--- title: "Best AI Math Tutor: Picks by Course and Exam" description: "Find the best AI math tutor for your course or exam: Algebra to AP Calculus, SAT, GCSE and A-level picks, free vs paid prices checked October 2026." url: https://astra-ai.co/blog/the-best-ai-math-tutor/ locale: en type: blog keywords: - best AI math tutor - best AI for math - best math AI tutor - free AI math tutor - AI math tutor for SAT - AI math tutor for GCSE - Socratic by Google alternative published: 2025-08-24T12:00:00.000Z updated: 2026-10-08T09:57:53.050Z alternates: de: https://astra-ai.co/de/blog/der-beste-ki-mathe-nachhilfelehrer/ en: https://astra-ai.co/blog/the-best-ai-math-tutor/ es: https://astra-ai.co/es/blog/el-mejor-tutor-de-matematicas-con-ia/ fr: https://astra-ai.co/fr/blog/le-meilleur-tuteur-ia-de-mathematiques/ hr: https://astra-ai.co/hr/blog/najbolji-ai-tutor-za-matematiku/ it: https://astra-ai.co/it/blog/il-miglior-tutor-di-matematica-con-ia/ pl: https://astra-ai.co/pl/blog/najlepszy-tutor-ai-do-matematyki/ sl: https://astra-ai.co/sl/blog/najboljse-ai-instrukcije-matematike/ --- # The Best AI Math Tutor: Picks by Course and Exam > The best AI math tutor teaches the method for your course, rather than only the answer. We sort picks by course and exam (Algebra to AP Calculus, SAT, GCSE and A-level), list free vs paid prices checked on vendor pages, and explain what replaced Socratic by Google. ## Short answer The best AI math tutor is the one that teaches the method for the course you are taking now, not the one that prints answers fastest. For most US and UK students that means a step-by-step tutor for learning (Astra AI or Khanmigo), a solver for checking your own work (Photomath or Symbolab), and practice in the format of your real exam. If your school already gives you Skye or Eedi, use it: the school has picked it for your curriculum. Below we sort the picks by course and exam, list what is free and what costs money today, and explain what happened to Socratic by Google. ## How we chose We did not run a lab test or score tools out of 100. We checked each tool against five questions, using the vendors' own pages and the official course and exam pages, all on 6 October 2026: 1. **Does it teach or just answer?** A tutor asks you to try the next step and explains why it works. An answer app shows a finished solution. 2. **Does it fit your course or exam?** Algebra 1 homework, AP Calculus free-response questions and a GCSE non-calculator paper need different practice. 3. **What does it cost today?** We list a price only when the vendor publishes it, with the date we checked. 4. **Does it still exist?** Socratic by Google dropped out for this reason. 5. **Who pays?** Some tools are bought by families, others only by schools. Astra AI is our own product. We include it with the same facts and a con, like every other tool here. ## Picks by course and exam ### Middle school and pre-algebra - **Khanmigo** guides students with questions on top of Khan Academy lessons and exercises, so a stuck student lands on a lesson rather than just an answer. - **Photomath** is useful for checking a worksheet: scan the problem and compare each step with your own. - A parent who wants one tool for homework across subjects can start with the free tier of **Astra AI** and photograph the homework sheet. ### Algebra 1, Geometry and Algebra 2 - **Astra AI** works from a photo of the problem or from your class notes and walks you through the steps. It explains again when you ask, so it suits topics where the method matters, like factoring, systems of equations or proofs. - **Khanmigo** suits students whose class already uses Khan Academy, because it points back to the matching lessons. - **Photomath** and **Symbolab** check your work. Solve the problem first, then compare. Copying the steps is not the same as learning them. ### Precalculus and AP Calculus AB/BC - **Symbolab** shows line-by-line working for limits, derivatives and integrals. Pro includes the full solution steps and AI chat. - **Astra AI** can build practice and a study plan from your own notes and past tests, which helps when your teacher's unit order differs from a textbook's. - AP Calculus AB and BC share one Course and Exam Description from College Board. The course asks students to justify conclusions using definitions and theorems, not only to compute. When you practice free-response questions, write the reason for every step yourself. A solver will not grade your justification. ### SAT Math - The SAT Math section covers Algebra, Advanced Math, Problem-Solving and Data Analysis, and Geometry and Trigonometry, with some student-produced response questions. - You can use a calculator for the whole Math section. Bluebook has a built-in Desmos calculator with graphing and scientific modes. Practice with the calculator you will use on test day. - College Board points students to **Khan Academy** for official SAT practice, so **Khanmigo** is a natural fit. Use **Astra AI** if you want a plan built around your test date and the practice tests you have taken. ### UK: KS3, GCSE Foundation and Higher - GCSE Maths has a Foundation tier (grades 1–5) and a Higher tier (grades 4–9). With AQA you sit three papers, and Paper 1 is non-calculator. Practise some topics with no camera and no calculator at all. - **Skye** from Third Space Learning is a spoken AI maths tutor sold to schools for timetabled sessions, GCSE revision and KS3. If your school uses it, that is your tutor in lessons. - **Eedi Tutor** only steps in after a student makes a specific mistake, then uses questions to work on the misconception behind it. It also reaches students through schools. - At home, use **Astra AI** with your own past papers and class notes, or **Photomath** to check answers after you have worked a paper. ### UK: A-level Maths - A-level Maths mixes pure maths with mechanics and statistics. Check practice against your own board's specification and past papers. - **Symbolab** helps when you check calculus and algebra working. - **Astra AI** works from the past papers and notes you upload, and it can set timed mock exams. ## Free vs paid Prices are US prices from each vendor's own page, checked on 6 October 2026. Prices in app stores and in other countries can differ. A dash means the vendor does not publish a price. | Tool | Free | Paid | Who buys it | | --------------------------- | ------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------- | | Astra AI | Free to start, no card. Tutoring is limited | Plus includes unlimited tutoring and mock exams. The price is shown in the app | Students and families | | Khanmigo | Free for teachers | Learners and parents: \$4 per month or \$44 per year | Families, teachers, districts (quote) | | Photomath | Basic: \$0 | Plus: \$9.99 per month or \$69.99 per year | Students and families | | Symbolab | Free tier with limited steps | Pro: \$9.95 per month, \$32.95 per 6 months or \$39.95 per year | Students and families | | Google Lens (Homework) | Free | — | Anyone with the Google app | | Skye (Third Space Learning) | — | Quote for schools | Schools | | Eedi Tutor | — | — | Schools and partners | ## What happened to Socratic by Google? Socratic was a free photo homework app from Google. Around late 2024 the standalone app was removed from the app stores. In our check on 6 October 2026, socratic.org redirected to the Homework section of Google Lens. Google never published a shutdown notice, so treat Socratic as discontinued. Its job now sits in **Google Lens**: open the Google app, tap the camera and choose Homework to get explanations and links for a photographed problem. That is fine for a quick hint. For learning a method over a whole unit, a tutor that asks you to try the next step works better. ## Answer app or tutor? An answer app stops at the result. A tutor shows each step, lets you try the next one and helps only where you get stuck. Here is a quick test: after using the tool, cover the solution and start a new problem of the same type. If you can't, you used it as an answer app. Solvers are still useful. Use them after you have tried the problem yourself, to find the exact step where you went wrong. ## Where Astra AI fits Astra AI is a study app from the team behind this blog. You photograph a problem or type it in, and the tutor goes through it step by step, asks you questions back and explains again at your level. You can upload your notes, slides or past papers. Exam Prep then builds a topic-by-topic plan up to your exam date, with quizzes and timed mock exams. You can start free without a card. See how it handles math on the [math tutor page](https://astra-ai.co/subjects/math/) and how the exam plan works on [Exam Prep](https://astra-ai.co/exam-prep/). **Con:** the free tier caps tutoring, and the English site does not list the Plus price, so check it in the app before you count on unlimited use. Because Astra builds practice from the materials you add, the exam practice is only as close to your exam as the past papers you upload. ## How to pick in one week 1. Write down your course or exam (for example, Algebra 2, AP Calculus AB, SAT or GCSE Higher) and your budget. 2. Choose one tutor and one checker from the picks above. Start on the free tiers. 3. Use both on the same homework for a week. Each time, cover the solution and try a fresh problem of the same type. 4. Keep the tool that leaves you able to start problems on your own. Pay only once you hit the free limits. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is an app that prints the answer the same as a math tutor? No. An answer app stops at the result, or at a fixed write-up you only read. A tutor should show each step, let you try the next one, and fill the gap only when you are stuck. If you can follow the write-up but cannot start a new question of the same type, you used an answer app. ### What should I check before I trust an AI math solution? Check that it solved the question you asked, including units and what the problem wants: simplify, graph, or prove. Camera scans fail on messy handwriting and on work you crossed out. If a step has no reason attached, do that step yourself before you copy it into your notebook. ### Is there a free AI math tutor? Yes, with limits. Astra AI is free to start with capped tutoring. Khanmigo is free for teachers, and $4 a month for learners and parents. Photomath Basic and Symbolab both have free tiers, and Google Lens Homework is free for a quick hint on a photographed problem. Pay when the free limits stop you from practising, not because a free tool is automatically worse. ### How do I tell whether an AI tutor fits my exam? Match it to the course or exam you actually sit: SAT Math, AP Calculus AB or BC, GCSE Foundation or Higher, or A-level. Check that it can practise in that format, for example AP free-response questions where you justify each step, or a GCSE non-calculator paper done without the camera. Use the official College Board or exam-board pages for the format, and your own past papers for practice. ## Sources - [Khanmigo pricing (Khan Academy)](https://www.khanmigo.ai/pricing) - [Photomath plans](https://www.photomath.com/) - [Symbolab Pro plans](https://www.symbolab.com/registration) - [Google Lens Homework help](https://lens.google/#homework) - [Skye AI maths tutor for schools (Third Space Learning)](https://thirdspacelearning.com/) - [Eedi Tutor](https://eedi.com/) - [SAT Math section (College Board)](https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/sat/whats-on-the-test/math) - [SAT calculator policy (College Board)](https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/sat/what-to-bring-do/calculator-policy) - [AP Calculus AB and BC course (College Board)](https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-calculus-ab) - [AQA GCSE Mathematics 8300: specification at a glance](https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/mathematics/gcse/mathematics-8300/specification/specification-at-a-glance) - [AQA A-level Mathematics 7357](https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/mathematics/a-level/mathematics-7357) - [Astra AI](https://astra-ai.co/)