Homework App for Elementary School: Solver or Explainer?
Homework apps fall into two groups: solvers show the result after the photo, explainers let your child answer first and help with hints. For an elementary school child, an explainer is usually the better choice, because the task is meant to be solved by your child, not by the app. Before downloading, also check whether the app has ads and what age it is meant for: in the App Store listing and in the terms of use.
If you search for a homework app, you will find many apps that solve tasks from a photo. That is handy when you want to double-check a result yourself. For your child, a different question matters: do they still have to think for themselves before the result appears?
This article sorts nine apps by exactly that question, shows age, cost and ads at a glance, and gives you a test that lets you check any app yourself in five minutes. For a broader overview of learning apps for practice, see the guide to comparing learning apps.
Homework Apps for Elementary School: Solvers and Explainers
Many homework apps accept a photo of the task. The difference is what happens next:
- Solvers show the result, often with the steps. Photomath, for example, advertises "step-by-step explanations for every solution" (App Store (in German)). But the result is on the screen before your child has done any calculating.
- Explainers ask questions, give hints and let your child answer. Afterward they check whether the answer is right. They show the result late, only after approval, or not at all, depending on the app.
The line is not always sharp. The simplest test: after the photo, what appears first, the result or a question for your child?
Why the difference matters
A field experiment with almost 1,000 students in grades 9 to 11 looked at how much this can matter in math (Bastani et al., PNAS 2025). One group practiced with an interface like regular ChatGPT, another with a variant that gave hints instead of revealing the answer. During practice, both were ahead: grades rose by 48% with regular access and by 127% with the hint variant. When access was taken away, the group with regular access did 17% worse than students who never had AI. With the hint variant, this setback largely did not occur.
Two caveats belong here. The study was run with teenagers in Turkey, not in elementary school. And according to the OECD Digital Education Outlook 2026, users of the hint variant ultimately performed about as well as students who had learned on their own, not better. For choosing an app, that means: it should not take the thinking away from your child. The study does not promise more learning success than practicing on their own, even from a good explainer app.
When a solver still helps
In your hands, a solver can be useful, for example when you are unsure about a task yourself and want to check the math before you explain it. An App Store review of Photomath says: "For all parents who want to H E L P their children with math without just slamming down the solution" (App Store, review of November 12, 2024). What Photomath can do and what to watch for with elementary school children is covered in Photomath for elementary school kids. For a direct comparison of the two approaches, see Gennady vs. Photomath.
Comparison Table: Nine Homework Apps (as of September 2026)
Gennady is our own product. The details on the other apps come from their App Store listings, websites and terms of use, retrieved on September 27, 2026. How we went about it is explained in the next section.
Solvers: show the result
| App | Age | Cost | Shows the result? | Read aloud, speech | Ads |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Photomath (iPhone, iPad) | App Store 4+ | free; Photomath Plus as in-app purchase EUR 7.99 to EUR 11.49 | yes, with calculation steps | not stated | no notice in the App Store |
| Gauth (in German) (iPhone, iPad) | App Store 4+; according to the privacy policy not for children under 13 | free; Gauth Plus EUR 9.99 per month or EUR 59.99 per year | yes, according to the website (in German) "Our AI delivers solutions in seconds" | AI tutor by voice | no notice in the App Store |
| Question.AI (in German) (iPhone, iPad) | App Store 4+; under 17 only with parental permission according to the terms of use | free; in-app purchases, for example "Plus-Weekly" EUR 7.99, "Plus-Yearly" EUR 99.99 | yes, answers questions directly | not stated | yes |
| Hausaufgaben Hans (in German) (iPhone, iPad) | App Store 13+ | free; in-app purchases, for example "Hans ohne Werbung" ("Hans without ads") EUR 4.99, "Hans Weekly" EUR 5.99 | according to the provider, it "even helps you solve your homework"; whether the result appears before your child's own attempt is not clear from the provider's statements | not stated | yes |
| scoolio (in German) (iPhone, iPad) | App Store 4+ | homework AI "completely free" according to the provider (in German); "Hausaufgabenhilfe Premium" (homework help premium) EUR 0.99 to EUR 9.99 | yes, "get solution & explanation" | not stated | yes; plus a chat among students |
As of September 27, 2026. Prices according to the German App Store or provider website. Hausaufgaben Hans is in this table because the provider describes the app as a chat that "has an answer to many of your questions" and helps with solving homework (App Store). This classification is not clear-cut.
Explainers: let your child answer first
| App | Age | Cost | Shows the result? | Read aloud, speech | Ads |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT (in German) with study mode (iPhone, iPad) | App Store 13+; according to the terms of use from 13, under 18 only with parental permission | free, study mode included; ChatGPT Plus EUR 22.99 as in-app purchase | in study mode hints and follow-up questions instead of quick answers; the regular chat answers directly | audio mode for conversations | yes |
| KIDZCOOL (in German) (website, no app found in the App Store) | grades 1-4 | 3 worksheets free, then EUR 10 per week, EUR 28 per month or EUR 240 per year | four levels of help, after that "parents can release the solution with a PIN" | reads answers aloud (in German) | no information found |
| Lerndex (in German) (according to the website for iOS and Android; found only on Google Play (in German), not in the German App Store; according to the website in a test phase before the official launch) | grades 1-13, "from about age 6" | 14 days free, then EUR 12.99 per month for one child | according to the provider, no, the tutor "does not give answers"; a photo of the worksheet becomes similar practice tasks | read-aloud function in grades 1 and 2 | ad-free according to the provider |
| Gennady (in German) (iPhone app, according to the App Store also usable on the iPad) | developed for ages 6 to 11; App Store 4+ | try free for 7 days, then subscribe through the App Store | for tasks from the worksheet, hints first, the correct solution for comparison on the third try; Gennady answers freely typed questions directly | reads tasks and explanations aloud, highlighted word by word; answer by voice | none |
As of September 27, 2026.
What the tables alone do not show:
- Age rating and minimum age can differ. Gauth is rated 4+ in the App Store, but according to its privacy policy it is not aimed at children under 13. So look at both details, not just the number in the App Store.
- The name says little about the age. Hausaufgaben Hans is rated 13+ in the App Store. According to the description, Hans is a chat that is "based on the latest artificial intelligence from Chat GPT", helps with solving homework and also tells jokes (App Store).
- Free rarely means entirely free. Photomath, Gauth, Question.AI, Hausaufgaben Hans and scoolio can be downloaded for free according to the App Store. You pay with subscriptions, one-time purchases or ads. scoolio calls its homework AI "completely free", but according to the App Store it shows ads and includes a chat with other students.
- ChatGPT is only an explainer in study mode. OpenAI introduced study mode on July 29, 2025, and it can be switched on and off in the chat at any time (OpenAI). Since September 29, 2025, there are parental controls for linked teen accounts, and parents can now use them to set study mode as the default (OpenAI). According to the terms of use, ChatGPT is not intended for children under 13.
- iPad: Photomath, Gauth, Question.AI, Hausaufgaben Hans, scoolio and ChatGPT are listed in the App Store for iPhone and iPad. Gennady is built for the iPhone and, according to the App Store, is also compatible with the iPad.
Where Gennady stands
Gennady explains the method step by step and checks your child's answer. If the answer is wrong, there are hints first; Gennady shows the correct solution for comparison only on the third try, so your child does not give up in frustration. The last hint leads right up to the result; your child takes the last step on their own. This applies to tasks from a photographed worksheet. If your child types a question in freely or chats without a task, Gennady answers directly. It is best to show your child at the start how Gennady is meant to be used: think first, then have it checked.
How We Compared
- Basis: Provider statements in the German App Store, on their websites and in terms of use or privacy policies, retrieved on September 27, 2026. We saved the passages we quote.
- No tests of our own: We did not try the other apps ourselves, neither with children nor with sample tasks.
- Selection: well-known solvers and explainer offerings that we came across while researching homework apps. The list is not complete.
- Prices: In-app prices in the German App Store or prices on the website. The term is not always shown in the App Store. Prices change; what counts is what is shown at purchase.
- Ads: the "Contains ads" notice in the App Store. If it is missing, the table says "no notice", which does not mean there are surely no ads. For offerings without an App Store listing, the provider's statement applies.
- Bias: Gennady is our own product. The Gennady row describes how the app works today, including where it answers directly.
How to Recognize a Child-Friendly Homework App: the 5-Minute Test
Provider statements are a start. How an app handles a real task is something you can see fastest yourself. Try this test with every app before your child uses it alone. For a checklist for AI offerings in general, such as chatbots, see Which AI is suitable for children?.
Sample task for testing (made up by us)
Write this task on a slip of paper: "Lina has 24 marbles. She divides them fairly among 4 bags. How many marbles are in each bag?" The correct answer is 6. In the test, you deliberately enter 5.
| Step | What you do | Good sign | Warning sign |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Photo | Take a photo of the task | The app asks what is being looked for, or gives a first hint | The 6 is shown right away |
| 2. Mistake | Enter 5 as the answer | A hint that starts at the mistake, such as "What is 4 times 5?" | The 6 right away, or just "wrong" |
| 3. Hints | Open all hints one after another | The hints get more specific, your child does the last step themselves | Even the first hint contains the result |
| 4. Reading aloud | Have the task read aloud, speak the answer | The app reads aloud and understands the spoken answer | Everything runs through text only, a problem especially in grades 1 and 2 |
| 5. Language | Read through one explanation | Short sentences, examples from your child's everyday life | Technical terms and long sentences |
| 6. Surroundings | Keep clicking around for five minutes, read the App Store listing | No ads, purchases only behind a parental gate, minimum age fits | Video ads, purchase offers aimed at the child, "from 13" in the terms of use |
How much the language matters is shown by a review of Gauth written by a sixth grader: "the solutions sound like they were written for professional adults" (original German, with typos: "die lösungen hören sich an wie für provisionele erwachsene an", App Store, review of March 10, 2025). With younger children, this check is especially worthwhile.
Two things only everyday use will show you: whether your child really reads the hints instead of clicking through to the result, and whether they can then manage a similar task without the app. Try sitting next to them in the first few days and practicing the rule "think first, then have it checked" together. Which learning apps are suitable for practice and which of them are really free is compared in The best learning apps for elementary school students.
What Reviews Say About Mistakes, Ads and Subscriptions
To see what bothers users about solvers, we read App Store reviews in two batches and counted them by topic:
| Batch | Reviews read | Topic | Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| Photomath (German and US store), Gauth (German store) | 488 | wrong results or misrecognized tasks | 83 |
| Photomath and Gauth | 488 | calculation steps or explanation only with a subscription (84 of them about Photomath) | 88 |
| Five AI solvers: Question.AI, Answer.AI, Solvely, Studdy, AI Homework Helper (almost all from the US store) | 684 | wrong or unreliable answers | 64 |
| the same five | 684 | too many ads (71 of them about Question.AI) | 74 |
| the same five | 684 | subscription cannot be canceled, money keeps being charged or is not refunded | 55 |
How we counted: For each app and country, Apple provides the most recent reviews through a review feed (in German). From it, on September 24, 2026, we read the reviews in the table. We read and counted with AI support in a single pass, without a second check. We looked up the quoted passages in the original. A review can mention several topics, so within a batch the numbers do not add up to a total of affected reviews. The numbers are not representative: we analyzed publicly posted reviews, not a random sample of all users. Reviews from elementary school children or their parents are rare in both batches.
Two voices from the German App Store:
- A parent on Gauth (January 2026): "i spend as much time on correcting Gauth Marh as i spend on correcting my daughter." (App Store)
- On Photomath (April 2023): "NOW I NEED A SUBSCRIPTION TO SEE THE STEPS!!!" (App Store)
What you can take away from this:
- Double-check results. An AI can make mistakes, with solvers as with explainer apps, including Gennady. If a result looks strange to you, work it out yourself or ask the teacher.
- Check for ads beforehand. The "Contains ads" notice appears in the App Store next to the age rating.
- Keep an eye on the subscription. Make a note of when the trial ends. Subscriptions through the App Store can be managed and canceled in the App Store account settings, as Photomath points out in its description.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there an app that explains a photo of the task?
Yes. Several apps recognize a photographed task. Solvers like Photomath or Gauth then show the result with the steps. Explainer offerings like KIDZCOOL (website) or Gennady (iPhone) give hints first and let the child answer. Lerndex turns the photo into similar practice tasks. The 5-minute test in this article shows you which kind an app is.
Which AI app is suitable for elementary school children and explains instead of giving away solutions?
Look for three things: the app is meant for elementary school age and not only from 13, your child answers themselves before seeing a result, and the app can read aloud as long as your child does not yet read fluently. In our comparison, according to the providers' statements, KIDZCOOL (website, grades 1-4), Lerndex (Android, still in the test phase) and Gennady (iPhone, our own product, for tasks from the worksheet) come closest to this. ChatGPT explains in study mode, but is only allowed from 13.
Is the app Hausaufgaben Hans free?
The download is free. According to the App Store, the app contains ads and offers in-app purchases, for example "Hans ohne Werbung" ("Hans without ads") for EUR 4.99 or "Hans Weekly" for EUR 5.99 (as of September 27, 2026). The age rating in the App Store is 13+.
From what age is ChatGPT allowed?
According to OpenAI's terms of use, from age 13, under 18 only with parental permission. In the German App Store, ChatGPT has an age rating of 13+. So ChatGPT is not intended for elementary school children, not even in study mode.
How do I recognize and prevent my child from just copying with AI?
Ask your child to explain the calculation to you in their own words. If that does not work, take a closer look. Also check what the app shows after the photo: if the result is there right away, copying is easy. A fixed rule like "think first, then have it checked" helps. The teacher knows which kinds of help are allowed.
The Explainer App for the Worksheet
Gennady reads the task aloud, explains the method step by step and checks your child's answer. If the answer is wrong, there are hints first; the correct solution for comparison only on the third try. Try it free for 7 days.
Open in the App StoreSources
- Bastani, H. et al., PNAS: Generative AI without guardrails can harm learning: Evidence from high school mathematics (2025). doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2422633122
- OECD: Digital Education Outlook 2026 (2026). oecd.org
- Apple App Store: Photomath (as of September 27, 2026). apps.apple.com
- Apple App Store: Gauth: KI-Lernbegleiter (as of September 27, 2026). apps.apple.com
- GauthTech: Privacy Policy (as of February 26, 2024). gauthmath.com
- Gauth: Website, German version (as of September 27, 2026). gauth.com/de
- Apple App Store: Question.AI (as of September 27, 2026). apps.apple.com
- Question.AI: Terms and Conditions (as of September 27, 2026). questionai.com
- Apple App Store: Hausaufgaben Hans Lern-App (as of September 27, 2026). apps.apple.com
- Apple App Store: scoolio (as of September 27, 2026). apps.apple.com
- scoolio: Hausaufgaben KI (as of September 27, 2026). scoolio.de
- Apple App Store: ChatGPT (as of September 27, 2026). apps.apple.com
- OpenAI: Terms of Use (effective January 1, 2026). openai.com
- OpenAI: Introducing study mode (2025). openai.com
- OpenAI: Introducing parental controls (2025, as of September 2026). openai.com
- KIDZCOOL: Homepage with prices and frequently asked questions (as of September 27, 2026). kidzcool.com
- KIDZCOOL: Accessibility (as of September 27, 2026). kidzcool.com/barrierefreiheit
- Lerndex: Homepage with prices and frequently asked questions (as of September 27, 2026). lerndex.de
- Google Play: Lerndex (as of September 27, 2026). play.google.com
- Apple App Store: Gennady (as of September 27, 2026). apps.apple.com
- Apple: App Store review feed, example Photomath (retrieved September 24, 2026). itunes.apple.com