Softwr

Education · head to head

Photomath vs YuJa

Photomath logo

Photomath

Education

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
YuJa logo

YuJa

Education

Video platform, lecture capture, accessibility remediation and proctoring bundled for institutions

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Photomath has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • 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.; YuJa nothing is published, and because the pricing is a bundle against enrolment, comparing YuJa with a video-only competitor requires unpicking which modules you would actually deploy rather than reading two price lists.
  • They diverge on capability: Photomath covers Camera scanning, YuJa covers Lumina Video Platform.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Photomath and YuJa actually diverge.

Attributes where Photomath and YuJa differ
AttributePhotomathYuJa
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelFree with a Plus subscriptionquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsiOS, AndroidWeb, iOS, Android, Windows, macOS

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 Photomath

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

Only in YuJa

  • Lumina Video Platform
  • Lecture capture
  • Panorama
  • Verity
  • EqualGround
  • Auto-captioning
  • Engage
  • Institution-wide licensing

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 YuJa
  • A parent who cannot help with unfamiliar high school maths and needs a worked explanation rather than just an answernot YuJa
  • A student working through word problems in a subject not covered by the free tier who needs the Plus subscriptionnot YuJa
  • A school evaluating whether to recommend or restrict the app given the ease of copying a full worked solutionnot YuJa

YuJa

  • A public university facing an enforceable web and document accessibility deadline that needs LMS content remediated and a dashboard it can show an auditor.not Photomath
  • An institution replacing a per-user lecture capture licence where casual recorders push the seat count past what the budget supports.not Photomath
  • A university that wants captioning, audio description and accessible alternative formats produced natively rather than routed to a third-party captioning vendor per hour.not Photomath
  • A disability services office and IT department jointly procuring one supplier for accessibility remediation, website scanning and media captioning instead of three contracts.not 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.

YuJa

  • Nothing is published, and because the pricing is a bundle against enrolment, comparing YuJa with a video-only competitor requires unpicking which modules you would actually deploy rather than reading two price lists.
  • The suite is broad and the modules are not equally mature; buyers who choose it for the accessibility line should evaluate the video and proctoring products separately rather than assuming equivalent quality.
  • Storage and streaming are presented as unlimited, but unlimited in a quoted institutional contract is a negotiated position rather than a technical guarantee, and heavy adopters should get the fair use threshold in writing.
  • Proctoring is contested; student unions and academic staff at many institutions object to automated invigilation, so buying Verity as part of a bundle can trigger a governance argument the video purchase did not anticipate.
  • Bundling concentrates supplier risk: lecture capture, exam integrity and accessibility compliance in one contract means a single renewal negotiation where the institution has very little leverage.

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

YuJa

On request
  • YuJa Suite$undefined/year
    • Priced per institution, usually against full-time equivalent enrolment
    • Video Platform, Panorama, Verity, EqualGround and Engage licensed individually or bundled
    • Multi-year institutional agreements are the norm

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 YuJa if

  • You need lumina video platform.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, Windows, macOS.
  • You also want lecture capture.
YuJa review

Questions people ask

Is Photomath or YuJa better?
Neither clearly leads. Photomath starts at Free and YuJa at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Photomath or YuJa?
Photomath has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Photomath and On request for YuJa.
Does Photomath or YuJa run on more platforms?
Photomath runs on iOS, Android. YuJa runs on Web, iOS, Android, Windows, macOS.
Can I use Photomath for free?
Yes. Photomath has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. YuJa starts at On request.
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 YuJa is typically brought in for.
What can Photomath do that YuJa cannot?
Photomath covers Camera scanning, Step by step solutions, Built-in calculator, Word problem support. YuJa covers Lumina Video Platform, Lecture capture, Panorama, Verity.

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.

YuJa: Is YuJa priced per user?

No. It is licensed per institution, typically against full-time equivalent enrolment, which is the main structural difference from per-seat lecture capture rivals.

Photomath: Who owns Photomath now?

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

YuJa: Is storage really unlimited?

It is marketed that way. In a quoted institutional contract, get the fair use position and any streaming threshold written into the agreement.

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.

YuJa: What is Panorama?

An accessibility product that scans documents in your LMS, remediates them, generates alternative formats and reports compliance status.

YuJa: Does it integrate with our LMS?

Yes, with Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle, D2L Brightspace and Sakai through LTI, with in-course playback and rostering.

YuJa: How does it compare with Panopto?

Panopto is more focused on video and lecture capture. YuJa bundles accessibility remediation and proctoring around the video, which is why it wins tenders that weight accessibility heavily.

Share

Related pages

More on Photomath

More on YuJa

Keep looking

Other head to heads