Frequently Asked Questions

Sparx Engine is a desktop AI math solver for Windows. It gives you instant, step-by-step solutions for algebra, calculus, geometry, statistics, and more — all from a lightweight app that lives on your taskbar.

You can type a problem, paste an equation, or screenshot a question directly from your screen and the AI will break it down with full working shown.

Yes! The Free plan gives you access to the core math solver with a monthly credit allowance. Each AI solve uses AI Credits and each problem processed uses Sparx Credits. Free-tier credits reset at the start of each month — unused credits expire and do not roll over.

Paid plans (Plus and Pro) unlock higher credit limits, enhanced step-by-step breakdowns, and priority support. Academic plans are assigned by admins for verified students.

Download the installer from the homepage. You have two options:

• Installer (.exe): Double-click the setup file to install Sparx Engine permanently on your PC with a desktop shortcut and Start Menu entry.
• Portable version: A single .exe file that runs immediately without installing anything — perfect for school or shared computers.

Both versions support Windows 10 and Windows 11 (64-bit).

Sparx Engine requires Windows 10 or 11 (x64) and an internet connection for AI solving. The app itself is lightweight (under 150 MB) and runs smoothly on any modern hardware — no dedicated GPU required.

You have three ways to submit a problem:

• Type it: Enter your equation or question directly into the chat bar at the bottom of the app.
• Screenshot: Press Ctrl+Shift+S to activate the snipping tool. Select the area of your screen containing the problem and the AI will read and solve it.
• Paste: Copy any equation text from a document, website, or PDF and paste it into the input bar.

The AI will process your input and return a detailed, step-by-step solution with full working.

Sparx Engine covers a wide range of maths topics including:

• Algebra — equations, inequalities, factoring, polynomials
• Calculus — derivatives, integrals, limits, series
• Geometry — area, volume, angles, proofs
• Statistics — probability, distributions, hypothesis testing
• Trigonometry — identities, unit circle, graphs
• Linear Algebra — matrices, vectors, eigenvalues

The built-in snipping tool lets you capture any area of your screen — a textbook PDF, a browser tab, or a homework document — and feed it directly to the AI solver. Press Ctrl+Shift+S to activate it. The app window hides automatically, takes a full-screen capture, then lets you drag-select the exact region you need. The cropped image is sent to the AI instantly.

Yes. Click the Pin / Lock button in the app header to toggle always-on-top mode. When pinned, Sparx Engine stays visible over your other applications — perfect for referencing solutions while working in a browser, Word document, or another program.

Yes! Press F2 to switch between two instances, or press F3 to show both side-by-side. This is useful when you want to compare solutions or work on two different problems simultaneously.

We offer the following plans:

• Free — Core math solver with daily credit allowance and standard support
• Plus (£4.99/month) — Higher credit limits, enhanced step-by-step breakdowns, ad-free, priority support
• Pro (£6.99/month) — All Plus features, maximum credit allocation, advanced analytics
• Academic — Admin-assigned plan for verified students with tailored credit limits

All paid plans are billed monthly through Stripe and can be cancelled anytime from your dashboard settings.

Sparx Engine uses a dual-credit system:

• AI Credits — Consumed each time the AI solver processes a problem. Free-tier credits are granted monthly and expire at the end of each month.
• Sparx Credits — Used for premium features like enhanced breakdowns. Can be purchased as one-time bundles or included in paid plans.

Your credit balance is visible in the dashboard along with a live countdown timer showing when your next batch expires. Admins can also adjust credits for users on Academic plans.

All payments are securely processed through Stripe, a PCI-DSS Level 1 certified payment processor trusted by millions of businesses worldwide. We never store your card details on our servers — all billing data is encrypted end-to-end by Stripe.

Absolutely. All paid plans are month-to-month with no long-term contracts. You can cancel from your dashboard settings at any time. Upon cancellation, your plan is immediately reverted to Free and your remaining paid credits receive an expiry timer visible in your dashboard.

Yes. Stripe handles all payment processing. They are PCI-DSS Level 1 certified — the highest level of security certification. Your card number, expiry, and CVC are never sent to or stored on our servers. Everything is encrypted by Stripe.

Free trials are available once per user. If you have previously used a trial on any account, you will not be eligible for another one. Trial eligibility is determined automatically during checkout — if you are ineligible, you will see a message stating so.

This policy ensures fair access for all users and prevents abuse of the trial system.

Free-tier credits expire at the end of each calendar month. A live countdown timer is displayed in your dashboard showing exactly when your current credits will expire.

Paid plan credits are allocated with each billing cycle and expire based on your subscription period. One-time credit purchases have their own expiry dates shown in the credit timeline on your subscription page.

When credits expire, they are securely and permanently deleted from the system. You will receive an email notification 7 days before any batch expires.

No. Images and text you submit for solving are processed in real-time and immediately discarded. We do not store, log, or train on your homework content. Your chat history is kept locally on your device and is cleared automatically when you close the app.

We collect only the bare minimum needed to operate your account:

• Account info: Your email address and display name (for login and identification).
• Billing info: Managed entirely by Stripe — we never see or store your card details.

We do not track your usage, log your queries, monitor your activity, or collect any analytics or telemetry data. Your homework content is never stored. Read our full Privacy Policy for complete details.

Sparx Engine runs as a standalone desktop application on your own computer. It does not inject into browsers, modify web pages, or interact with school platforms in any detectable way. The AI solving happens entirely within the app window. That said, we encourage responsible use of AI tools alongside genuine learning.

All credit balances are stored using AES-256-GCM encryption with HMAC-SHA512 integrity signatures. This means your credit data is both encrypted (unreadable without the key) and tamper-proof (any unauthorized modification is detected and blocked).

When credits expire, the encrypted data is securely purged from the database — not just marked as deleted, but cryptographically overwritten.

Yes! You can link up to 5 accounts to your primary account for quick one-click switching. Navigate to your profile menu in the dashboard and use the "Add Account" option to link additional accounts.

Linked accounts support both email/password and Google sign-in methods. Switching between accounts is instant and does not require re-entering credentials.

Your current credit balance is displayed in the Subscription tab of your dashboard. You will see a live countdown timer showing when your next credit batch expires, as well as a detailed timeline of all your credit batches with their individual expiry dates.

When you cancel, your plan is immediately reverted to Free. Any remaining credits from your paid plan are preserved with a 5-day expiry window so you can use them up. A countdown timer will appear in your dashboard showing the expiry date.

After the expiry period, unused credits are permanently and securely deleted. You can always resubscribe at any time from the Pricing page or your dashboard.

This usually happens when the app is still loading assets. Try the following:

• Wait 5-10 seconds — the splash screen loads first, then the main UI fades in.
• Check your internet connection — the AI solver requires an active connection.
• Close and reopen the app. If the issue persists, try the portable version instead of the installed version.

Make sure you are using Ctrl+Shift+S to activate the snipping tool. The app automatically hides its own window, captures your full screen, and then shows a selection overlay. If you have multiple monitors, the tool captures the primary display. Ensure no other snipping tools (like Windows Snipping Tool) are interfering with the keyboard shortcut.

This means the app could not reach the AI solving API. Check that you have a stable internet connection and that your firewall or antivirus is not blocking the app. If you are on a school or corporate network, the network may be restricting outbound connections — try switching to a personal hotspot.

Yes. Use Ctrl + = to zoom in, Ctrl + - to zoom out, and Ctrl + 0 to reset the zoom. The zoom level is remembered across sessions.

There are two ways to reach our support team:

• Dashboard: Navigate to the Support tab in your dashboard for a full-featured inline chat experience with image attachments and ticket management.
• Chat Widget: On any non-dashboard page, click the blue chat icon in the bottom-left corner to open a quick support chat.

If you have a chat open in the widget and navigate to the dashboard, your conversation is automatically transferred to the inline Support panel — no context is lost. Our team typically responds within 24 hours.

Yes! Click the paperclip icon in the chat input bar to attach a screenshot or image. Supported formats include PNG, JPG, and WebP. Images must be under 5 MB. You can also use this to share error messages or visual issues with our team.

Absolutely. All support messages are encrypted using AES-256-GCM before being stored. This means even if the database were compromised, your messages would be unreadable without the server encryption key. Images shared in chat are also encrypted.

Regular users can have up to 5 open chats at a time. If you need to open a new one, simply close an existing chat first. Admin users have no limit on open chats.

Chats are auto-deleted after 5 days of no response from the user. Closed chats can be deleted manually from the chat panel at any time. We do not retain support conversations indefinitely — your privacy comes first.