10
Platforms Supported
$1.45
Starting Per Week
5
Free Unlocks
30s
Per Unlock
Why Students Need Course Hero Alternatives in 2026
Course Hero charges $39.95/month — the highest price tag of any mainstream homework platform. That is more than double what Chegg charges, and nearly four times Studocu. For a single platform that only covers its own document library, that is a hard sell for students on a budget.
The problem gets worse when you realize that no single platform covers everything. Your calculus solutions are on Chegg. Your history notes are on Course Hero. Your biology study guide is on Studocu. Your flashcards are on Quizlet. Subscribe to all of them individually, and you are looking at $80 to $100+ per month — just for homework help.
The best Course Hero alternatives solve this in one of two ways: they offer homework answers for less money, or they consolidate access across multiple platforms. The Chegg vs Course Hero comparison shows that neither alone covers everything — which is why the smartest students in 2026 use a single account that unlocks both, plus 8 more.
The 10 Best Course Hero Alternatives — Ranked
Here is every major homework help platform compared side-by-side — coverage, pricing, free tier, and whether StudySolutions can unlock it for you.
| Platform | Subjects | Cost | Free Tier | SS Unlock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chegg | All Subjects | $14.95/mo | No | |
| Bartleby | STEM + Business | $14.99/mo | No | |
| Brainly | All Subjects | $24/yr | Yes (ads) | |
| Studocu | All Subjects | $9.99/mo | Limited | |
| Quizlet | All Subjects | $7.99/mo | Limited | |
| Numerade | STEM | $15.96/mo | Limited | |
| CliffsNotes | Humanities | Free/Premium | Yes | |
| Scribd | Documents | $12.99/mo | No | |
| Homework Study | All Subjects | Free/Limited | Yes | |
| Course Hero | All Subjects | $39.95/mo | No | |
| StudySolutions | All 10 Platforms | $1.45/week | 5 Free |
The bottom line: Every platform on this list is unlockable through StudySolutions. Instead of subscribing to 3-4 platforms, get one account that covers all 10. Try 5 free unlocks →
Platform-by-Platform Breakdown
1. Chegg — $14.95/month
The most popular homework help platform and the first name most students think of. Chegg Study offers textbook solutions, expert Q&A, and a math solver. Strong across all subjects, but at $14.95/month it still only covers one platform.
Or unlock Chegg answers for free through StudySolutions.
2. Bartleby — $14.99/month
Owned by the same company as Chegg, Bartleby focuses on textbook solutions and expert Q&A. Strong in STEM and business subjects. The pricing is competitive with Chegg, but it lacks the breadth of Course Hero's document library.
3. Brainly — Free (with ads) / $24/year
Community-driven Q&A platform where students answer each other's questions. The free tier exists but is loaded with ads and answer quality varies wildly. The paid tier removes ads and adds AI-verified answers. Great for quick checks, unreliable for complex problems.
4. Studocu — $9.99/month
Student-uploaded documents, study notes, and exam prep materials. Studocu is particularly strong in European universities and has a growing US presence. The free tier requires you to upload your own coursework in exchange — a privacy concern for many students.
Or unlock Studocu documents without uploading through StudySolutions.
5. Quizlet — $7.99/month
The flashcard platform everyone knows. Quizlet is the best tool for memorization-heavy subjects — vocabulary, terminology, formulas. The free tier recently got more restrictive, pushing students toward the paid plan.
6. Numerade — $15.96/month
Video-based STEM solutions. Every answer comes as a short video walkthrough by an expert tutor. Great for visual learners, but expensive and limited to STEM subjects only.
7. CliffsNotes — Free / Premium
The classic study guide brand. CliffsNotes offers free literature summaries and study guides for humanities subjects. The coverage is narrow but the content quality is high. Premium unlocks deeper analysis and additional subjects.
8. Scribd — $12.99/month
A document-sharing platform with textbooks, academic papers, and study materials. Scribd is not strictly a homework help site, but many students use it to access uploaded solutions and study guides.
9. Homework Study — Free / Limited
A smaller platform offering free homework solutions across subjects. Coverage is limited compared to Course Hero or Chegg, but the free access makes it a popular starting point for students on tight budgets.
10. Course Hero — $39.95/month
Course Hero has the largest document library — millions of study resources, textbook solutions, and student-uploaded notes. Strong across all subjects but particularly dominant in humanities and social sciences. The problem is not quality — it is the $39.95/month price tag for a single platform when you likely need answers from multiple sources.
Why Pay for 10 Subscriptions?
One StudySolutions account unlocks every platform on this list. 5 free unlocks, no credit card.
The Problem — Paying for Multiple Platforms
Here is the math most students do not think about until it is too late. A typical STEM student in 2026 needs answers from at least three platforms:
- Course Hero for study documents — $39.95/month
- Chegg for textbook solutions — $14.95/month
- Quizlet for exam prep — $7.99/month
Total: $62.89/month
And that is only 3 out of 10 platforms. Add Bartleby, Studocu, or Numerade, and you cross $100/month easily.
This is the fundamental problem with homework help sites in 2026: no single platform covers everything, and subscribing to multiple platforms is a budget disaster. That is why the best Course Hero alternative is not another single platform — it is a service that unlocks all of them.
One Account to Unlock Them All — StudySolutions
StudySolutions is not another homework help platform. It is a universal unlocker that retrieves answers from all 10 platforms through a single account. Paste any question URL from Course Hero, Chegg, Bartleby, or any supported platform — and get the full answer in under 30 seconds.
10 Platforms
One dashboard, one account
Under 30 Seconds
Server-side retrieval
$1.45/week
5 free unlocks to start
No browser extension. No platform login. No surveys or ads. StudySolutions retrieves every answer server-side — you never need to interact with the underlying platform at all. It is the same approach trusted by thousands of students at 500+ universities.
How StudySolutions Works — 3 Steps, 30 Seconds
Paste Your URL
Copy any question URL from Course Hero, Chegg, Bartleby, or any of the 10 supported platforms. Paste it into the StudySolutions unlock bar.
We Retrieve the Answer
StudySolutions fetches the complete answer server-side in under 30 seconds. No extension, no platform login, no surveys.
View & Download
See the full answer with step-by-step solutions. Download for offline access. Move on to your next assignment.
Try It Free — No Credit Card
Every new account gets 5 free unlocks across all 10 platforms. See for yourself.
Pricing: Course Hero vs the Alternatives vs StudySolutions
| Option | Platforms | Monthly Cost | Free Trial |
|---|---|---|---|
| Course Hero alone | 1 | $39.95/mo | None |
| Course Hero + Chegg | 2 | $54.90/mo | None |
| 3-4 platforms individually | 3-4 | $62-90/mo | Varies |
| StudySolutions Homework Pass | 10+ | $1.45/week | 5 free unlocks |
| StudySolutions Study Pass | 10+ + Humanizer + Turnitin | $4.50/week | 5 free unlocks |
The math is clear: $1.45/week for 10 platforms versus $39.95/month for just one. Even the full Study Pass at $4.50/week — which adds AI humanization and Turnitin checking — costs less than a single Course Hero subscription.
Frequently Asked Questions
StudySolutions offers 5 free unlocks for every new account — no credit card required. After that, the Homework Pass starts at $1.45/week for unlimited access to Course Hero and 9 other platforms. For completely free options, Brainly and CliffsNotes offer limited free answers with restrictions.