A Photomath alternative that runs in the browser
Photomath is an app, and it solves what it thinks it saw. This runs on any browser, needs no install, and shows you the transcription before it solves anything.
How to switch
- 1
Take the photo on any device
Phone, tablet or laptop webcam, and the upload is drag-and-drop or paste on desktop. There is nothing to install.
- 2
Read what it read
The problem comes back as editable maths. Fix a misread digit or exponent in one keystroke before it is solved.
- 3
Solve, then check
Steps, answer, and a substitution back into the original problem so you can see it holds.
The transcription step is the whole argument
Photomath's scanning is very good and still misreads: a barred seven as a one, a superscript two beside a bracket as a twelve, a fraction bar photographed at an angle as a minus sign.
When a solver does not show you its reading, a misread produces a completely correct, fully worked solution to a problem you never set. Everything about it looks right. Showing the transcription costs a click and removes the entire failure mode.
What Photomath still does better
Live camera scanning with an overlay, offline solving, and an animated step player built for a phone screen. It is a polished native app and this is a web page.
If you are scanning a whole worksheet on a phone with no signal, use the app. If you want to see what was read and correct it, use this.
Side by side
| Photomath | MathGPT.app | |
|---|---|---|
| Install required | Yes — iOS or Android app | No — any browser |
| Account required | Yes | None exists |
| Live camera scanning | Yes | No — upload, drag or paste |
| Shows what it read before solving | No | Yes |
| Correct a misread before solving | No | Yes |
| Full explanations free | Partial — deeper ones are paid | Yes, always |
| Works on a locked-down Chromebook | No | Yes |
| Works offline | Yes | No |
| Checks working you did yourself | No | Yes |
| Typed input with a math keyboard | Yes | Yes |
| Photo kept after solving | Tied to an account | No — not stored |
Checked September 2026 against Photomath’s own public pages. Features and tiers change — verify anything that matters to you before deciding.
Questions about switching
- Do I need to install anything?
- No. It is a web page — it works on a phone browser, a laptop, or a school Chromebook where installing apps is not an option.
- Do I have to make an account here?
- No. There is no sign-up on this site at all, including for the photo solver — which is the point in the flow where most alternatives ask for one.
- Is my photo kept?
- No. It is sent for the reading and not stored afterwards. There is no account for it to be attached to.