Chemical Equation Balancer

How to use

1. 1Type or paste the equation with reactants on the left, an arrow in the middle, and products on the right. Use + to separate species and -> or = for the arrow.
2. 2Watch the Balanced equation card update as you type. The element conservation table verifies that every element has the same atom count on both sides.
3. 3Use a preset like Octane combustion (C8H18 + O2 -> CO2 + H2O) or Photosynthesis (CO2 + H2O -> C6H12O6 + O2) for a one-click example.
4. 4Parentheses, brackets, multi-letter symbols (Fe, Cl, Mg), charges, and the centered-dot hydrate notation (CuSO4 . 5 H2O) are all supported.
5. 5Copy the balanced equation or the full text summary with the buttons under the result card.

About this tool

Chemical Equation Balancer takes any chemistry equation (reactants on the left, products on the right, with an arrow in between) and computes the smallest set of positive integer coefficients that balance it. It reads the equation, parses each species into an element count map (with full support for parentheses, square brackets, curly braces, multi-letter element symbols like Fe and Cl, charges that are ignored for mass balance, and the centered-dot hydrate notation CuSO4 . 5 H2O), and writes element conservation as a homogeneous linear system A x = 0 with one row per element and one column per species. The system is row-reduced to RREF using exact rational arithmetic (BigInt numerators and denominators) so there is no floating-point drift even on equations with very large coefficients. The null-space dimension classifies the equation: dimension 1 is the normal case and yields a single stoichiometric ratio; dimension 0 means no nontrivial solution exists and the equation cannot balance as written; dimension 2 or more means the equation contains two or more independent reactions stacked together and must be split before a unique balance exists. From the basis vector the tool scales by the LCM of all denominators and divides by the GCD of the resulting numerators to obtain the smallest positive integer coefficients, the standard chemistry convention. The result panel shows the balanced equation ready to copy, a coefficient table for every reactant and product, and an element conservation table that verifies each element has the same total atom count on both sides. Useful for chemistry students checking homework, lab demonstrators preparing experiments, teachers writing problem sets, college freshmen tackling stoichiometry, and anyone reading a textbook reaction who wants to confirm the coefficients without working out the algebra by hand. Eight preset reactions cover the patterns a typical course needs: water synthesis, octane combustion, the thermite reaction, acid-base neutralization, photosynthesis, the Haber-Bosch ammonia process, rust formation, and potassium permanganate decomposition. Everything runs in your browser. No equation, formula, or homework problem is uploaded.

Free to use. Works in your browser. No signup, no login.