What is Scite?
Scite is an AI platform for researchers that searches a large database of scholarly content, including full-text articles, preprints, patents, clinical trials, grants and datasets. Its AI Assistant answers questions based on the literature, and every claim links back to the specific sentence in the specific paper it came from, so answers can be checked in one click.
The core differentiator is Smart Citations. Instead of only showing that a paper was cited, Scite classifies how later research supported, contrasted or discussed a finding, method, author, journal or funder. Users can also run full-text citation searches, organize papers into Collections with citation alerts, and access Scite through Zotero, a browser extension, MCP connectors for AI assistants, and an API.
Key features
- AI Assistant with answers grounded in published papers
- Smart Citations showing supporting or contrasting evidence
- Full-text citation search
- Collections for organizing and monitoring papers
- Zotero plugin and browser extension
- API and MCP access for AI agents
Who is it for
- researchers and academics
- PhD students writing literature reviews
- university libraries and research institutions
- research teams and labs
How to get started with Scite
- Create an account and activate the 7-day free trial
- Install the Chrome extension or the Zotero plugin
- Ask the AI assistant a question and check sources for each claim
- You need to check whether a study's result was later confirmed or challenged
- You are writing a paper or literature review and want each claim linked to a specific source sentence
- You work in a research team and need collections with citation monitoring
- You need a free plan, as only a 7-day trial is available
- You do not work with scientific literature and want a general-purpose tool
Pros and cons
- Verifiable answers with one-click links to the source sentence
- Shows whether findings are supported or disputed by later research
- Covers full-text content from many licensed publishers
- Paid plans start at 20 USD per month, with higher tiers for API and teams
- Free access is limited to a 7-day trial
Scite pricing
| Plan | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | 20 USD / month | Billed yearly; Full Assistant and Search access, 250 MCP credits/month, Collections up to 1,000 papers, citation alerts and dashboards |
| Pro | 50 USD / month | Billed yearly; API access, $60 API credit included (limited time), 2,500 MCP credits/month, Collections up to 10,000 papers, patent, clinical trial and grant datasets |
| Team | 250 USD / month | Includes 8 seats, additional seats 50 USD/mo; private and shared Collections, team analytics, centralized billing, 2,500 MCP credits/month per user |
Prices copied from Scite pricing, checked October 12, 2026. Currency as shown by the vendor; taxes may apply.
Is Scite free?
There is a free trial. 7-day free trial with access to premium features; no credit card details are mentioned in the text.
Featured in
- Best AI for research - #6
Scite alternatives
| Tool | Price from | Free plan | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
 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 |
FAQ
What is Scite used for?
AI research assistant that answers questions from 300M+ scholarly papers and shows whether each claim is supported or disputed by later studies.
Is Scite free?
There is a free trial. 7-day free trial with access to premium features; no credit card details are mentioned in the text.
How much does Scite cost?
The cheapest paid plan is 20 USD/mo (vendor pricing, October 12, 2026).
What are the best Scite alternatives?
Closest alternatives: Semantic Scholar, SciSpace, genei, ResearchRabbit, NotebookLM.
Data checked October 12, 2026 on the vendor website (scite.ai).