Comparison
| Tool | Price from | Free plan | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
 Scite | 20 USD/mo | trial | Research & science |
 Semantic Scholar | not listed | yes | Research & science |
 SciSpace | 12 USD/mo | ? | Research & science |
 genei | 4.99 GBP/mo | trial | Research & science |
 ResearchRabbit | 10 USD/mo | yes | Research & science |
 NotebookLM | 23,99 PLN/mo | ? | Research & science |
 Undermind | not listed | yes | Research & science |
 Connected Papers | 3 USD/mo | yes | Research & science |
Each alternative in short
1. Semantic Scholar
Free AI-powered search engine for scientific literature, helping researchers find relevant papers across all fields of science.
Yes, there is a free plan. Free AI-powered research tool for searching scientific literature.
2. SciSpace
AI research assistant for academics: literature reviews across 280M+ papers, chat with PDFs, and cited paper writing.
The vendor does not state this clearly on the homepage or pricing page.
3. genei
AI research assistant that summarises articles and PDFs, extracts keywords and organises reading for students and researchers.
There is a free trial. 14 day free trial on paid plans, cancel any time.
4. ResearchRabbit
AI literature discovery tool that maps papers, authors and citation connections to help researchers run literature reviews faster.
Yes, there is a free plan. Free Forever tier: unlimited searches across 310+ million articles, unlimited library and collections, collaboration by sharing collections, up to 50 seed articles, core search settings.
5. NotebookLM
AI research and note-taking assistant that answers from your own files, turning them into summaries, slide decks, mind maps and audio or video overviews.
The vendor does not state this clearly on the homepage or pricing page.
6. Undermind
AI research assistant that searches the scientific literature, reads full texts and figures, and cites sources, for researchers and R&D teams.
Yes, there is a free plan. Sign up free is offered on the homepage; the exact limits of the free plan are not stated in the provided text.
7. Connected Papers
Visual graph tool that maps academic papers related to a given paper, helping researchers explore and track a field.
Yes, there is a free plan. 5 graphs per month with all features included.
FAQ
What is the best alternative to Scite?
The most popular option in the same category is Semantic Scholar. See the comparison table above.