Scite

Scientific research platform for Smart Citations, evidence-grounded AI search and citation context

Research-based score

4.7

Tested

Features and capabilities4.9

Official Scite sources verify Smart Citations, full-text Search, Assistant, Reports, Reference Check, Collections, Research Feed, MCP, Zotero, browser extensions and API access.

Usability and implementation4.7

G2 reviewers praise research accuracy, sourced answers, literature-review efficiency and ease of use, though some report slower responses, repetitive outputs and imperfect context matching.

Pricing and value transparency4.5

Connect is free, Basic is USD 20/month equivalent billed yearly and Pro USD 50/month equivalent billed yearly, both with seven-day trials; monthly non-annual prices are not exposed in the retrieved current pricing view.

Integrations, security and trust4.6

Scite is part of Research Solutions and publishes current privacy and legal policies plus institutional controls, but this research pass did not verify a public SOC 2 statement directly on Scite's current site.

Scored by Aditya Verma

Quick facts

Vendor: Scite, LLC, a Research Solutions Company
Pricing model: freemium
Plan pricing: Free Connect plan; Basic is USD 20/month equivalent billed yearly Vendor source checked; not a hands-on review
Free plan: Yes — check limits
Free trial: Yes — check eligibility
Last verified: Not yet verified

About Scite

Scite is an AI-powered research platform that helps users discover, understand and evaluate scientific literature through Smart Citations. Its current platform combines full-text Search, an evidence-grounded Assistant, citation Reports, Reference Check, Collections, research feeds, browser extensions, Zotero integration, MCP connections and an API. Scite is now part of Research Solutions and indexes more than 1.6 billion citation statements across hundreds of millions of scholarly sources.

Best for

Researchers, academics and evidence-focused teams that want to understand not just whether a paper was cited, but whether later literature supports, contrasts or simply mentions its findings.

Scite pros and cons

Pros

G2 rates scite.ai 4.7/5 from 27 reviews, with users frequently praising sourced answers, research accuracy and faster literature-review workflows.
Smart Citations classify citation statements as supporting, contrasting or mentioning, providing more context than a raw citation count.
Scite searches full text rather than only titles and abstracts and currently reports more than 1.6 billion Smart Citations across hundreds of millions of articles.
Reference Check can scan a manuscript's references for retractions, editorial notices and contrasting citation evidence before publication.
Scite now works through MCP with ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, Cursor and other compatible AI tools, while Pro also includes API access.

Cons

−G2 users report occasional slow performance, repetitive responses and results that are related but not precise enough for a narrow research question.
−The free Connect plan is designed for MCP use and does not include the full Scite Assistant or Search interface.
−Basic and Pro pricing is currently presented primarily as annual billing, so month-to-month cost is less transparent in the retrieved pricing view.
−Advanced patent, clinical-trial and grant datasets plus API access require the Pro tier rather than Basic.
−Scite's Terms describe fees as non-refundable, so the seven-day trial should be used before committing to a paid subscription.

Features

Zotero Plugin and Browser Extension

Current platform · Browser and Zotero compatibility requirements apply.

Full-Text Search

Basic and higher · Full-text availability varies by publisher agreements and source coverage.

Collections

Up to 1,000 papers on Basic and 10,000 on Pro · Collection limits vary by plan.

Article Reports

Basic and higher · Interpretation depends on indexed citations and available full text.

Scite MCP

25 credits/month on Connect; 250 on Basic; 2,500 on Pro · MCP usage is credit-limited by plan.

Reference Check

Current full platform · Reference metadata quality affects coverage.

Research Feed

Current platform · Feed usefulness depends on followed entities and index coverage.

Scite API

Pro and enterprise/API arrangements · API usage and commercial limits can incur additional cost.

Smart Citations

Current Scite platform · Automated classification should be checked for high-stakes interpretation.

Scite Assistant

Basic and higher · AI synthesis can still be incomplete or imprecise and requires source verification.

Platforms

Browser extensionMCPWebZoteroAPI

Integrations

Microsoft Copilot ChatGPT Browser Extension Claude Article Galaxy Zotero Cursor

Pricing

Connect

Free

USD 0.00/month with annual billing

Permanent free tier for using Scite inside compatible AI assistants. Limit: No full Assistant access Limit: No Search access Billing unit: per user Minimum seats: 1

25 MCP credits/month
Use in ChatGPT and Claude
Grounded in 300M+ papers

Basic Annual

USD 20.00per month, billed annually

Full Scite platform for individual researchers. Limit: Current displayed price is billed yearly Billing unit: per user/month equivalent Minimum seats: 1 Minimum commitment: Annual

Full Assistant and Search
250 MCP credits/month
Smart Citation reports
Collections up to 1,000 papers
Citation alerts and dashboards

Pro Annual

USD 50.00per month, billed annually

Higher-capacity research tier with API and expanded datasets. Limit: Current displayed price is billed yearly Billing unit: per user/month equivalent Minimum seats: 1 Minimum commitment: Annual

Everything in Basic
API access
2,500 MCP credits/month
Collections up to 10,000 papers
Patent datasets
Clinical trials

Team / Academic / Enterprise

See pricing details

Organization options for teams, universities and enterprises. Limit: Final pricing depends on organization and plan Billing unit: custom or seat based Contact sales for a quote.

Organization access
Institutional integrations
Custom limits
Support and administration

Official pricing / availability source · Checked 23 September 2026. Confirm current taxes, regional terms and allowances. A listed plan is not necessarily the cheapest option.

Editorial verification: Not yet verified. Check the vendor's site for current pricing.

Read the full Scite pricing article

Alternatives to Scite

NotebookLM

Google source-grounded research notebook for chat, summaries, audio, video and study tools

Elicit

AI research assistant for literature search, extraction and systematic reviews

Consensus

AI research workspace for finding, comparing and synthesizing scientific evidence

SciSpace

AI research workspace for literature search, PDF analysis, systematic reviews and cited writing

Read the full Scite alternatives article

Scite — frequently asked questions

What is Scite used for?

Scite is used to discover and evaluate scientific literature with more context than ordinary citation counts. Its Smart Citations show whether later papers support, contrast or merely mention a finding. Researchers also use Scite for full-text search, evidence-grounded AI questions, reference checking, monitored Collections and integrations that bring scholarly evidence into ChatGPT, Claude and other research workflows.

How much does Scite cost?

Scite Connect is free and includes 25 MCP credits each month but does not include the full Assistant or Search interface. Basic currently costs USD 20 per month equivalent billed yearly, or USD 240 annually. Pro is USD 50 monthly equivalent billed yearly, or USD 600 annually, and adds API access, larger Collections and patent, clinical-trial and grant datasets.

Does Scite offer a free trial?

Yes. Basic and Pro currently include a seven-day free trial. Scite says the trial provides premium access and automatically enrolls the user in the selected subscription after it ends unless canceled beforehand. The free Connect plan remains available separately for limited MCP-based research without a credit card, but it does not provide the full Scite Search or Assistant experience.

What are Smart Citations in Scite?

Smart Citations analyze the context around citation statements and classify them as supporting, contrasting or mentioning the cited work. This gives researchers a faster way to understand how a finding was received by later literature. The classification is useful for screening evidence, but important methodological or disputed claims should still be checked by reading the relevant source papers directly.

What can Scite connect to?

Scite currently supports MCP connections to AI tools including ChatGPT, Claude, Microsoft Copilot and Cursor, plus a Zotero plugin, browser extension, API and institutional holdings integrations. These connections let users access citation context without remaining inside scite.ai. MCP usage is credit-limited by plan, while API access is concentrated in Pro and organization arrangements.

What do G2 reviewers say about Scite?

G2's exact scite.ai profile is rated 4.7 out of 5 from 27 reviews. Users commonly praise evidence-grounded answers, accurate literature search, citation context and time savings. Reported weaknesses include occasional slow responses, repetitive output and results that can drift toward loosely related studies. The review base is useful but still modest compared with mainstream productivity products.