“Chat with PDF”: question a document
You upload a PDF and ask your questions. The answers cite the passage they come from. You can also highlight a sentence, a formula, or a table to have it explained simply. Scanned PDFs are read.
AI tools · Research
SciSpace pricing, use cases, and first steps
SciSpace is an assistant for scientific literature. You ask it a question: it searches more than 280 million research papers, organizes the results in a table, and answers with its sources cited. You can also upload a PDF, then ask it to explain the paper or pull out the numbers. A free plan lets you get started.
SciSpace has a free plan. The recommended plan to start with: Basic, $0. Prices checked on October 3, 2026 on the vendor’s official page.
SciSpaceRead, question, and compare scientific papers- Vendor
- PubGenius (United States)
- Free plan
- Yes
- Recommended plan
- Basic, $0
- Page checked on
- October 3, 2026
What SciSpace does
Who it’s for: students and researchers first, but also anyone who has to back a case with studies: research and development, quality, health, marketing, HR.
“Literature Review”: search for studies
You type a question. SciSpace shows the papers that answer it in a table, with one column per angle: “Insights,” “TL;DR” (the one-sentence summary), “Conclusions,” “Methods.” Filters keep papers that are recent, open access, or have a PDF. “Deep Review” takes the search further.
“Extract Data”: compare papers in a table
You upload up to 50 papers. SciSpace fills in a table: one row per paper, one column per piece of information to capture, such as the sample size or the result. You create your own columns, up to 50. Each cell links back to the original document.
Also
- The “Agent”: research carried out end to end
- “AI Writer”: write with references
- The extension: the explanation on the paper’s page
- References, rephrasing, and detection
SciSpace pricing
Prices published in dollars, taken from SciSpace’s credits guide updated on October 1, 2026: the table on the pricing page could not be read. Refunds are possible within 24 hours of the first payment, if few credits have been used. An Enterprise plan is available with custom pricing.
| Plan | Price | Who it’s for |
|---|---|---|
| Basic Recommended to start | $0 | Trying it out, occasional needs |
| Premium | $20 per month, or $12 per month billed yearly | Regular use |
| Advanced | $90 per month, or $70 per month billed yearly | Heavy use of the Agent |
| Max | $200 per month, or $160 per month billed yearly | Labs, very high volumes |
| Teams | $18 per user per month, or $8 billed yearly | Teams |
What the free plan includes
The “Basic” plan gives access to paper search, “Chat with PDF,” the extension, and the writing tools with usage limits, plus 100 credits per month for the Agent and only one Agent task at a time.
Nova’s advice
Stay on the free plan as long as you read a few papers per month: “Chat with PDF” and search are enough. Choose yearly Premium only if you use the Agent every week. Credits do not roll over from one month to the next: no point in aiming too high.
A first try, in 5 minutes
Your data. SciSpace is a US company that says it does not train AI on your documents, which are encrypted and stored with Amazon Web Services.
What it does less well
- SciSpace can misread a study: confuse a hypothesis with a result, or leave out a caveat from the authors. Always open the cited passage before reusing a number.
- Of the 280 million papers indexed, about fifty million are available in full text. For the others, the tool often sees only the abstract.
Get a study you have to read explainedSciSpace- Open scispace.com and click “Chat with PDF” in the menu.
- Upload the PDF of a study or a report. If you do not have one at hand, pick an open-access paper on your topic.
- Paste the prompt below into the question box and send it.
- Each point in the answer links to a passage in the document. Click it to read it in the text.
- Highlight a hard sentence or table in the PDF: SciSpace explains it in simple words.
The prompt to copy
Summarize this study in five points for someone who is not a specialist: the question asked, the method, the sample size, the main result, and the limitations the authors acknowledge. Answer in English.
Jobs that use SciSpace
In the starter kit for 2 jobs.
Alternatives to SciSpace
Elicit
Very similar: study search and a comparison table, valued for rigorous literature reviews.
Consensus
For a quick answer to a precise question: what do the studies say, and do they agree with each other?
ChatPDF
If you only want to question a PDF, without searching for papers.
Gemini Notebook
For working on your own documents, scientific or not, with answers that cite the passage.
Perplexity
For sourced research across the whole web, not only in scientific papers.
Frequently asked questions about SciSpace
How much does SciSpace cost?
Basic: $0; Premium: $20 per month, or $12 per month billed yearly; Advanced: $90 per month, or $70 per month billed yearly; Max: $200 per month, or $160 per month billed yearly; Teams: $18 per user per month, or $8 billed yearly. Prices checked on October 3, 2026 on the vendor’s official page.
Can you use SciSpace for free?
Yes. The “Basic” plan gives access to paper search, “Chat with PDF,” the extension, and the writing tools with usage limits, plus 100 credits per month for the Agent and only one Agent task at a time.
What happens to my data with SciSpace?
SciSpace is a US company that says it does not train AI on your documents, which are encrypted and stored with Amazon Web Services.
What are the alternatives to SciSpace?
Elicit: Very similar: study search and a comparison table, valued for rigorous literature reviews. Consensus: For a quick answer to a precise question: what do the studies say, and do they agree with each other?. ChatPDF: If you only want to question a PDF, without searching for papers. Gemini Notebook: For working on your own documents, scientific or not, with answers that cite the passage. Perplexity: For sourced research across the whole web, not only in scientific papers.
Official pages consulted
Page checked on October 3, 2026. Brands are named to identify the tools. No affiliation.