Best Gauth Alternatives for Students (2026)

Gauth is a phone-first homework app: you photograph a problem and it returns a step-by-step solution, with optional live tutors and a paid Gauth Plus tier. The right alternative depends on what you want to change. For free, well-explained math steps from a large US company, Photomath (owned by Google) is the closest swap. For algebra through calculus with richer step options, Symbolab and Wolfram|Alpha. For a tutor that teaches instead of answering, Khanmigo. For questions that live in a browser rather than on paper, a browser tool such as AnswerAI or QuizAce fits better than any phone app. Prices and ratings below were checked on October 12, 2026.

Last verified: October 12, 2026 against the official documentation linked below.

Disclosure: QuizAce publishes this blog and is one of the alternatives. It is a browser extension, so for most of what people use Gauth for (a photo of a worksheet) it is not the best fit, and we say so below.

What Gauth is

Gauth started as Gauthmath, a photo math solver, and has since broadened. Its US App Store listing now calls it "Gauth: AI Study Companion" and describes:

• Step-by-step explanations for a photographed or typed problem, with math covered in the most detail and biology, physics and chemistry also listed.
• An "AI Live Tutor" with voice and a virtual whiteboard, and a "DeepThinking" mode for longer explanations.
• Access to human subject experts "24/7" for math, science and other homework help.
• A "Smart Study Converter" that turns notes, audio or lecture links into quizzes and flashcards, plus a writing assistant, a text simplifier and a study timer.

The seller on the App Store is GAUTHTECH PTE. LTD., a Singapore company. The app is free to download with in-app purchases, rated 4+, and showed a 4.8 rating from 1.5 million ratings on October 12, 2026. That is an enormous review base, and it reflects a real strength: for a photographed algebra or geometry problem, Gauth is fast and its step layout is easy to follow on a phone.

Why students look for a Gauth alternative

The subscription list is confusing

The App Store lists many Gauth Plus purchase options. On October 12, 2026 they included Monthly at $11.99, Quarterly at $31.99 (with a "Special Discount" quarterly at $26.99), Annual at $99.99 (with a 3-day-trial "Special Offer" annual at $49.99), and a "Free Trial (only for new user)" entry at $11.99. Which of these you see depends on offers shown inside the app. If you are not sure what you signed up for, check Settings > your name > Subscriptions on iPhone, or the Subscriptions page in Google Play, before the trial ends. Several alternatives below have a single, published price.

It is built for the phone camera, not the browser

Gauth's core loop is: point the camera at paper. That is perfect for a printed worksheet and clumsy for a question that is already on your laptop screen, inside a Canvas quiz or a publisher homework site. An older Gauth Chrome extension existed, but when we checked on October 12, 2026 we could not load a working Gauth listing in the Chrome Web Store, and the App Store description does not mention one. If most of your questions are on a screen, a browser tool is a better match.

Its strengths are mostly math

Gauth lists several sciences, but the topic list on its own store page is far more detailed for math than anything else. For essay feedback, history, or reading-heavy subjects, a general tutor or a page-reading tool tends to handle long text better than a photo solver.

Ownership and data questions

Gauth is operated by GauthTech, and Axios reported in April 2024 that Gauth is owned by ByteDance, the company that owns TikTok. We are not aware of any regulator finding against Gauth, and ownership alone says nothing about how a specific app handles your data. What the app does disclose is in Apple's privacy labels, which the developer fills in. Gauth's label says:

• Data used to track you: identifiers.
• Data linked to you: contact info (email, name), user content (photos or videos, customer support), identifiers (user ID, device ID), usage data and diagnostics.

Photos linked to your identity is expected for an app whose input is photos. Tracking identifiers is the part some families and schools decide they would rather avoid. If that is your reason for switching, compare the label of any alternative on the same App Store page before installing.

You want to learn the method, not copy steps

A neat column of steps is easy to read and easy to forget. Students who are preparing for a test without a phone in hand often get more from a tool that asks them to do the next step themselves.

Six Gauth alternatives compared

Checked on Oct 12, 2026 on each US App Store listing, Chrome Web Store listing or vendor pricing page. App Store in-app prices are listed without durations for some items, so confirm the plan length inside the app.

Which alternative fits which reason

Same camera workflow, simpler pricing: Photomath

Photomath is the most direct replacement. Its App Store listing names Google LLC as the seller and states that you "get basic step-by-step explanations at no charge when you download Photomath." Animated steps are also free. Photomath Plus adds animated tutorials and detailed textbook solutions, with in-app prices between $5.99 and $9.99. The topic list runs from numbers and algebra through trigonometry, sequences, geometry and calculus. It is math only, which is exactly its strength: if you used Gauth for math and nothing else, start here.

More control over the steps: Symbolab and Wolfram|Alpha

Symbolab works on its website and in its app, and accepts typed or photographed problems. The App Store listing promises "free solutions with basic steps," with a subscription for more advanced steps and explanations; options start at $2.49 a week and yearly plans are listed at $34.99 and $39.99. Typing a problem into Symbolab is often more reliable than a photo for long expressions, because you control exactly what it reads.

Wolfram|Alpha is the heavyweight for advanced math, units, plots and data. Answers are free, but its student pricing page notes that the Basic plan "does not include step-by-step solutions"; those come with Pro or Pro Premium, and the page offers discounted student pricing (shown in your local currency). It is the best of the group for checking work in calculus, linear algebra or statistics.

One option to cross off: Microsoft Math Solver, a common recommendation in older lists, was retired on July 7, 2025.

Learning the method: Khanmigo

Khan Academy's Khanmigo is built to ask you the next question rather than give you the next step. According to its pricing page it costs $4 a month or $44 a year for learners; a parent plan at the same price lets parents add children and see their chat history and moderation alerts; and it is free for teachers. For a student who keeps getting the homework right with Gauth and the test wrong without it, this is the most useful change on the list.

Questions on a laptop screen: AnswerAI

AnswerAI is the closest to Gauth's "one app for everything" feel, but it also has a Chrome extension where you screenshot or highlight a question on any website. The same account works on iOS, Android and Chrome. On October 12, 2026 the extension had 100,000 users and a 4.9 rating from 12.4K ratings. The trade-offs: its free limit is not published, its pricing page showed a trial offer rather than plans, and its Chrome privacy section lists location, web history and website content. Our AnswerAI alternatives guide covers those in detail.

Practice quizzes inside an LMS: QuizAce

If the questions you need help with are practice quizzes in Canvas, Blackboard or Moodle, a phone camera is the wrong tool. QuizAce is built and tested for Canvas (Classic + New Quizzes), Blackboard (Ultra + Original), Brightspace, Moodle, Google Forms and Microsoft Forms. On other websites it falls back to a general page reader that has not been tested on that platform, and interactive formats (graphs, drag-and-drop, embedded tools, math input editors) are out of scope. That last point matters for Gauth users: if your homework is on a publisher system where you type answers into a math editor, QuizAce is not the tool for it. Where it fits, it reads the question and any image in it, and explains the answer. For publisher platforms, our guide to McGraw Hill Connect explains where answers and feedback legitimately appear.

Photo apps vs browser tools: a quick way to decide

Whatever you choose, the rules for each assignment come from your instructor and your school's academic-integrity policy. Use AI help where it is allowed: homework that permits it, practice problems and review. Our guide on how to study with AI tools has a routine that turns solved examples into retained skills. If you also use flashcards, see Quizlet alternatives; if you use a homework extension rather than an app, see SolvelyAI alternatives or Quizard AI alternatives.

Sources

• Gauth: AI Study Companion, US App Store listing (seller, ratings, in-app purchases, privacy label)
• Axios: Popular AI homework helper Gauth shares owner with TikTok (April 2024)
• Apple: About privacy information on the App Store
• Photomath App Store listing and Symbolab App Store listing
• Wolfram|Alpha Pro student pricing and Khanmigo pricing
• AnswerAI Chrome Web Store listing
• Microsoft Math Solver (retirement date)

FAQ

Is Gauth owned by ByteDance?

The App Store lists the seller as GAUTHTECH PTE. LTD., a Singapore company. Axios reported in April 2024 that Gauth is owned by ByteDance, TikTok's parent company.

How much does Gauth Plus cost?

On the US App Store on October 12, 2026: $11.99 a month, $31.99 a quarter or $99.99 a year, with discounted offers ($26.99 quarterly, $49.99 annual) shown to some users. Prices differ by country.

What is the best free alternative to Gauth for math?

Photomath, which gives basic step-by-step explanations for free. Symbolab also shows basic steps for free, and is better if you prefer typing the problem.

Is there a Gauth Chrome extension?

An older one existed, but we could not load a working Gauth listing in the Chrome Web Store on October 12, 2026. For questions on a laptop screen, AnswerAI's extension (screenshots on any site) or QuizAce (practice quizzes on supported LMSs) are the browser-based options.

What data does Gauth collect?

According to its App Store privacy label, identifiers are used to track you, and contact info, photos, identifiers, usage data and diagnostics are linked to your identity. The developer provides this label; Apple does not verify it.