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Education · head to head

Blackboard vs Photomath

Blackboard logo

Blackboard

Education

Comprehensive learning platform for educational institutions

From
$10/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Photomath logo

Photomath

Education

Camera based maths solver that shows step by step working, owned by Google since 2022

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Photomath has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Blackboard user interface is outdated, cluttered, and unintuitive with hidden menus and excessive clicks; Photomath full free step by step solutions make it straightforward for a student to submit copied working without doing the reasoning themselves, which is a real concern for teachers assigning homework.
  • They diverge on capability: Blackboard covers Course management, Photomath covers Camera scanning.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Blackboard and Photomath actually diverge.

Attributes where Blackboard and Photomath differ
AttributeBlackboardPhotomath
Starting price$10/yearFree
Pricing modelUnknownFree with a Plus subscription
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebiOS, Android
Founded1997Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Education).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Blackboard

  • Course management
  • Assessment tools
  • Discussion boards
  • Virtual classroom
  • Gradebook
  • Mobile app
  • Analytics
  • Accessibility

Only in Photomath

  • Camera scanning
  • Step by step solutions
  • Built-in calculator
  • Word problem support
  • Animated explanations
  • Textbook alignment

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Blackboard

  • Course deliverynot Photomath
  • Student engagementnot Photomath
  • Assessmentnot Photomath
  • Virtual learningnot Photomath

Photomath

  • A student checking their own worked answer against the app steps to find where a method went wrongnot Blackboard
  • A parent who cannot help with unfamiliar high school maths and needs a worked explanation rather than just an answernot Blackboard
  • A student working through word problems in a subject not covered by the free tier who needs the Plus subscriptionnot Blackboard
  • A school evaluating whether to recommend or restrict the app given the ease of copying a full worked solutionnot Blackboard

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Blackboard

  • User interface is outdated, cluttered, and unintuitive with hidden menus and excessive clicks
  • Slow response times and platform crashes when opening multiple tabs simultaneously
  • Cannot track detailed student activity beyond most recent login information
  • Limited ability to handle large file uploads for content and assignments
  • Minimal customization options for page and template design

Photomath

  • Full free step by step solutions make it straightforward for a student to submit copied working without doing the reasoning themselves, which is a real concern for teachers assigning homework.
  • Word problems, a common school assessment format, are gated behind the Plus subscription, so the free tier is weaker on exactly the problem type many students struggle with most.
  • Camera recognition of messy handwriting or complex notation such as matrices or multi-line proofs is unreliable, and misreads produce confidently wrong steps.
  • Since the 2022 Google acquisition, the product sits inside a company whose primary business is advertising and data, which is a relevant factor for schools with strict student data policies.
  • It solves problems rather than teaching underlying concepts from scratch, so a student with no foundational understanding gets a worked answer but not necessarily comprehension.

Pricing, plan by plan

Blackboard

$10/year

No published plan breakdown. See the Blackboard review.

Photomath

Free
  • Photomath Plus$9.99/month
    • Step by step solutions for most problem types free and unlimited on the base app
    • Plus unlocks word problems, animated explanations and deeper steps
    • Plus available at roughly $59.99 billed annually as a cheaper alternative to monthly

Which should you pick?

Choose Blackboard if

  • You need course management.
  • You also want assessment tools.
Blackboard review

Choose Photomath if

  • You need camera scanning.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android.
  • You also want step by step solutions.
Photomath review

Questions people ask

Is Blackboard or Photomath better?
Neither clearly leads. Blackboard starts at $10/year and Photomath at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Blackboard or Photomath?
Photomath has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $10/year for Blackboard and Free for Photomath.
Does Blackboard or Photomath run on more platforms?
Blackboard runs on Web. Photomath runs on iOS, Android.
Can I use Photomath for free?
Yes. Photomath has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Blackboard starts at $10/year.
What is Blackboard best used for?
Blackboard is most often used for course delivery, student engagement, assessment, virtual learning. Of those, course delivery and student engagement are not what Photomath is typically brought in for.
What can Blackboard do that Photomath cannot?
Blackboard covers Course management, Assessment tools, Discussion boards, Virtual classroom. Photomath covers Camera scanning, Step by step solutions, Built-in calculator, Word problem support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Blackboard: What does Blackboard LMS offer?

Blackboard is a learning management system that includes course management, assignment and gradebook tools, discussion forums, and analytics for tracking learner progress in online, hybrid, and in-person courses.

Source
Photomath: Is Photomath free?

Basic step by step solutions for most maths problem types are free and unlimited. Word problems, animated explanations and some textbook-specific solutions require Photomath Plus.

Photomath: Who owns Photomath now?

Google acquired Photomath in 2022. It operates as a standalone app but is owned by Google.

Photomath: Does it just give the answer or show working?

It shows step by step working for the method used, not only the final answer, on both free and Plus tiers, with Plus adding more detail.

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