Photomath is a deservedly popular math camera: point it at a problem and it walks you through detailed, step-by-step solutions, with animated tutorials and textbook help available on its Photomath Plus tier. If your goal is to learn the method and not just see the answer, it's an excellent teaching tool. Reckon takes a narrower angle. It reads the equation with Apple's on-device Vision OCR and evaluates it with a pure-Swift engine, so it runs fully offline with no account and is a one-time purchase rather than a subscription. The honest tradeoff: Photomath is the richer step-by-step tutor, while Reckon is the calm, private, buy-once option for getting the answer when you have no signal and want no subscription.
Tap the shutter. Reckon captures the frame, runs VNRecognizeTextRequest, and extracts the math text. ~0.5–1.5 seconds depending on device. No frames are uploaded anywhere.
Pure-Swift expression evaluator
Recursive-descent parser handles + − × ÷ % parentheses exponents decimals fractions with correct operator precedence and associativity. Pure Swift, zero dependencies, ~250 LoC.
Edit-before-solve
After OCR, the parsed equation appears prominently above the answer. If Vision misread your handwriting, tap to edit. Solves recompute instantly.
Show steps
Toggle in the result card. Reveals the substep-by-substep evaluation (e.g., 2 + 3 × 4 → 2 + 12 → 14). Honest arithmetic — …
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Photomath
Competitor
Scans typed and handwritten problems and explains the solution step by step
Covers a wide range of topics, from arithmetic and algebra to calculus
Optional Photomath Plus adds animated how-to tutorials and textbook solutions
Backed by Google, with a large, established user base and ongoing updates
Pricing: Free core features with an optional subscription (Photomath Plus)
