Gauth AI Review 2026

Last updated: May 2026

Gauth holds a 4.9/5 rating on the App Store from 1.67 million reviews. Its Trustpilot score is 2.1/5. Both numbers are correct, and the gap between them tells you everything you need to know before you sign up. The app itself is genuinely useful. The billing experience is where most of the 1-star Trustpilot reviews come from.

This is an honest 2026 review of the AI homework helper that ByteDance launched in 2020 as Gauthmath and rebranded to Gauth in 2024. We cover what it actually solves, what it costs (including the trial-to-paid trap), how to cancel (and why some users struggle to), the ByteDance ownership question, and where it sits against Photomath, Mathway, and the free alternatives.

What Gauth Actually Does

Snap a photo of a printed or handwritten problem (or type it in), and Gauth's AI returns a step-by-step solution within seconds. The explanations break down the reasoning at each step, not just the final answer. Follow-up questions work through conversational chat, so a student can ask "why did you factor this way?" or "what if the variable was negative?" without restarting.

Subject coverage is broader than the math-only positioning suggests. The platform handles physics, chemistry, biology, coding, writing assistance, economics, social sciences, and SAT prep. Premium users can search a database of 100M+ previously solved questions, which is faster than waiting for a fresh AI generation on common problems.

A browser extension brings the same functionality to desktop for students who work on a laptop and do not want to pull their phone out every five minutes. There is also a homework planner with progress tracking, though most students will not bother with it.

Free Tier vs Premium vs Tutor: What You Actually Get

Free gives you a limited number of AI solutions per day (Gauth does not publicly disclose the exact daily cap and it shifts depending on demand and account age). The free tier is fully ad-free, which is rare for an education app on iOS and Android. Core subject coverage is unrestricted, so you can solve algebra, physics, and chemistry on the free plan as long as you stay under the daily quota.

Premium removes the daily cap, unlocks the 100M+ solved-question library, adds AI Tutor mode (the model walks you through the problem instead of just solving it), and includes priority response times. This is the plan most paying users land on.

Tutor stacks live human tutors on top of Premium. When the AI cannot solve a problem (complex proofs, non-standard formats, ambiguous diagrams), a human tutor responds within 5-10 minutes. This is the plan to consider for AP exam prep or honors-level coursework where 95% accuracy is not enough.

Pricing in 2026 (and the Trial Trap)

Pricing is what catches most users off guard. Here is what Gauth actually charges in 2026, sourced from current app store IAP listings and third-party reviews:

• Premium monthly: $9.99 for the first month, then $11.99/mo on auto-renew.
• Quarterly: $31.99 every 3 months (works out to $10.66/mo).
• Annual: $99.99/year (works out to $8.33/mo, the cheapest per-month price).
• Tutor add-on: roughly $19.99/mo on top of Premium for the live human tutor service.
• 3-day free trial: full unlimited access, auto-converts to paid on day 4.

The trap that generates a chunk of the 1-star Trustpilot reviews: the 3-day trial requires a payment method up front. Multiple users report being charged before the 3 days elapsed, and refund requests are typically refused on the grounds that the trial converts to paid the moment you tap subscribe (not 72 hours later). Apple and Google's standard subscription policies apply, so refunds usually have to be requested through Apple/Google billing rather than from Gauth directly.

If you want to test Gauth without billing risk, use the free tier first and only start the trial when you are sure you want Premium.

How to Cancel Gauth (and Why Some Users Cannot)

The cancellation path on paper is straightforward. If you subscribed through the iOS App Store, go to Settings → [Your Name] → Subscriptions → Gauth → Cancel Subscription. On Android, open the Play Store app, tap your profile, go to Payments & subscriptions → Subscriptions → Gauth → Cancel. If you subscribed through the Gauth web account, log in and navigate to the subscription page.

The reality is messier. One of the most-cited Trustpilot complaints describes a "network exception error" inside the in-app cancellation flow. The user could not complete the cancellation through Gauth's own interface, was billed $11.99/month for 27 consecutive months, and ended up paying $323.73 in unauthorized renewals before noticing. Variants of the same story appear on ComplaintsBoard and across one-star reviews.

Practical advice: always cancel through Apple or Google's subscription settings rather than Gauth's in-app flow. Apple and Google honor cancellation requests immediately, regardless of what happens inside the third-party app. If Gauth bills you after a confirmed Apple/Google cancellation, you can dispute the charge directly with the platform.

Gauth's refund policy is otherwise standard for subscription apps: payment is non-refundable for unused time on the current cycle, but access continues until the end of the cycle you paid for. Support emails are feedback@gauthmath.com and support@gauthmath.com. Response times vary.

Trust: Why App Store Says 4.9 and Trustpilot Says 2.1

The 2.8-point gap between platforms is not an anomaly. It reflects who writes reviews on each site. App Store ratings skew toward students who use the product day-to-day and find the photo-solve workflow magical. Trustpilot skews toward adults dealing with billing, cancellation, and customer service, where Gauth is weakest.

The truth is in the middle. The product works. The billing layer does not. If you are evaluating Gauth purely as a learning tool and you cancel through Apple or Google rather than Gauth's UI, you will probably have the 4.9-star experience. If you ignore the cancellation guidance above, you risk joining the 2.1-star cohort.

One more credibility signal worth knowing: Gauth was briefly removed from US app stores in January 2025 alongside other ByteDance properties during the TikTok divestiture ruling, then reinstated when the executive order paused enforcement. The app's continued availability in the US depends on the legal status of ByteDance, which is outside Gauth's control.

Accuracy by Subject (Where Gauth Shines and Breaks)

Gauth advertises a 95% solve rate. That number originates from Gauth's own marketing and we have not seen an independent peer-reviewed benchmark, so treat it as directional rather than gospel. Based on aggregated reviews and our own testing, accuracy varies sharply by subject:

• Algebra, arithmetic, basic geometry: very strong. Photo recognition handles printed problems near-perfectly and handwritten ones well when handwriting is clean.
• Basic physics and chemistry (high school level): strong on formula-driven problems. Stoichiometry, kinematics, simple circuits all work.
• Statistics: solid on standard distributions, hypothesis tests, basic regression. Less reliable on multi-variate problems.
• Calculus: good on textbook derivatives and integrals. Breaks down on improper integrals, non-linear ODEs, and proofs.
• Multi-variable graphing and 3D geometry: weak. Gauth often returns generic responses or wrong answers without flagging uncertainty.
• Word problems and multi-step reasoning: inconsistent. The model sometimes nails the setup and other times misinterprets which quantity is being asked about.
• Humanities: essay writing, literary analysis, and subjective questions get generic responses. This is not an essay tool. Use Claude or ChatGPT instead.

One subtle risk documented across reviewers: silent intermediate errors. The final answer can be correct while the steps shown contain mistakes a teacher would catch. If you are using Gauth to learn rather than to submit, work through the steps yourself rather than trusting the chain.

ByteDance, TikTok, and What That Means for Your Data

Gauth is a ByteDance product. It was built inside ByteDance (not acquired) and launched in 2020 as Gauthmath. The rebrand to Gauth in 2024 coincided with the launch of Gauth's proprietary "Gauth GPT" model. ByteDance also owns TikTok, CapCut, Lark, and several other consumer apps.

The privacy concern attached to ByteDance is inherited rather than Gauth-specific. There is no documented Gauth-only data breach or congressional hearing. The concern is that ByteDance, like any China-headquartered company, is subject to Chinese national security laws that could compel data sharing in theory. Whether that ever applies to homework photos in practice is an open question.

If you are uncomfortable with that exposure, the closest competitor that is not owned by a Chinese company is Photomath (acquired by Google in 2022) or Microsoft Math Solver (free).

Gauth vs Photomath vs Mathway vs Symbolab vs Microsoft Math Solver

The math-homework-AI space is crowded. Here is how Gauth stacks against the four most common alternatives. Pricing reflects current 2026 IAP listings:

Quick decision framework: if you need broad subject coverage and the option to escalate to a human tutor, Gauth is the strongest pick. If you only need math and want the most reliable symbolic engine, Photomath. If you want fully free, Microsoft Math Solver. If you live in calculus, Symbolab.

What Students Like

• Photo-to-solution speed: most problems solved in under 5 seconds.
• Step-by-step explanations: not just answers, but reasoning at each step.
• Ad-free across all plans, including free: extremely rare for a homework app at this price point.
• Multi-subject reach: one app handles math, science, coding, and writing assistance.
• Conversational follow-ups: students can drill into why a step works, not just copy the answer.
• Browser extension and desktop access: not phone-only, which matters for older students doing homework on laptops.

Where Gauth Falls Short

• Advanced math accuracy: complex calculus proofs, non-linear ODEs, and advanced graphing have meaningful error rates.
• Silent step errors: occasionally the final answer is correct while the intermediate steps shown contain mistakes.
• Word problem interpretation: multi-step word problems sometimes misidentify which quantity is being asked about.
• Humanities are generic: essay writing and literary analysis are noticeably weaker than ChatGPT or Claude.
• Handwriting OCR: messy handwriting fails recognition. Either write clearly or type the problem.
• In-app cancellation reliability: documented "network exception error" preventing cancellation. Always cancel through Apple or Google instead.
• Academic integrity: not Gauth's problem to solve, but worth saying out loud. Schools are increasingly flagging Gauth-style tools.

Who Should Use Gauth (and Who Shouldn't)

Good fit: high school and early college STEM students who want a fast second opinion when stuck on homework, are willing to engage with the explanations rather than just copying, and prefer broad subject coverage over a single-purpose math tool. Also a fit for students who want occasional human-tutor backup without the cost of an actual tutor.

Skip Gauth if: you only need math (Photomath is more reliable, owned by Google, and cheaper at $69.99/year). Skip it if you live in advanced calculus and proofs (Symbolab's engine is stronger there). Skip it if you are uncomfortable with ByteDance ownership and want a US-headquartered alternative (Photomath or Microsoft Math Solver). Skip it if your school has explicitly banned AI homework tools and the academic integrity risk is not worth it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Gauth AI free? Yes, the free tier covers a limited number of AI solutions per day across all subjects and is fully ad-free. You can use it indefinitely without paying as long as you stay under the daily cap.

How much does Gauth Premium cost? $11.99/month, $31.99/quarter, or $99.99/year. The annual plan is cheapest at $8.33/mo effective. The Tutor plan adds $19.99/mo on top for live human tutoring.

How do I cancel Gauth? If you subscribed via iOS, cancel through Settings → [Your Name] → Subscriptions → Gauth. On Android, Play Store → Payments & subscriptions → Gauth. Avoid canceling through Gauth's in-app flow, which has documented reliability issues.

Can I get a refund? Gauth's policy is non-refundable for unused time. If you were charged in error after canceling, dispute through Apple or Google billing rather than Gauth directly. Multiple users report Gauth refusing refunds; Apple and Google are more responsive.

Is Gauth safe for children? The app itself is age-appropriate (no chat with strangers, no in-app purchases beyond the subscription). The data privacy question is the ByteDance one: same answer as TikTok, weigh it accordingly.

Is Gauth cheating? Depends on use. As a tool that explains reasoning, it is no different from getting help from a tutor. As a copy-paste answer machine, it undermines the point of homework. Schools increasingly detect it. Use it to learn, not to submit verbatim.

Gauth vs Photomath: which is better? Photomath has the stronger symbolic math engine and is owned by Google. Gauth covers more subjects and offers the live-tutor add-on. If you only need math, Photomath. If you need multi-subject coverage, Gauth.

Does Gauth work offline? No. The AI runs server-side, so an internet connection is required for every solve.

Our Verdict

Gauth is the strongest multi-subject AI homework helper on the market in 2026. The photo-to-solution workflow is fast, the step-by-step explanations are clear, and the ad-free experience on the free tier is genuinely unusual at this price point. For algebra, basic physics, chemistry, and statistics, the accuracy is reliable. For high school and early college STEM, this is a real study tool.

The product itself earns the 4.9-star App Store rating. The billing experience is where Gauth loses points. Cancel through Apple or Google rather than the in-app flow, set a calendar reminder before the 3-day trial converts, and you avoid the 2.1-star Trustpilot path. Skip Gauth if you only need math (Photomath is more accurate and cheaper) or if ByteDance ownership is a dealbreaker (Microsoft Math Solver is free and US-based).

At $99.99/year for the annual plan, Gauth is cheaper than a single weekly hour with a human tutor at most rates. For students who use the explanations to actually learn rather than just to copy, it pays for itself in time saved.