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Education · head to head

Photomath vs Seek by iNaturalist

Photomath logo

Photomath

Education

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Seek by iNaturalist logo

Seek by iNaturalist

Education

Free nonprofit wildlife and plant identification app built to be safe for children

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Seek by iNaturalist identification quality depends on how well iNaturalist community data covers a given region, so obscure or under-photographed species can be misidentified.
  • They diverge on capability: Photomath covers Camera scanning, Seek by iNaturalist covers Offline identification.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Photomath and Seek by iNaturalist actually diverge.

Attributes where Photomath and Seek by iNaturalist differ
AttributePhotomathSeek by iNaturalist
Pricing modelFree with a Plus subscriptionFree, no ads and no in-app purchases

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), platforms (iOS, Android), 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 Photomath

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

Only in Seek by iNaturalist

  • Offline identification
  • No account required
  • Child-safe design
  • Species badges
  • Broad coverage
  • Community-trained model

What people use each for

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

Photomath

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

Seek by iNaturalist

  • A parent wanting a nature app for a child without accounts, chat or data collection concernsnot Photomath
  • A hiker in an area with no signal who needs offline plant or insect identificationnot Photomath
  • A teacher running an outdoor nature scavenger hunt with a classnot Photomath
  • Anyone who wants broad wildlife identification without paying a subscriptionnot Photomath

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Seek by iNaturalist

  • Identification quality depends on how well iNaturalist community data covers a given region, so obscure or under-photographed species can be misidentified.
  • It lacks the deep plant care guidance that commercial apps like PictureThis provide, since it is an identification tool, not a gardening assistant.
  • Observations made in Seek are not automatically added to the iNaturalist research database unless separately uploaded, which surprises some users expecting automatic contribution.
  • The offline model download is a meaningful app size, which matters on devices with limited storage.
  • Because there are no accounts, there is no cross-device sync of identification history.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Seek by iNaturalist

Free
  • SeekFree
    • Full identification for plants, insects and animals
    • Offline identification once models are downloaded
    • No account required

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Seek by iNaturalist if

  • You need offline identification.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android.
  • You also want no account required.
Seek by iNaturalist review

Questions people ask

Is Photomath or Seek by iNaturalist better?
Neither clearly leads. Photomath starts at Free and Seek by iNaturalist at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Photomath or Seek by iNaturalist?
Photomath starts at Free and Seek by iNaturalist at Free.
Does Photomath or Seek by iNaturalist run on more platforms?
Both run on iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Photomath for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Photomath best used for?
Photomath is most often used for a student checking their own worked answer against the app steps to find where a method went wrong, a parent who cannot help with unfamiliar high school maths and needs a worked explanation rather than just an answer, a student working through word problems in a subject not covered by the free tier who needs the plus subscription, a school evaluating whether to recommend or restrict the app given the ease of copying a full worked solution. Of those, a student checking their own worked answer against the app steps to find where a method went wrong and a parent who cannot help with unfamiliar high school maths and needs a worked explanation rather than just an answer are not what Seek by iNaturalist is typically brought in for.
What can Photomath do that Seek by iNaturalist cannot?
Photomath covers Camera scanning, Step by step solutions, Built-in calculator, Word problem support. Seek by iNaturalist covers Offline identification, No account required, Child-safe design, Species badges.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Seek by iNaturalist: Is Seek really free?

Yes, entirely, with no ads or in-app purchases, run by the nonprofit iNaturalist.

Photomath: Who owns Photomath now?

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

Seek by iNaturalist: Do I need an account?

No, Seek works fully without an account, which is a deliberate choice to make it safe for children.

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.

Seek by iNaturalist: Does Seek feed the iNaturalist research database?

Not automatically. You have to choose to upload an observation to iNaturalist.org for it to become part of the research record.

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