7 Best AI Math Solver Apps for Mac and iPhone in 2026

The best AI math solver for most Mac and iPhone owners is the free one already installed: Math Notes, in Apple's Notes and Calculator apps. For a photographed homework problem with steps, use Photomath or Symbolab on iPhone. For heavier math on a Mac, Wolfram|Alpha has a native app, and Soulver handles everyday sums in plain words.

A math problem usually shows up at an awkward moment: a worksheet on the kitchen table, a pricing model open on the laptop, a receipt that doesn't add up. You don't want to test seven apps to find out which one will actually explain the answer. Below are seven picks, what each costs on the App Store today, which of them run on a Mac, and how to use them so you still understand the math afterward.

The 7 best math solver apps for Mac and iPhone at a glance

Apple's Math Notes is the free starting point on a Mac or iPhone; the paid apps earn their place when you need photo input, step-by-step working or advanced math. Prices below are from each app's US App Store listing or the developer's own site.

Only three of the seven run natively on a Mac: Math Notes, Wolfram|Alpha and Soulver. The other four list iPhone and iPad on the App Store, so on a Mac you'd use Symbolab or Gemini in a browser, or keep the phone next to the keyboard.

1. Apple Math Notes: free and built into Notes and Calculator

Math Notes evaluates math as you type it in Apple Notes on a Mac, and lives inside the Calculator app on iPhone and iPad. Type an expression followed by an equals sign, such as (27/3)^2=, and Notes suggests the answer; press Return to insert it, according to Apple's Notes guide. There's nothing to buy or download, and no extra sign-up.

How to open Math Notes on a Mac

1. Open the Calculator app on your Mac.
2. Choose View > Math Notes in the menu bar, or press Command-Option-M.
3. Notes opens in a folder called Math Notes, created automatically the first time.
4. Type a calculation followed by = and press Return to insert the suggested result.

Apple's Math Notes page for Mac lays out that route and adds that the folder syncs to Math Notes in Calculator on your iPhone and iPad, as long as every device uses one Apple Account. You can also type math into any upgraded iCloud note or a note stored on your Mac; it doesn't have to be in that folder. Forgot the shortcut? Calculator's mode menu lists Math Notes next to Basic, Scientific, Programmer and RPN.

Variables are the part worth learning

Math Notes lets you name a number and reuse it. Type a word, an equals sign and a value (like venue=1950), and any expression below or to the right of it uses that value. Change the value and every answer that depends on it updates by itself. Apple's guide is specific about two rules: the variable has to be defined before the expression that uses it, and variable names must use the Latin alphabet.

When I'm pricing a team offsite, I set the budget up as a note and change the venue line as quotes come in, instead of redoing the sum each time. Here's the shape of it, with round numbers: 42 people at $38 a head for catering, a $4,800 budget and a $1,950 venue.

budget=4800
venue=1950
catering=42x38
budget-venue-catering=1254

If the venue line changes to 2200, the last answer drops to 1004 without you touching it. That's the whole appeal: the note stays a record of how you got the number, which a calculator's display never is.

Results settings and graphs

On a Mac, Format > Math Results in Notes sets the behavior: Insert Results fills answers in automatically, Suggest Results waits for you to press Return, and Off turns math results off (Apple). On iPhone, Apple's user guide has a separate page on working with graphs in Math Notes, and when Apple introduced the feature it said you can write or type an equation and insert a graph with one tap, with several equations on the same graph (Apple Newsroom). Apple's Mac guide for Notes doesn't describe graphing, so treat graphs as the iPhone and iPad side of Math Notes.

The limit to know: Apple describes Math Notes as evaluating expressions and assigning variables. It doesn't describe solving an equation for an unknown or showing working. For "solve 3x + 7 = 22 and show me how," you want one of the next picks.

If Math Notes made on your iPhone don't show up on your Mac, the fix is the same as for any other note; our guide to Notes not syncing between iPhone and Mac goes through it in order. For the rest of what Apple builds in, from Writing Tools to Siri, see our guide to Apple Intelligence on Mac.

2. Photomath: point the iPhone camera at a problem

Photomath, published by Google LLC on the App Store, scans a math problem with the iPhone camera, including word problems, and explains it step by step. Its App Store listing says basic step-by-step explanations are free, while Photomath Plus adds animated tutorials and textbook solutions; the in-app purchases list Plus at prices from $5.99 to $9.99, without saying whether that's per month or per year. Topics run from numbers and algebra through functions, trigonometry, sequences, geometry and calculus.

Photomath is the one I'd hand to someone who has never used a solver. Point, wait, scroll the steps. The listing also mentions interactive graphs, multiple solution methods and a scientific calculator. It lists iPhone and iPad (iOS 14 or later) and doesn't list the Mac, so it's a phone-and-tablet app.

The trade-off is what sits behind the paywall. Basic steps are free; the animated walk-throughs and textbook answers are where Plus comes in. Try the free tier on this week's actual homework before you subscribe, because that's the only way to see whether the basic steps are enough for your problems.

3. Symbolab: the widest range of step-by-step math

Symbolab is an AI math solver for iPhone, iPad and the web that breaks problems into steps and lets you ask about any one of them. Its website describes the solver as breaking problems down "step-by-step" and offers a chat, "Chat with Symbo," for questions about a single step. On iPhone you type a problem or photograph it, according to the App Store listing.

Where Symbolab pulls ahead is range. The listing counts over 500 calculators, including derivatives, integrals, limits, matrices, ordinary differential equations and Laplace transforms, with a graphing calculator and coverage from pre-algebra through calculus and trigonometry. Basic steps are free; a subscription unlocks the more detailed steps. US in-app prices on the listing run from $2.49 a week and $7.99 to $9.99 a month up to $34.99 or $39.99 a year.

On a Mac, Symbolab works in Safari or Chrome, since the App Store listing names only iPhone and iPad. The site accepts a photo or a screenshot of a problem, which is handy when the problem arrives as a PDF: screenshot it on the Mac with Shift-Command-4 and drop the image in.

4. Wolfram|Alpha: the strongest choice with a real Mac app

Wolfram|Alpha is a computational engine with native apps for Mac, iPhone and iPad, which makes it the pick here when you want the same tool at your desk and in your pocket. The App Store listing prices the app at $2.99 and lists Mac support on macOS 14.6 or later with an M1 chip or later, plus iPhone and iPad on version 17.6 or later. Pro subscriptions in the app are listed at $9.99 a month or $59.99 a year, with student and educator versions.

The listing says step-by-step solutions are included in the app, and Pro unlocks more intermediate steps, hints and image input. Wolfram|Alpha's Pro page adds the Wolfram Problem Generator for practice, uploads of your own files and images, and longer computation time. So if you want to photograph a problem or see every intermediate step, budget for Pro. For just the answer to a hard integral or a unit conversion inside a formula, the $2.99 app may be enough.

When I wanted to check how a monthly price increase would compound over two years for a pricing slide, I typed the formula into Wolfram|Alpha on the Mac rather than trusting my spreadsheet. It's the tool I reach for when I need to be sure of a number, not taught how to get it.

5. Google Gemini with Guided Learning: an explanation that asks you questions

Google Gemini's Guided Learning mode turns the chatbot into a tutor that asks you questions and breaks problems into steps instead of handing over the answer. Google introduced it on August 6, 2025, describing it as a learning companion meant to "help you build a deep understanding instead of just getting answers," with images, diagrams, videos and quizzes in its replies (Google). Google's post links to it at g.co/gemini/guidedlearning.

The Gemini app for iPhone and iPad is free, needs iOS 18.2 or later, and is rated 13+, according to its App Store listing. The listing mentions uploading class notes to build practice quizzes and sharing your camera with Gemini Live to talk through what you see. Paid Google AI plans in the app start at $4.99 (the listing doesn't give the billing period). The listing doesn't name a Mac app, so on a Mac you'd use Gemini in a browser.

Guided Learning suits the moment when the answer isn't the problem; the method is. I don't take a chatbot's arithmetic on trust, though, so when Gemini lands on a number, I check it in Math Notes or Wolfram|Alpha before I use it. If you're weighing Gemini against other assistants, our Gemini alternatives page compares the plans.

6. Gauth: homework help across subjects, with a tutor

Gauth, from GAUTHTECH PTE. LTD., is an AI study app for iPhone and iPad that explains problems step by step in math and other subjects. Its App Store listing names math, biology, physics and chemistry, and describes an AI Live Tutor with voice and a virtual whiteboard, a DeepThinking mode for the reasoning behind a topic, quizzes and flashcards made from your notes, and round-the-clock access to subject experts on the paid tier.

Downloading Gauth costs nothing. Gauth PLUS is listed at $11.99 a month, $31.99 a quarter or $99.99 a year in the US, with trial offers. It needs iOS 15 or later and doesn't list the Mac.

I'd pick Gauth over Photomath only if you need help beyond math, since the price is higher and the extra features are about studying in general. If it's only math homework, Photomath's free steps or Symbolab cover more of it for less.

7. Soulver 3: everyday math in plain words on the Mac

Soulver 3 is a notepad calculator for Mac, iPhone and iPad that reads plain words, so a line like "$3,400 + 10% sales tax" gets its answer on the right. Soulver's own site is upfront that it doesn't use AI: it runs on its own on-device calculation engine. It's here because for the math adults do at a desk (invoices, conversions, splits), I find it a better fit than any solver above.

Soulver costs $59 as a one-time purchase, with a 60-day free trial that doesn't charge you when it ends; it's also included in Setapp. It needs macOS 14, iOS 17 or iPadOS 17 or later, and sheets sync through iCloud. The site lists 190 currencies, hundreds of units and functions, named variables that update answers, and line references and subtotals. Access to Wolfram|Alpha from inside Soulver is part of an optional subscription.

I keep a Soulver sheet for freelancer invoices that come in different currencies, because the currency line updates and the total sits underneath without a spreadsheet. Math Notes does the variables part for free, so Soulver earns its price only if you live in this kind of math every week.

Which math solver should you use?

Pick the app by the job in front of you, not by which one has the most features. Here's how I'd decide:

Can ChatGPT solve math problems?

ChatGPT can talk through a math problem and read a photo of one, but treat any number it gives you as a draft until a calculator agrees. The ChatGPT app for iPhone and iPad is free, needs iOS 18 or later, and its App Store listing says you can snap or upload a picture to ask about it; ChatGPT Plus is listed at $19.99 a month.

For homework I'd still start with a dedicated solver, because Photomath, Symbolab and Wolfram|Alpha are built around showing the working for a math problem, while a chatbot answers whatever you ask. Where ChatGPT and Gemini help is the conversation around the problem: "why did we divide both sides here?" If you're deciding between the big assistants, our ChatGPT alternatives page compares what each $20 plan gets you.

How to use a math solver without skipping the learning

A solver helps most when you try the problem first and use the app to check your working, not to replace it. Every app above can hand over an answer in seconds, and that's exactly the risk on homework. These habits keep the understanding with you:

• Write your own attempt first, then compare it with the app's steps line by line. The step where you differ is the lesson.
• Use the tutoring modes when you're stuck on the method: Gemini's Guided Learning, Symbolab's chat about a single step, or Gauth's DeepThinking explanations.
• Check an answer in a second tool. A photo misread turns a 6 into a b; typing the problem into Math Notes or Wolfram|Alpha catches it.
• Read the problem the app scanned, not just the answer. If the scan is wrong, every step after it is too.
• Try the free tier on real work before paying. Photomath, Symbolab and Gauth all run free with limits, and the gap only shows on your own problems.