Softwr

Education · head to head

Linewize vs Photomath

Linewize logo

Linewize

Education

School web filtering, classroom control and student wellbeing alerting from the Qoria group

From
On request
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: Linewize automated wellbeing flagging produces false positives on ordinary adolescent language, and each false positive is a recorded concern about a named child that the school must then handle and retain.; 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: Linewize covers Filtering on and off network, Photomath covers Camera scanning.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Linewize and Photomath actually diverge.

Attributes where Linewize and Photomath differ
AttributeLinewizePhotomath
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteFree with a Plus subscription
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, ChromeOS, Windows, macOS, iOS, AndroidiOS, Android

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 Linewize

  • Filtering on and off network
  • Classwize
  • Wellbeing alerting
  • Pulse reporting
  • School to home
  • Multi-platform agents

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.

Linewize

  • A United Kingdom school evidencing Keeping Children Safe in Education monitoring expectations at inspectionnot Photomath
  • Districts with take home devices that need policy applied off the school networknot Photomath
  • Schools that want teachers to control lesson browsing without raising a ticket with the network managernot Photomath
  • Safeguarding teams that need a documented trail of flags raised and actions takennot Photomath

Photomath

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

Where each one falls short

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

Linewize

  • Automated wellbeing flagging produces false positives on ordinary adolescent language, and each false positive is a recorded concern about a named child that the school must then handle and retain.
  • Buying alerting without staffing it is a liability. If nobody reads the queue, the school has created evidence that it was told and did not act.
  • Off site monitoring of school devices extends school visibility into the home, and unless the school publishes the hours and scope, families discover it after the fact rather than at the point of consent.
  • The group sells both the school monitoring platform and a consumer parental control product to the same families, which is a commercial incentive to widen monitoring that the sales conversation will not surface.
  • Consolidation through acquisition means overlapping products from different codebases inside one group, and schools that bought a now acquired product face migration onto the group platform at renewal.

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

Linewize

On request
  • Linewize$undefined/year
    • Quoted per pupil per year
    • Filtering, classroom and wellbeing modules priced separately
    • Multi-year school and district agreements

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 Linewize if

  • You need filtering on and off network.
  • You work on Web, ChromeOS, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android.
  • You also want classwize.
Linewize 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 Linewize or Photomath better?
Neither clearly leads. Linewize starts at On request and Photomath at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Linewize or Photomath?
Photomath has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Linewize and Free for Photomath.
Does Linewize or Photomath run on more platforms?
Linewize runs on Web, ChromeOS, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android. Photomath runs on iOS, Android.
Can I use Photomath for free?
Yes. Photomath has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Linewize starts at On request.
What is Linewize best used for?
Linewize is most often used for a united kingdom school evidencing keeping children safe in education monitoring expectations at inspection, districts with take home devices that need policy applied off the school network, schools that want teachers to control lesson browsing without raising a ticket with the network manager, safeguarding teams that need a documented trail of flags raised and actions taken. Of those, a united kingdom school evidencing keeping children safe in education monitoring expectations at inspection and districts with take home devices that need policy applied off the school network are not what Photomath is typically brought in for.
What can Linewize do that Photomath cannot?
Linewize covers Filtering on and off network, Classwize, Wellbeing alerting, Pulse reporting. Photomath covers Camera scanning, Step by step solutions, Built-in calculator, Word problem support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Linewize: Is Linewize the same company as Smoothwall and Qustodio?

They are all part of Qoria, the group formerly known as Family Zone Cyber Safety. Product roadmaps and renewals are coordinated at group level.

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.

Linewize: Does it monitor pupils outside school hours?

On school managed devices it can, and the school decides the scope. Define the hours and the data retention period in policy and tell families, because the software will not decide proportionality for you.

Photomath: Who owns Photomath now?

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

Linewize: Is it FERPA and COPPA aligned?

For United States deployments it contracts as a school official under FERPA with COPPA consent handled by the district. In the United Kingdom the relevant frameworks are UK GDPR and Keeping Children Safe in Education, which impose different retention and review duties.

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.

Share

Related pages

More on Linewize

More on Photomath

Keep looking

Other head to heads