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Research
S

scite

AI-powered research platform that provides answers grounded in over 1.2 billion citation statements extracted from 280M+ peer-reviewed articles, featuring smart citations that show whether findings have been supported, contradicted, or merely mentioned by later research.

Starting at$0
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Overview

scite is an AI-powered research platform that fundamentally changes how researchers, students, and professionals evaluate scientific literature. Instead of simply counting how many times a paper has been cited, scite analyzes the context of each citation and classifies it as supporting, contradicting, or merely mentioning the referenced claim. This Smart Citation technology draws from a database of over 1.2 billion citation statements extracted from more than 280 million peer-reviewed articles across all major academic disciplines.

The platform's flagship feature, the scite Assistant, is a conversational AI that answers research questions using only evidence from published, peer-reviewed literature. Every answer includes inline references with direct links to the source papers and their Smart Citation context, so users can verify claims instantly rather than taking AI-generated summaries at face value. This makes scite particularly valuable in fields where accuracy is non-negotiable, such as medicine, pharmacology, environmental science, and policy research.

scite also offers a suite of tools for deeper literature analysis. The Reference Check feature lets authors upload a manuscript and receive an automated report showing whether the cited papers have been supported or contradicted by subsequent research — catching potentially unreliable references before peer review. Custom Dashboards allow users to build visual overviews of the citation landscape around any topic, claim, or substance, surfacing patterns of consensus or controversy that would take weeks to identify manually.

Integrations extend scite's utility into existing workflows. A browser extension overlays Smart Citation badges on journal websites, Google Scholar, and PubMed, providing real-time citation context without leaving the page. Zotero integration lets users enrich their personal reference libraries with Smart Citation data, and an API is available for institutions and developers building custom research tools.

scite is used by researchers at over 1,500 universities and institutions worldwide, including major pharmaceutical companies, government agencies like the WHO and EPA, and systematic review teams. The platform is especially valued for evidence synthesis, grant writing, literature reviews, and fact-checking scientific claims in journalism and policy contexts. All results are grounded exclusively in peer-reviewed sources, reducing hallucination risk compared to general-purpose AI assistants that mix verified and unverified information.

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Key Features

  • •Smart Citations
  • •scite Assistant
  • •Reference Check
  • •Custom Dashboards
  • •Browser Extension
  • •Zotero Integration
  • •API Access

Pricing Plans

Free

$0

  • ✓Limited scite Assistant queries per month
  • ✓Basic Smart Citation search
  • ✓Browser extension with citation badges
  • ✓Access to public dashboards

Student

$10

  • ✓Unlimited scite Assistant queries
  • ✓Full Smart Citation reports
  • ✓Reference Check for manuscripts
  • ✓Custom dashboards
  • ✓Zotero integration
  • ✓Priority support

Researcher

$20

  • ✓Everything in Student plan
  • ✓Advanced analytics and export
  • ✓Bulk citation analysis
  • ✓Team sharing features
  • ✓API access with standard rate limits

Institutional

Custom

  • ✓Campus-wide access for all faculty and students
  • ✓SSO and admin controls
  • ✓Dedicated API access with higher rate limits
  • ✓Custom integrations and onboarding
  • ✓Usage analytics dashboard
  • ✓Dedicated account manager
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Pros & Cons

✓ Pros

  • ✓Smart Citations classify citing context as supporting, contradicting, or mentioning — a capability no other citation tool provides at this scale
  • ✓All AI-generated answers are grounded exclusively in peer-reviewed literature with inline source links, significantly reducing hallucination risk
  • ✓Reference Check catches potentially unreliable citations in manuscripts before submission, saving authors from citing retracted or contradicted work
  • ✓Browser extension integrates seamlessly with PubMed, Google Scholar, and journal websites, adding citation context without disrupting existing research workflows
  • ✓Database covers 280M+ articles and 1.2B+ citation statements across disciplines, making it useful for interdisciplinary research
  • ✓Custom dashboards provide visual overviews of citation landscapes for any topic, enabling quick identification of scientific consensus or controversy

✗ Cons

  • ✗Free tier is heavily limited in the number of Assistant queries, making it impractical for regular research use without a paid plan
  • ✗Citation classification accuracy is not perfect — automated NLP can misclassify nuanced or ambiguous citation contexts, requiring manual verification of critical claims
  • ✗Coverage skews toward English-language journals and well-indexed publishers; niche, regional, or non-English literature may be underrepresented
  • ✗Does not provide full-text access to papers — users still need institutional subscriptions or open-access availability to read the cited sources
  • ✗Real-time indexing lag means very recently published papers may not appear in results for weeks after publication
  • ✗Custom dashboards and advanced features have a learning curve that may overwhelm users who only need quick citation checks

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does scite cost?+

scite pricing starts at $0. They offer 4 pricing tiers.

What are the main features of scite?+

scite includes [object Object], [object Object], [object Object] and 4 other features. AI-powered research platform that provides answers grounded in over 1.2 billion citation statements extracted from 280M+ peer-reviewed articles, featu...

What are alternatives to scite?+

Popular alternatives to scite include [object Object], [object Object], [object Object], [object Object]. Each offers different features and pricing models.
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Quick Info

Category

Research

Website

scite.ai/
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