Citely vs Keenious (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Keenious grades higher than Citely: 2.6 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Keenious grades higher on the free plan and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Citely
Citation checker that flags fake references and finds sources
Keenious
Academic search that recommends papers from your own text
Which one is for you
Pick Citely if
- Fits if you need to check a thesis for invented references before submitting
- Works for labs that screen many papers and would buy the 5,000-credit pack
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free, as you get two checks per new account
- Pricey if you cram it monthly at $19 for 150 credits and a 4,000-character cap per check
- Watch out: no refund once more than 10 credits are used, and one-time packs are non-refundable
- Too light for managing a library or writing the paper, as it only verifies references
Pick Keenious if
- Fits if you have a draft essay and need sources that match it
- Works for people who write in Word or Google Docs and want papers suggested in the sidebar
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you're staying free, at 3 conversations a day with 5 AI responses each and 3 MB uploads
- Pricey if you pay monthly, at $20 against $10 a month on the annual plan
- Watch out: Plus has no free trial, and the FAQ says early cancellations aren't refunded
- Not for you if you want to keep your chats, as uploads and conversations are deleted after 1 day
- Skip it if you want a review written for you or a choice of AI model, as results are retrieved and chat runs on Gemini only
How we grade them
| 2.2GPACitelyFair | 2.6GPAKeeniousGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CYearly is $14 a month, at the category's dearer-quarter line, and Monthly is $19. Believer is $347 one-time. | CPlus is $10 a month if you pay the year up front ($120), which is where this category's prices start rather than below them. Month by month it's $20, the dear end here, and Plus has no trial, so you're committing blind. Students get 30% off the annual plan. |
| Free plan and trial | CTwo free checks per new account, with no card. After that it is the $9 Trial or a subscription. | BEvery search result is free, and searching is the main product here, with no credits to count. The caps are on the chat: 3 conversations a day with 5 AI responses each, and uploads stop at 3 MB. One person could genuinely work on this. |
| Features | CCitation checker and source finder with APA, MLA and Chicago export. It does that job fully, but it is a smaller job: no library and no writing help. | CIts own trick: paste or upload a draft and get related papers from 250 million works, as a list and as a map by research area. But the chat only explains methods and terms, results are retrieved rather than written up for you, and conversations are deleted after 1 day. |
| Ease of use | BNo store rating on record. Paste your references and run a check, with nothing to set up. | BNo App Store rating on record, so this rests on the listing: there's no query to craft, you paste what you've already written, and the Word and Google Docs sidebars are add-ins you switch on. It works in nearly 100 languages, so a question in one can find research in another. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, with scholarly databases behind it. No API or apps are listed. | BWeb, plus sidebars inside Microsoft Word and Google Docs, with results exported as citations for a reference manager. Universities can wire it to their library holdings through EBSCO or Primo. No phone or desktop app on the listing, and no API. |
| Best for | checking a paper's references for fakes | finding sources that match your draft |
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: Citely and Keenious. How we grade
Price against what you get
Citely starts at $14 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Keenious starts at $10 a month and scores 2.7.
Keenious scores higher and starts $4 a month lower. Of the other AI research tools on the chart, 20 score higher than Citely for less, and 3 score higher than Keenious 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
- Keenious also covers chat assistant.
At a glance
| Citely | Keenious | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $14 per month, billed annually ($19 billed monthly) | $10 per month, billed annually ($20 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | All search results, 3 conversations a day with 5 AI responses each, and PDF uploads of up to 3 MB. |
| Free trial | Two free checks per new account, no credit card required | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Citely | Keenious AS |
| Price read from | citely.ai | keenious.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Citely
- Usage runs on credits, and each plan caps how many characters one check can cover.
- Monthly and Yearly plans renew automatically; the refund policy gives no refund once more than 10 credits are used.
- One-time packages are non-refundable and their credits expire after 1 month (Trial) or 3 years (Believer).
- It verifies references but does not manage a library or help write the paper.
Keenious
- The free plan allows 3 conversations a day with 5 AI responses each, and PDF uploads stop at 3 MB.
- Keenious Plus has no free trial, and the pricing FAQ says early cancellations are not refunded.
- Uploaded files and conversations are deleted automatically after 1 day.
- The site lists a web app and add-ins for Microsoft Word and Google Docs, but no mobile or desktop apps.
Key features
Citely
- Citation checker
- Checks each entry of a reference list and flags fake, mismatched or unverifiable references.
- AI-reference checks
- Aimed at references produced by ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini, including invented DOIs and mixed-up details.
- Source finder
- Paste a claim or paragraph and get published papers with verified metadata; searches are limited to 300 characters.
- Scholarly databases
- Verifies against Crossref, OpenAlex, Semantic Scholar, Google Scholar, PubMed, arXiv, Wanfang and CNKI.
- Citation export
- Paid plans export citations in APA, MLA and Chicago; the Believer plan adds all formats.
- Ten site languages
- The site is available in English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, German, French, Portuguese and Russian.
Keenious
- Search from your own text
- Type a question, paste text or upload a PDF, and Keenious returns related papers. Results are retrieved from its index by meaning and keyword ranking; they are not written by a language model.
- Chat about papers
- Chat explains methods, statistics and terminology, including text you highlight in a paper. It runs on Google's Gemini 3.5 Flash, and there is no choice of model.
- Search map
- Shows each result as a dot placed by meaning, colored by research area and sized by citation count. Selecting an area filters the map and the list together.
- Word and Google Docs add-ins
- Keenious runs as a sidebar in Microsoft Word and Google Docs, so related research appears beside the document being written.
- Search across languages
- The site says Keenious can be used in nearly 100 languages, and a question in one language can find research written in another.
- Bookmarks and citation export
- Papers can be bookmarked, and results or bookmarks exported as citations for a reference manager; the help center points EndNote users to the RIS format.
Plans
Citely
Trial$9
one-time, 15 credits valid for 1 month
For checking one paper; reference checks up to 2,000 characters and basic verification.
Monthly$19
per month, billed monthly
150 credits a month, reference checks up to 4,000 characters, and APA, MLA and Chicago export.
Yearly$14
per month, billed annually ($168 a year)
1,500 credits for the year, the Monthly features and priority support.
Believer$347
one-time, 5,000 credits valid for 3 years
For heavy users and labs; adds all citation formats, dedicated support and professor guidance sessions.
Keenious
Free$0
All search results, 5 AI responses per conversation, 3 conversations a day and a 3 MB file upload limit.
Plus for Individuals$10
per month, billed annually ($120); $45 quarterly or $20 monthly
Unlimited conversations and responses, export of all results in formats such as RIS and BibTeX, and 20 MB file uploads.
Plus for Teams$20
per user / month, billed annually ($240); $90 quarterly or $40 monthly
All Plus features with an admin console, centralized billing, two-factor authentication and dedicated support.
InstitutionsCustom
Access for all students and faculty with SSO, SAML or IP-based access, library collection links and a data processing agreement.
Ways to pay less
Citely
- Annual discount
Yearly plan at $14 a month
Billed as $168 a year, which works out to about $14 a month against $19 on the Monthly plan.
Keenious
- Annual discount
Annual billing is half the monthly rate
The pricing page's price data lists Plus for Individuals at $120 a year, $45 a quarter or $20 a month, and Plus for Teams at $240, $90 or $40 per user.
- Education
30% off annual billing for students
The pricing FAQ offers students a 30% annual discount. They email the verification address from their institution's email account and receive a discount code.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Citely or Keenious?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Keenious is cheaper to start with: $10 a month, against $14 a month for Citely. Citely starts at $14 per month, billed annually ($19 billed monthly), and Keenious starts at $10 per month, billed annually ($20 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Citely or Keenious?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Keenious has a free plan. Citely does not, though it has a free trial.
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.