Socratic

It was free, but it is no longer available. Google acquired Socratic in 2018 and ran it as a free tool with no subscriptions, premium tiers, ads, or in-app purchases. Checked 2 August 2026: socratic.org redirects to Google Lens homework help, and the standalone Socratic apps are no longer listed on the App Store or Google Play. The photo homework help remains free, but you now use it inside Google Lens rather than a Socratic app.

It used to work like this: you opened the Socratic app, took a photo of a homework problem, and Google's AI identified the problem and returned relevant explanations, video tutorials, and educational resources from curated partners. Unlike AI chatbots that generate answers, Socratic showed you vetted content explaining the underlying concept. Checked 2 August 2026, that flow now lives in Google Lens, where the homework help section offers the same photo to explainer workflow.

Socratic covered Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, History, and Literature at the high school level, and worked best on standard secondary school curriculum. Since it was discontinued, the replacement is Google Lens homework help, which lists math, history, chemistry, biology, physics, and more as of our 2 August 2026 check. For college-level specialized content neither is comprehensive, and students may get better results from ChatGPT or dedicated tools.

No. Checked 2 August 2026: socratic.org returns a redirect to Google Lens homework help, the Google Play listing for the Socratic package returns a 404, and no Socratic app published by Google appears in the App Store. Google has folded the functionality into Google Lens, whose homework help section offers photo based explainers for math, history, chemistry, biology, physics, and more. Treat Socratic as discontinued and use Google Lens instead.

This comparison is now historical, because Socratic was discontinued and folded into Google Lens as of our 2 August 2026 check. Both handled photo-based math help. Photomath specializes in step-by-step solutions for math problems specifically, with strong handwriting recognition, and it is still shipping. Socratic was broader, covering all subjects rather than just math, but less detailed on math-specific step-by-step work. For pure math homework today, use Photomath. For multi-subject photo help, use Google Lens.

Socratic was generally considered safe for middle school and high school students, and as a Google product it followed Google's standard child safety practices and privacy policies. It was ad-free, had no in-app purchases, and surfaced curated content from trusted educational partners. Since the app was discontinued (checked 2 August 2026), the equivalent is Google Lens homework help, which sits under the same Google policies. For younger children, parental supervision is still recommended.

No, and the apps are gone as well. Socratic never had a browser version, and as of our 2 August 2026 check socratic.org redirects to Google Lens homework help instead of serving a Socratic web app. Students who need web-based homework help should look at free alternatives like Knowt or StudyX.