Scite

What it is for

Scite is a citation-backed research assistant: the official Assistant docs (see the cover: poll a query, curl, numReferences) are the same API as the web Assistant. Use it when the job is answers grounded in citation evidence, not when you want a generic chat.

It is not open source. Free exists. Basic and Pro add Assistant and Smart Citations volume.

What makes it unique: the cover is Scite’s own Assistant API docs with a real curl body — not a wordmark.

Key features

• Assistant API — poll a research question with citation evidence (cover).
• Smart Citations — supporting / mentioning / contrasting citation types (docs).
• Reference Check — another poll-based flow named on the same docs page.
• Zotero plugin / browser tools — listed in the docs sidebar.
• Plans — Free / Basic / Pro / Team on the public pricing page.

Who it's for

Best fit: researchers who need citation evidence, not an uncited paragraph.

Poor fit: people who want a consumer answer engine (Perplexity) or a paper-finding graph (Connected Papers).

Pricing

Verified 2026-10-21 (Asia/Shanghai) from docs.scite.ai/pricing-and-plans. Re-check before you buy.

• Free — $0.
• Basic — $20/month or $144/year ($12/month equivalent on the page).
• Pro — $50/month or $480/year ($40/month equivalent on the page).
• Team — $50 / user / month.

Do not invent a per-query dollar. Assistant keys may need an extra scope (docs callout).

Limitations / costs

• Assistant scope is not on every key. The docs say a 403 means you must add the scope.
• $12 / $40 are yearly equivalents. Monthly list is $20 / $50.
• Not a general chat. For uncited Q&A, see ChatGPT.
• Cover is docs, not the logged-in Assistant UI. scite.ai marketing was a sign-in/challenge wall.

Alternatives

• Consensus — cited yes/no answers from papers.
• Elicit — research assistant over papers; public free tier.
• Semantic Scholar — free academic search and paper pages.

Official tutorial

Official Scite channel video: Scite.ai Demo - AI-Powered Literature Reviews.

Written path: Assistant plus Pricing and plans.

Website

https://scite.ai

Source

Catalog row is curated (2026-10-21). Cover is Scite’s official Assistant docs (curl poll + citation parameters), not a logo. Dollars checked on docs.scite.ai/pricing-and-plans (Free $0; Basic $20 / $144 yr; Pro $50 / $480). Tutorial: Scite.ai Demo on @sciteai (oEmbed author Scite).

Last verified

2026-10-21 (Asia/Shanghai) editorial check.