# Course Hero vs SmartSolve

Course Hero and SmartSolve both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 66% of SmartSolve's written reviews are positive against 28% of Course Hero's. SmartSolve also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). Course Hero's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (65K vs 3.6K). On price, rating, update cadence and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Course Hero sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month and SmartSolve sells 13 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Course Hero against 4.6 for SmartSolve. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Course Hero has 65K ratings behind it against 3.6K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 28% of Course Hero's written reviews are positive against 66% of SmartSolve's.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Course Hero | SmartSolve |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (65K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/course-hero-ai-homework-help/id922208952/reviews)** | [4.6 (3.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smartsolve-tutor-and-math-help/id6475809834/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **65K** | 3.6K |
| Positive reviews | 28.0% of reviews | **66.4% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Fortnightly |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#99** | — |
| Size | 131 MB | 173 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **15.1** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Learneo, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/922208951) | [Niknea LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1725265570) |

## What reviewers say

### Course Hero

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/course-hero-ai-homework-help/id922208952)

**Currently charting:** #99 Top Grossing · Education (US App Store)

Access a vast library of study materials and get instant homework help from expert tutors. Solve math problems with a quick scan or by typing them in, and receive step-by-step explanations to understand concepts better and improve your grades.

**Highlights:** AI homework help, Math solver with step-by-step solutions, Extensive library of textbook solutions, 100 million+ course-specific study materials, Offline access to saved resources, Concept explanations

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (11)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premier Subscription | $14.99 | per month |
| Course Hero Subscription | $19.99 | per month |
| Course Hero Subscription | $24.99 | per month |
| Course Hero Premier Subscription | $38.99 | per month |
| Course Hero Premier Subscription | $54.99 | per 3 months |
| Course Hero Subscription | $59.99 | per 3 months |
| Course Hero Premier Subscription | $109.99 | per year |
| Course Hero Subscription | $119.99 | per year |
| Unlock 5 | $14.99 | one-time |
| Unlocks 10 | $24.99 | one-time |
| Unlock 20 | $44.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Great and explained materials
- 👍 Helpful for passing courses
- 💡 Exchanging resources is free

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Outdated and low-quality documents
- 💰 Expensive, with hidden costs
- 🤖 Reliance on AI-generated answers
- 🔒 Difficult to cancel subscription
- 🤬 Poor customer support and refund policies

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes when trying to log in
- Issues with submitting and viewing questions
- Inconsistent document unlocking and access

**Requested features**

- Option to print or download documents in original format
- Ability to delete or hide personal documents
- Improve reliability of tutor responses


### SmartSolve

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smartsolve-tutor-and-math-help/id6475809834)

This AI-powered app offers instant solutions to academic and coding problems by scanning them. It also enhances language skills, rewrites text, and provides coding assistance and trivia challenges.

**Highlights:** Scan and solve math problems with step-by-step explanations, Instant solutions for math equations, Enhance language skills with grammar hints and translation, Advanced text rewriting and paraphrasing, Learn and optimize coding with explanations, Engage in trivia to test knowledge

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (13)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Weekly Subscription | $6.99 | per 7 days |
| Weekly Subscription | $6.99 | per 7 days |
| Weekly Subscription | $9.99 | per 7 days |
| Weekly Subscription | $9.99 | per 7 days |
| Monthly Subscription | $12.99 | per month |
| Monthly Subscription | $12.99 | per month |
| Monthly Subscription | $14.99 | per month |
| Monthly Subscription | $14.99 | per month |
| Monthly Subscription | $19.99 | per month |
| 6 Months Subscription | $59.99 | per 6 months |
| Annual Subscription | $59.99 | per year |
| 6 Months Subscription | $59.99 | per 6 months |
| Annual Subscription | $99.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Fast and accurate
- 👍 Helpful for homework and learning
- 💡 Explains solutions well
- 🚀 Easy to use

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Inaccurate answers
- 🔒 Difficult to cancel subscription
- 🔒 Charges without authorization
- 🔒 Unresponsive customer support

**Reported bugs**

- Subscription page doesn't load properly
- App crashes or freezes
- Incorrect solutions provided

**Requested features**

- More free questions per day
- Ability to scan and solve handwritten/image-based problems


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Course Hero free?

Course Hero is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is SmartSolve free?

SmartSolve is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Course Hero or SmartSolve?

Course Hero is rated higher. Course Hero averages 4.7 out of 5 from 65K ratings, while SmartSolve averages 4.6 from 3.6K ratings.

### Do Course Hero or SmartSolve have ads?

SmartSolve shows ads; Course Hero does not.

### Which is updated more often, Course Hero or SmartSolve?

Course Hero ships an update fortnightly, and SmartSolve fortnightly. Most recently, Course Hero was updated on September 25, 2026 and SmartSolve on September 24, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*