Chegg is an American education technology company that provides a range of student services, primarily through an online platform.
Its core offerings include:
1. Textbook Rentals and Sales
- Originally known for renting physical textbooks to students at lower prices than college bookstores.
- Now offers both digital and physical textbooks, including options to buy or rent.
2. Study Help and Tutoring
- Offers Chegg Study, which provides step-by-step solutions to problems from textbooks and 24/7 homework help from experts.
- Includes Chegg Study Pack, bundling services like math help (Chegg Math Solver), writing help (Chegg Writing), and plagiarism checks.
3. Writing and Citation Assistance
- Chegg Writing helps students with grammar checking, citations, and avoiding plagiarism.
4. Math Solver
- An AI-powered tool that solves complex math problems with step-by-step explanations.
5. Internship and Career Guidance
- Offers tools for career advice, resume building, and job/internship searching through services like Chegg Internships.
6. Flashcards and Study Tools
- Provides tools to create, share, and study flashcards, including a feature for collaborative study sessions.
Controversy and Academic Integrity Issues:
Chegg has faced criticism from educators due to:
- Students using it to cheat on assignments and exams by posting test questions and getting real-time answers.
- Many institutions now monitor Chegg activity to detect academic dishonesty.
Summary:
Chegg = Digital academic support hub, helping students with textbooks, homework help, study tools, writing, and career services — but also under scrutiny for its role in enabling academic dishonesty.
Can you compare Chegg to other companies which offer our similar services?
Here is a comparison of Chegg with several major competitors in the online education and study support space, focusing on services, pricing, and reputations:
1. Quizlet vs. Chegg
| Feature | Chegg | Quizlet |
| Core Service | Homework help, textbook solutions, writing & math support | Flashcards, gamified study tools |
| Tutoring/Homework Help | Yes – expert Q&A, textbook solutions | Limited (only user-generated content) |
| Writing Support | Yes – grammar, citations, plagiarism checker | No |
| Math Solver | Yes – step-by-step explanations | Basic math practice |
| User Base | College & high school students | High school, college, language learners |
| Price | $15.95/month (Chegg Study) | Free (with ads); Quizlet Plus ~$35/year |
Verdict: Chegg offers deeper academic support, while Quizlet focuses on self-study and memorization through flashcards.
2. Course Hero vs. Chegg
| Feature | Chegg | Course Hero |
| Homework Help | Yes – expert Q&A + solutions | Yes – user-uploaded documents + tutor Q&A |
| Textbook Solutions | Yes – curated by subject experts | Yes – more crowdsourced |
| Live Tutoring | Limited | Yes |
| Plagiarism Checker | Yes | No |
| Price | $15.95/month | $39.95/month or $119.40/year |
Verdict: Chegg is stronger in curated, expert-driven content; Course Hero relies more on user-uploaded documents but offers more tutoring flexibility.
3. Khan Academy vs. Chegg
| Feature | Chegg | Khan Academy |
| Homework Help | Yes – paid | Yes – free, but self-directed |
| Video Lessons | Minimal | Extensive free video library |
| Practice Exercises | Some, mostly guided by solutions | Yes – structured and gamified |
| Subjects Covered | Academic + writing/career | Math-heavy; also science, history, SAT |
| Price | Paid ($15.95/month) | Free (donation-supported) |
Verdict: Khan Academy is great for structured learning at no cost; Chegg is better for real-time help and textbook-specific support.
4. Brainly vs. Chegg
| Feature | Chegg | Brainly |
| Q&A Format | Yes – expert answers | Yes – mostly peer-to-peer answers |
| Quality Control | Curated by professionals | Community moderation (inconsistent) |
| Ads | No (paid only) | Free version includes ads |
| Price | Paid only | Free (with ads) or ~$24/year for ad-free |
| Subjects | Broad | Broad but with a younger audience focus |
Verdict: Chegg is more reliable and expert-driven; Brainly is cheaper but quality varies due to crowdsourcing.
5. Slader (now part of Quizlet) vs. Chegg
| Feature | Chegg | Slader |
| Textbook Solutions | Yes – detailed, curated | Yes – user-submitted (often incomplete) |
| Answer Quality | High – verified by experts | Varies – user-generated |
| Now Integrated With | N/A | Quizlet Plus |
Verdict: Slader is now rolled into Quizlet and less comprehensive than Chegg for textbook support.
Summary Table
| Service | Homework Help | Textbook Solutions | Writing/Math Tools | Live Tutoring | Pricing |
| Chegg | Expert Q&A | Verified | Strong tools | Limited | $15.95/month |
| Course Hero | Peer + Tutors | Crowd-based | $39.95/month | ||
| Quizlet | Self-study only | Flashcards | Free / $35/year | ||
| Khan Academy | Self-paced | Free | |||
| Brainly | Peer Q&A | Free / $24/year | |||
| Slader (Quizlet) | User-contributed | Varies | Included in Quizlet Plus |
Bottom Line:
- Choose Chegg if you want all-in-one academic help, expert answers, and tools like plagiarism checkers and math solvers.
- Choose Course Hero for more tutoring variety.
- Choose Khan Academy for free learning resources.
- Choose Quizlet or Brainly for flashcards or community-sourced Q&A, especially if you’re budget-conscious.