alphaXiv vs Moonlight (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, alphaXiv grades higher than Moonlight: 2.4 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
alphaXiv grades higher on platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
alphaXiv
arXiv reading and discovery site with an AI research assistant
Moonlight
AI reader for research papers with explanations and translation
Which one is for you
Pick alphaXiv if
- Fits if you follow machine learning and AI research and want to see what's trending on arXiv
- Works for people who code with Claude Code or Cursor and want paper search inside the agent
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if your field isn't on arXiv or bioRxiv, since that's what the whole site is built on
- Tight if you're staying free, with preset models and limits the site only calls strict
- Pricey if you want to pick the model, which needs Pro at $20 a month, as Go at $8 covers open-source models only
- Not for you if you're on Android or want a desktop app, as the only apps are for iPhone, iPad and Chrome
- Watch out: there's no public pricing page, so plans and prices only show inside account settings
Pick Moonlight if
- Fits if you read a few papers a week and want explanations beside the text
- Works for readers who need a paper translated with its layout kept
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free: AI features on only 3 papers a week
- Pricey if you want Claude or Gemini Pro models, which means Premium at $49 a month
- Watch out: Team plans are priced by seat tier and the billing basis isn't shown
- Watch out: no desktop or mobile app, and no integrations are listed
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAalphaXivFair | 2.2GPAMoonlightFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CGo is $8 a month, the low end for this category, and $5 if you link an academic email. But Go only lifts limits on lower-cost open-source models: your pick of model and the longer context sit on Pro at $20, the dear end. Low plan, dear plan, ordinary money. | CPro is $10 a month billed yearly ($12 monthly), the category's middle. Premium, which adds Claude and Gemini Pro models, is $49. |
| Free plan and trial | CFree chats with any arXiv paper, but on preset models only, and the site calls the assistant's limits strict without putting a number on them. Caps you'll run into, then, and you can't see where they are until you hit one. | CA free plan with unlimited document access and AI on 3 papers a week, on two base models. A reader doing more than 3 a week will hit it. |
| Features | CFinding, reading and citing all work, with a trending feed, literature reviews that cite their papers, highlights and notes, BibTeX and an MCP server. The gap is the listing's own: it's all built on arXiv and bioRxiv, so a paper that isn't there is yours to upload. | CExplanations in context, layout-preserving translation, citations, chat and summary and a library. Several features are marked Limited on Free. |
| Ease of use | BNo store rating on record, so the B rests on what the listing shows, and it shows nothing to set up: open a paper and start reading. Every item in the feed carries a short summary, and you can highlight a passage and ask about it right there. | BNo store rating on record. Upload a paper and read, but features like deep search take some learning. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb with an integration list: an iPhone and iPad app, a Chrome extension, and an MCP server handing Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code and Zed 19 tools for searching and reading papers. No Android and no desktop app, which is what keeps it off an A. | CWeb and a Chrome extension. No desktop or mobile app was found, and no integrations are listed. |
| Best for | following and reading arXiv papers | reading research papers with in-context explanations |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: alphaXiv and Moonlight. How we grade
Price against what you get
alphaXiv starts at $8 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Moonlight starts at $10 a month and scores 2.3.
alphaXiv scores higher and starts $2 a month lower. Of the other AI research tools on the chart, 3 score higher than alphaXiv for less, and 10 score higher than Moonlight for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- alphaXiv also covers AI search.
- Moonlight also covers citations.
At a glance
| alphaXiv | Moonlight | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $8 per month (alphaXiv Go) | $10 per month, billed annually ($12 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Chat with any arXiv paper, with preset models only and strict usage limits on the assistant. | Unlimited document access, with AI features limited to 3 papers a week. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | alphaXiv Inc. | Corca, Inc. |
| Price read from | alphaxiv.org | themoonlight.io |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
alphaXiv
- The site has no public pricing page; plans and prices are shown on the Subscription/Usage page in account settings.
- The free plan limits the assistant to preset models with strict usage limits; choosing any model needs alphaXiv Pro.
- alphaXiv Go raises limits on open-source models only and does not include Pro-tier models.
- There is an iPhone and iPad app and a Chrome extension; the site lists no Android or desktop app.
Moonlight
- The Free plan limits AI features to 3 papers a week, and several features are marked Limited there.
- Which AI models you can use depends on the plan: Premium adds the most expensive ones, including Claude and Gemini Pro models.
- Team plans are priced per user in seat tiers (1-3, 4-15, 16-29), with 30 or more seats handled through a partnership; the Team billing basis is not shown.
- The homepage source links a Chrome Web Store listing; no desktop or mobile app was found on the pages read.
Key features
alphaXiv
- Trending feed
- A feed of research curated by what the community is reading, with a short summary for each paper and a view tailored to your research interests.
- AI assistant
- Answers research questions and produces literature reviews grounded in the underlying papers, and can point to who is working on a topic.
- Paper reader
- Read a paper with highlights and personal notes, chat with the assistant about a highlighted section, and add other papers to the conversation with an @ mention.
- AI visual blogs
- Turns a paper into a blog-style explanation with figures, equations and key insights in one click, readable in several languages.
- Library
- Bookmark papers to read later with BibTeX citations generated automatically, and upload a paper that is missing to get the same assistant and overviews.
- MCP server
- Gives AI agents 19 tools to search and read papers, analyze PDFs, explore paper codebases and find researchers. It works with clients such as Claude Code, Cursor and VS Code.
Moonlight
- Explain in context
- Select any part of a paper to get an explanation of the passage, a figure, a table or an equation, without copying and pasting.
- Layout-preserving translation
- Translates a paper line by line, aligned with the original, and can translate whole pages.
- Smart citations
- Shows details of a cited reference in a preview so you can check it without leaving your place in the paper.
- Chat and summary
- Ask questions and discuss the paper, and get keywords and a summary of the key points.
- Library and deep search
- Organizes papers in a library and recommends related papers based on what the library holds.
- Markup and auto highlight
- Highlight, annotate and take notes, or let the tool underline key points automatically.
Plans
alphaXiv
Free$0
For occasional reading and quick follow-up questions: chat with any arXiv paper on preset models, under strict usage limits.
alphaXiv Go$8
per month
Higher limits on lower-cost open-source models; Pro-tier models are not included. $5 a month for student researchers.
alphaXiv Pro$20
per month
Higher assistant usage limits, a choice of any model, longer context windows and early access to beta features.
alphaXiv Pro 5× usage$100
per month
The Pro plan with 5 times the assistant usage and priority routing.
Moonlight
Free$0
Unlimited document access with limited AI features on 3 papers a week and two base models.
Pro$10
per month, billed annually ($12 billed monthly)
Unlimited AI-assisted papers, 5 infographic explanations a week and selected advanced models. Marked with a 1-week free trial.
Premium$49
per month, billed annually ($59 billed monthly)
Everything in Pro with access to all models, including Claude and Gemini Pro models, and 30 infographic explanations a week.
EnterpriseCustom
For larger teams and organizations; contact the vendor. Team seat pricing is shown for 1 to 29 seats.
Ways to pay less
alphaXiv
- Education
alphaXiv Go at $5 a month for student researchers
Linking a recognized academic email, such as an .edu address, to the account lowers alphaXiv Go from $8 to $5 a month.
Moonlight
- Annual discount
17% off with annual billing
The pricing page marks the Year option as saving 17-20%; Pro is $10 a month on annual billing against $12 monthly, and Premium $49 against $59.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, alphaXiv or Moonlight?
As of Nov 12, 2026, alphaXiv is cheaper to start with: $8 a month, against $10 a month for Moonlight. alphaXiv starts at $8 per month (alphaXiv Go), and Moonlight starts at $10 per month, billed annually ($12 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, alphaXiv or Moonlight?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both alphaXiv and Moonlight have a free plan.
Which platforms do alphaXiv and Moonlight run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only alphaXiv lists an iOS app. Both list a web app and a browser extension. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.