Mathway is one of the most recognisable names in online math help: a huge topic library, a clean interface, and a mobile app many students already have installed. It has been part of Chegg since 2020. Like a few other well-known solvers, though, it draws a sharp line between what is free and what actually shows you the method. Here is where that line sits, and how it compares with a free browser-based solver like SolveStep.
What Mathway's free tier gives you
Enter a problem into Mathway for free and you'll get the final answer. For a lot of topics you'll also get a graph. That much doesn't cost anything and doesn't require signing up.
What's behind the Mathway Premium paywall
The step-by-step explanation, meaning the part that shows which rule or operation was applied at each stage, sits behind Mathway Premium. Mathway's own terms page prices that at $9.99 per month or $39.99 per year. Premium also removes most ads and unlocks unlimited problem entry. Subscription terms move, so check Mathway's current pricing on their own site before relying on those figures.
Why "just the answer" often isn't enough
If all you want is to check a final numeric answer against your own work, the free tier does that perfectly well. If you got the problem wrong and cannot see why, or you are trying to learn the method well enough to reproduce it in an exam with no solver open, a bare answer will not take you there. You need the steps.
How SolveStep is built differently
SolveStep shows the complete step-by-step solution for every problem, free, with no separate paid tier that unlocks "the real version." Because SolveStep runs entirely client-side in your browser rather than through server-side processing per query, there is no per-problem cost driving a paywall in the first place. The free version is the only version.
Where Mathway still has an edge
Mathway's breadth is real: basic arithmetic through statistics and some calculus, in one app, with a mature mobile experience and camera input. If you need that all-in-one coverage and do not mind paying for the step detail, it is a reasonable tool. SolveStep covers algebra, equations, calculus fundamentals, geometry, statistics and matrices, which is narrower on purpose, and every one of those includes full steps at no cost.
A practical way to decide
- Just need a quick final-answer check? Mathway's free tier can do that.
- Need to actually see and understand the method, for free? SolveStep shows full steps on every problem without a subscription.
- Always confirm current pricing on the provider's own site before assuming what a free tier includes, because subscription terms shift over time.
A tool that shows you the answer isn't the same as a tool that teaches you the method. Make sure the one you're using for homework does the second thing, and check whether that part is actually free.
Try the free, full-steps version
If your next problem is already typed out or easy to type, run it through the SolveStep solver. Every step included, no install, no account, no upgrade prompt.
→ Try the free step-by-step solver now