Photomath on PC? Photomath vs Mathway vs Symbolab on a computer

Is there a Photomath for PC or Mac?

No. Photomath’s website offers two downloads, the App Store and Google Play, and shows no web version. Its App Store listing names iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, with no Mac entry. Both app stores list Photomath under Google LLC. Google’s Lens site separately offers “Google Lens in Chrome desktop,” covered below.

Photomath’s own scope is math “for elementary through college”: elementary math, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, statistics and calculus. Its free version includes basic step-by-step explanations, and Photomath Plus adds animated tutorials and textbook solutions.

What works like Photomath on a computer?

These are the math tools whose own pages say they run on a computer, plus Photomath for reference and Silent Student, which does a different job. We don’t rank them.

Photomath vs Mathway: what is the difference?

Photomath does math only, and its free version already shows step-by-step explanations. Mathway, whose homepage says “Backed by Chegg,” covers 11 subjects including chemistry and physics, and it runs on the web as well as on phones. Mathway’s site says it is free to use and that “an optional subscription unlocks the full work shown for every step.” The App Store lists that subscription, called Steps, from $9.99 a month or $39.99 a year. On a computer, Mathway is the only one of the two you can use.

Mathway vs Symbolab: which works better on a laptop?

Both run in a browser. Mathway asks you to pick a subject, then type the problem or upload a photo. Symbolab is built from “over five hundred” calculators, per its App Store listing, gives free solutions with basic steps, and puts advanced steps behind a subscription. Its Chrome extension lets you “screenshot any math problem” on a page; the listing showed 30,000 users and a 4.3 rating from 53 ratings. If your problems are already on web pages, Symbolab’s extension saves retyping. If you photograph a printed worksheet, both take a photo. We have not tested either one for accuracy.

Symbolab vs Wolfram|Alpha

Wolfram|Alpha’s free Basic account “does not include step-by-step solutions.” Pro for Students adds them, along with practice problems, a 2 MB file upload and photo input in its iPhone and Android apps, for $5.00 a month billed at $60 a year; Pro Premium for students is $8.25 a month billed at $99. Symbolab shows basic steps free. So if you only need the result of a typed problem, Wolfram|Alpha’s free tier gives it, and if you want steps without paying, Symbolab’s free tier shows basic ones.

Photomath vs ChatGPT and Google Lens

ChatGPT reads a pasted screenshot in any subject and lets you ask about a step in conversation. Its Free plan limits image uploads, and Study mode, on every plan, walks you through a problem instead of handing over the answer. Google’s Lens site offers “step-by-step homework help” and says that with “Google Lens in Chrome desktop” you can “select, search and ask questions about anything you see on the web.” Lens finds “explainers, videos, and results from the web”; Photomath works the problem itself, one step at a time. For a broader comparison of photo apps across subjects, see Gauth vs ChatGPT vs Photomath.

Why a correct answer can still be marked wrong in your platform

Every solver above returns an answer in its own notation. Your homework platform grades what you type, under its own rules, and those rules are invisible to the solver. WebAssign, from Cengage, is a clear example, because its rules are published:

• Significant figures. When a question checks them, “No credit is awarded if you specify too few significant figures” (WebAssign help).
• Tolerance. Numbers are graded within a band, by default “±2% or ±1 at the last significant digit” (WebAssign tolerance guide), so rounding a solver’s answer too early can push it outside.
• Notation. In chemPad you “type H_2O to display H2O” (chemPad guide). A formula copied from a solver’s display may not read the same way.
• Submissions. “Each time you submit answers to WebAssign, you use a submission” (Cengage student guide), so a wrong format costs an attempt.

Before you type in any solver’s answer, match the platform’s format: significant figures, rounding, units and syntax. Our WebAssign equation editor guide lists the syntax that WebAssign reads correctly.

When the problem sits inside WebAssign, MyLab or DeltaMath

All the tools above leave the typing to you. Silent Student, which we make, is a Mac and Windows app that opens the assignment from your Canvas course, enters each answer in the platform’s own answer box and submits it. On WebAssign it types into the equation editor or ChemPad with a solver written for WebAssign. On Pearson MyLab and DeltaMath it uses a general vision agent, which is less predictable. Our published benchmark scored 156 of 164 graded answers (95%) on seven homework replicas modeled on WebAssign, MindTap, Connect, MyLab and Achieve; it is our own test, not an independent one.

Read the publisher’s terms first. Cengage’s Terms of Service bar access “through any automated means,” and Pearson’s Terms of Use prohibit automated tools that data-mine or scrape its material. In our reading, both reach Silent Student. We are not lawyers. Silent Student costs $11.99, $24.99 or $49.99 a month, has no free plan, needs a Mac with Apple Silicon or a Windows 10+ PC, and does not take proctored exams.