Plusy vs Photomath: two apps that scan math homework

Photomath and Plusy both start with a photo of math homework, then do opposite jobs. Pick Photomath to check an answer or see a worked solution, at any level up to calculus; pick Plusy when your child aged 6 to 12 should do the arithmetic themselves, with one step of help at a time.

10 minute read · Updated October 9, 2026

Plusy is our app, so read this with that in mind. Photomath is a very good tool for a different job, and many families will want both. Everything about Photomath below is as listed on its own site, help centre or App Store page on 5 October 2026.

At a glance

What is the difference between Plusy and Photomath?

Photomath answers the question for you and shows how. Plusy asks your child the question and helps only as much as they need. Both read a photo of math homework, but Photomath returns a worked solution, and Plusy returns a practice round in which your child types every answer.

Photomath calls itself a math help app with step-by-step explanations, for elementary through college. Its App Store page lists Google as the developer and describes handwriting recognition, word problem instructions, several solution methods, graphs and a scientific calculator. Its range runs far beyond primary school.

Plusy is narrow on purpose. It covers whole-number arithmetic and fractions up to mixed numbers, for ages 6 to 12, and nothing else: no decimals, geometry or algebra. Inside that range, it is built around your child doing the work, on a road of short rounds or on lists made from homework. Getting started.

Is Photomath free?

Yes, the core of it. Photomath's site lists a Basic plan at $0 that includes step-by-step explanations, and its help centre says core features with step-by-step solutions to symbolic math will remain free of cost. Photomath Plus is $9.99 a month or $69.99 a year, as listed on its site on 5 October 2026.

Photomath's help centre says Plus adds animated tutorials, deeper explanations and contextual hints. For checking a primary school answer, the free plan already does the job. Its App Store page lists Plus as an in-app purchase at several prices, which can differ from the website.

Plusy is free to start as well. Every road, world and game is open on a free account, and a free account gets one worksheet scan and one AI list a day. A round uses one heart, wrong answers cost nothing extra, and hearts come back on their own over time and with a new day. How hearts work.

What happens when each app scans homework?

Photomath reads the problem in the photo and shows its solution, with the steps explained. Plusy reads the questions on the worksheet and makes a practice list without showing any answers; your child then answers each question, and Plusy works out the correct answers itself to check them.

Plusy ignores any answer already written on the sheet and never stores the photo. Only the list of questions is kept. Scan a worksheet.

A limit to know: Plusy keeps one-step questions on whole numbers, and fraction questions up to mixed numbers. A decimal, a word problem or a question that multiplies or divides fractions is skipped. Photomath's site lists fractions, decimals and word problems among the things it can solve.

Will my child just copy the answers from Photomath?

They can, and some users say so themselves in App Store reviews, alongside many who describe Photomath's explanations as a real help with learning. Photomath shows the full solution by design. Whether it teaches or replaces the work depends on when it is opened: after an honest attempt, or instead of one.

A simple house rule helps: your child does the question on paper first, and Photomath is opened by a grown-up, or with one, to check it. Used that way it is closer to an answer key with explanations than a shortcut.

What does each app do when a child is stuck?

Photomath shows the whole solution with its steps, which is what you want when checking. Plusy gives one step and stops. Hint asks about the column your child is on. Show me fills in that single step, then hands the question back. It never completes the whole answer.

What does each app do after a wrong answer?

In Plusy a wrong answer brings the right one, a line on what went wrong when the slip is recognized, and a trick; the question returns later in the round. In Photomath a child does not type answers, so there is no wrong answer to respond to. A check of the child's own working is not listed on its site.

On a column question Plusy reads the digits your child wrote and names the slip in one sentence, for example a carried 1 that was not added, or a missing zero in a long multiplication row. Walk me through it then goes through the question on the same grid, keeping what was right. What happens after a wrong answer.

   47
 + 38
 ----
   75

Which is better for primary school arithmetic?

For getting better at arithmetic, Plusy, because your child answers every question and the misses come back. For checking a finished worksheet quickly, or for a parent who has forgotten a method, Photomath. Its site lists addition, subtraction, multiplication, fractions and decimals among the elementary math it solves.

Plusy practices times tables one table at a time, and written methods in columns: carrying, borrowing, long multiplication and long division, set out as they are on paper. The long division layout follows the language, so the Hebrew version uses the layout taught in Israel. Column questions.

We did not confirm how Photomath lays out each primary school column method, so this page makes no claim about it. If the layout matters for your child's class, scan one question and compare it with the exercise book.

What does each cost over a year?

Photomath costs $0 on Basic, or $69.99 a year for Plus ($9.99 if paid monthly), as listed on its site on 5 October 2026. Plusy costs $0, or $29 once to remove the heart limit, with no renewal. A family using the free plan of each pays nothing for either.

Plusy's payment is called Unlock Plusy. It removes the heart limit and raises the free daily scan and AI list to as many as 50 of each a month. It opens no extra content, because nothing is locked on a free account. What the unlock gives.

What Photomath does better

• It covers nearly all of school math. From arithmetic to algebra, geometry, trigonometry, statistics and calculus, as listed on its site. Plusy stops at whole-number arithmetic and fractions up to mixed numbers.
• It grows with your child. The same app is useful at 8 and at 18. Plusy is for ages 6 to 12.
• Its site lists fractions, decimals and word problems. Plusy skips decimals and word problems, and its fractions stop at mixed numbers.
• It checks an answer in seconds. Point, scan, compare. Plusy does not show a solution to a question your child has not tried.
• It explains for free. Step-by-step explanations are part of the $0 plan.
• It has Android and iPhone apps today. Plusy runs in the browser, with an iPhone and iPad app on the way and no Android app.
• It is widely used and well rated. Its App Store page shows 4.8 from about 733,000 ratings.

What Plusy does better

• Your child does the work. Every question is answered by the child before any answer is shown.
• Help comes one step at a time. A hint moves the question forward by one step and hands it back.
• It responds to mistakes. A line on what went wrong, a trick, the question again later, and a practice set when the same kind of slip keeps appearing.
• A worksheet becomes practice. The whole sheet turns into a list your child can play, replay and share by link. See make a list.
• It is made for young children. Short rounds, the whole fact said aloud after each basic fact, coins and a streak.
• One payment. $29 once, where Photomath Plus is a subscription.

Who should pick which?

• You want to check tonight's answers fast: Photomath.
• You have forgotten how a method goes and want to see it worked: Photomath.
• Your child is past primary arithmetic: Photomath.
• The homework is decimals, word problems or multiplying and dividing fractions: Photomath.
• Your child is 6 to 12 and needs more practice on arithmetic: Plusy.
• You want the worksheet practiced, not solved: Plusy.
• Your child copies answers when a solution is in reach: Plusy.
• There is a times tables or long division test coming: Plusy, with a test list.

Can you use both?

Yes, and they sit together well. Plusy is the child's tool: scan the worksheet, let your child practice the questions, and let the app handle hints and mistakes. Photomath is the parent's tool: check a paper answer, or look up a method you have not used since school.

Plusy is free to start in any browser: Start free. For other kinds of math app, see our guide to math apps for kids.

Plusy is not affiliated with Photomath or Google. Product names belong to their owners. Prices and features were checked on 5 October 2026 and change, so check each app's own site before you decide.

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