Is Photomath cheating?

By the Research & Editorial Team, Homework AI Guide · Last checked October 2026

Sources checked: the official website and pricing pages and independent reviews. See sources.

Short answer

Photomath is not cheating on its own; copying its answers is. The app shows the answer and every step as soon as you scan a problem, so it can do the homework for a student. Used after the student has solved a problem, to check the answer and find mistakes, it is a legitimate learning tool. Whether any use is allowed depends on the teacher's rules.

Why the question comes up

Photomath, owned by Google, solves math problems from a photo and shows the steps. Its free tier includes basic step-by-step solutions. Because the answer appears immediately, a student can fill a worksheet without understanding any of it.

When it is fine

Checking finished work, seeing a second method for a problem already attempted, or reviewing the steps of a problem a student got wrong are all uses most teachers would see as studying.

When it crosses the line

Scanning problems before trying them and copying the steps onto the worksheet. Many teachers now ask students to show their work or explain their reasoning out loud, so copied work tends to surface on tests anyway.

A rule that works at home

Solve first, then scan. If the answers differ, find the first step where the work went wrong and redo the problem without the app. If your child needs help before attempting a problem, use a tutor that guides instead, such as Khanmigo.

Tools mentioned

Solver Gives answers

Photomath

Point the camera at a math problem and get a step-by-step solution.

Price: Free option · For: Elementary through college math

Tutor Guides, no answers

Khanmigo

Khan Academy's AI tutor, built from the ground up not to hand over answers.

Price: $4/mo to start · For: K–12

Solver Gives answers

Wolfram|Alpha

A computational knowledge engine that calculates answers from curated data.

Price: Free option · For: High school and college

Sources

We checked these sources in October 2026. How we research and update pages is described in our editorial policy.