations and lessonsKhan Academy, ChatGPTFree (Khan Academy); ChatGPT free plan plus paid plansChatGPT
Textbook solutionsNumerade, Course HeroNumerade $29.99/month in its iOS app; Course Hero shows no price before sign-upCourse Hero
Class notes and study documentsStudocu, Course HeroStudocu Premium $34.99/quarter or $79.99/year in its iOS appCourse Hero vs Studocu
Math solvingPhotomath, Mathway, Wolfram|AlphaPhotomath free Basic, Plus $9.99/monthPhotomath
Photo or screenshot answersSolvely, SnapGPT, Apex Vision AI, Mindko, GauthSolvely $8.99/week after a $3.99 first week; SnapGPT Plus $9.99/month; Apex Vision AI $7.99–$19.99/month; Mindko $19.99/monthGauth, Solvely, SnapGPT
Flashcards and AI study setsQuizlet, AskSiaQuizlet Plus $9.99 or $44.99 in its iOS app; AskSia free tier plus Plus, Super and A+Quizlet
Online-homework assignment worked and submittedSilent Student Ours$11.99–$49.99/month, no free plan (pricing)Coverage by platform

Chegg-owned tools, and one that isn’t

Mathway is Chegg’s. Its site says “Backed by Chegg” and its footer reads “© 2003–2026 Chegg Inc.” (mathway.com). If you only need a math solver, Mathway is the Chegg product built for that.

Bartleby is often listed beside Chegg, but its footer says “bartleby, a Learneo, Inc. business”, the same company that runs Course Hero. Bartleby’s homepage offers the first week for $6.95, then $19.95 a month (bartleby.com).

Tools that “unblur” Chegg answers. Chegg’s Terms of Use bar circumventing its security technology and pulling its content by automated means such as scripts or bots. We don’t list those tools.

Where Silent Student fits (we make it)

Silent Student does the job Chegg leaves to you. It is a desktop app for a Mac with Apple Silicon or a Windows 10 or later PC. You connect Canvas once, queue an assignment, and it opens the platform the assignment links to, works the questions, enters the answers and submits. Canvas essays, discussion posts and file uploads wait for your approval first.

Coverage differs by platform. WebAssign has a dedicated solver. MyLab and Connect run on a general screen-reading agent, which is less predictable, and McGraw Hill’s Terms of Use bar AI agents. Between September 30 and October 19, 2026, customers on at least 17 school Canvas sites used it, and the 65 customer runs that got a grade back in that window earned 97% of the points available. That counts graded runs only, not every run.

It costs $11.99, $24.99 or $49.99 a month, with no free plan and a money-back guarantee if a problem on our side can’t be fixed within 3 days (request within 30 days, before you cancel; conditions apply). It is a public beta: the Mac build is self-signed, not Apple-notarized, and the Windows build is unsigned. It does not take proctored exams, and it is not a tutoring or flashcard app. Your school’s rules on AI help apply.

Which one to pick

Chegg or Silent Student?

They do different jobs.

Pick Chegg if you want to see how textbook problems are solved, you will use it most weeks, and you will enter your own answers.

Pick Silent Student if you want the online-homework assignment itself worked and submitted from a Mac or Windows computer, and you’re fine with the app signing in to your school account. Read how it handles your data.

Questions people ask

Is Chegg worth it in 2026?

If you work textbook problem sets most weeks and your edition is in its library, usually yes. If you need help a few times a month, free tools such as Khan Academy and ChatGPT’s free plan usually cover it. Chegg does not enter answers into WebAssign, MindTap, Connect or MyLab, so it does not save you that step.

How much is Chegg Study?

Chegg’s App Store listing shows the Chegg Study subscription at $15.99 as an in-app purchase, renewing automatically (listing, checked October 20, 2026). Chegg’s website showed us no price without an account, so confirm the web price at checkout.

Is Chegg better than ChatGPT?

For problems from a textbook Chegg covers, its library gives a worked solution to that exact problem. ChatGPT’s free plan explains more kinds of questions for $0 and takes follow-ups, but check its steps. Neither one types answers into your homework platform.

Is Chegg worth it for accounting?

For textbook accounting problems, often. For McGraw Hill Connect worksheets, Chegg explains the entries and you still type every cell. Connect versions many questions, so a shared McGraw Hill Connect answer key rarely matches. Silent Student fills Connect accounting grids cell by cell, but McGraw Hill’s Terms of Use bar AI agents, so read them first. For Cambridge Business Publishers’ accounting books, see My Business Course homework answers.

Is Numerade better than Chegg?

They teach differently. Numerade’s solutions are videos by educators, with some free ad-supported videos; Chegg’s are written step-by-step solutions plus expert Q&A. In their iOS apps, Numerade is $29.99 a month or $95.90 a year and Chegg Study is $15.99. Pick by whether you learn better from video.

Is there a free Chegg alternative?

For parts of it. Khan Academy is free, ChatGPT has a free plan, Photomath Basic is free for math, and Course Hero and Studocu give access in exchange for uploading your own documents. Silent Student is not free: plans start at $11.99 a month.

Does Chegg work inside WebAssign or MyLab?

No. Chegg is a separate site and app. You read its solution and type the answer into WebAssign or MyLab yourself.

Is Mathway part of Chegg?

Yes. Mathway’s site says it is backed by Chegg, and its footer reads “© 2003–2026 Chegg Inc.” Bartleby is not Chegg’s: its footer says it is a Learneo, Inc. business, like Course Hero.

Sources

We did not buy or run the other tools for this page. Prices change, and prices bought through an app store can differ from web prices.

Course Hero vs Studocu vs Chegg, Quizlet vs Studocu vs Chegg, ChatGPT for online homework, Gauth vs ChatGPT vs Photomath, Photomath alternatives, Canvas quiz extensions (all comparisons).

By platform: AI for WebAssign and MindTap, AI for McGraw Hill Connect, AI for Pearson MyLab. About us: is Silent Student legit?, benchmark, pricing.

Silent Student is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Chegg, Inc., OpenAI, Learneo, Inc., or any company named here. Product names are trademarks of their owners, used only to identify the products compared. This page is published by the maker of Silent Student and was last checked on October 20, 2026.

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