Citely vs Scholarcy (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Scholarcy 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
Scholarcy grades higher on value for money and platforms. They get the same grade on 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.
Citely
Citation checker that flags fake references and finds sources
Scholarcy
Summarizes research papers into interactive flashcards
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 Scholarcy if
- Fits if you have a stack of papers and need to decide which ones to read in full
- Works for building a literature matrix or one bibliography from many papers
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you need a tool that finds papers, as this one summarizes what you give it
- Tight if you're staying free, with 10 summaries on the pricing page or 1 a day in the FAQ, and 11 MB files
- Watch out: the 7-day trial of Plus starts billing unless you cancel first
- Not for you if you want summaries in your own language or a phone app: enhanced summaries are in English, and no app is listed
- Watch out: the site turns automated readers away, so the prices here come from archived copies from March and April 2026
How we grade them
| 2.2GPACitelyFair | 2.6GPAScholarcyGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CYearly is $14 a month, at the category's dearer-quarter line, and Monthly is $19. Believer is $347 one-time. | BScholarcy Plus is $90 a year, which works out at $7.50 a month, or $9.99 billed monthly. That sits in the cheapest quarter of this category, and summaries are unlimited. One caution: Scholarcy's site turns automated readers away, so these prices come from archived copies from March and April 2026. |
| Free plan and trial | CTwo free checks per new account, with no card. After that it is the $9 Trial or a subscription. | CThere's a free Article Summarizer, but its limit is given two ways: 10 summaries on the pricing page, 1 a day in the FAQ. Either way you'll hit it. Files are capped at 11 MB too, and the 7-day trial of the paid plan starts billing unless you cancel first. |
| 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. | CIt summarizes: flashcards with key concepts and highlights, seven rewrite styles from school level to researcher, a comparison with earlier research, a paper's tables as one Excel file, several cards combined into a literature matrix. That's one job, though. It won't find a paper for you. |
| Ease of use | BNo store rating on record. Paste your references and run a check, with nothing to set up. | BNo store rating on record, so B is the ceiling. There's nothing to set up, though: import a file or paste a link and a flashcard comes back, and the extensions summarise whatever page you have open. Worth knowing that enhanced summaries come out in English whatever the source language. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, with scholarly databases behind it. No API or apps are listed. | BA web app with extensions for Chrome, Edge and Firefox. It imports from Zotero, Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive, and exports to Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Markdown for Obsidian, Roam and Notion. No phone or desktop app is on the listing. |
| Best for | checking a paper's references for fakes | deciding which papers to read in full |
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 Scholarcy. 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. Scholarcy starts at $7.50 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.7.
Scholarcy scores higher and starts $6.50 a month lower. Of the other AI research tools on the chart, 20 score higher than Citely for less, and 2 score higher than Scholarcy 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
- Citely also covers AI search.
At a glance
| Citely | Scholarcy | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $14 per month, billed annually ($19 billed monthly) | $90 per year, or $9.99 per month billed monthly |
| Free plan | None | Free Article Summarizer: the pricing page lists a limit of 10 summaries with flashcards exported one at a time, and its FAQ gives the limit as 1 summary per day. |
| Free trial | Two free checks per new account, no credit card required | 7-day free trial of the paid plan; billing starts afterward unless you cancel first. |
| Web | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Citely | Scholarcy Limited |
| Price read from | citely.ai | web.archive.org (not the vendor's own page) |
| 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.
Scholarcy
- Scholarcy's site turned automated readers away, so prices come from Internet Archive copies of its price data (April 2026) and pricing page (March 2026).
- The free Article Summarizer is limited to 10 summaries on the pricing page and 1 summary per day in its FAQ.
- Free accounts can import files of up to 11 MB; a subscription raises the limit to 50 MB.
- The synopsis and enhanced summaries are written in English even when the source is in another language.
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.
Scholarcy
- Summary flashcards
- Each imported document becomes a structured flashcard with key concepts, highlights, a summary and a sidebar of important points that jump to the relevant section.
- Enhance modes
- A summary can be rewritten in seven styles, among them school level, general reader, undergrad level, researcher, a bulleted list, a one-liner or around your own question.
- Research comparison
- Shows how a study differs from, builds on, confirms or counters earlier research. References carry Scite data on how often a cited paper has been supported or disputed.
- Tables, figures and references
- Extracts figures with their captions, downloads a paper's tables as one Excel file, and exports the reference list as RIS or BibTeX for a reference manager.
- Import and browser extensions
- Takes PDF, Word, PowerPoint, HTML, XML, LaTeX and text files, article and YouTube URLs, and imports from Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive and Zotero. Extensions summarize the page you have open.
- Export and literature matrix
- Flashcards export to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, RIS and Markdown for Obsidian, Roam and Notion. Several flashcards can be combined into a literature matrix or one bibliography.
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.
Scholarcy
Free Article Summarizer$0
Imports a range of file formats, with a limit of 10 summaries and flashcards exported one at a time.
Scholarcy Plus$9.99
per month, billed monthly; $90 billed yearly
Unlimited and enhanced summaries, a saved flashcard library with notes and highlights, export of up to 100 flashcards at once and literature matrices.
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.
Scholarcy
- Annual discount
25% off with yearly billing
The archived pricing page labels the yearly Scholarcy Plus plan with a 25% discount: $90 a year against $9.99 a month.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Citely or Scholarcy?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Scholarcy is cheaper to start with: $7.50 a month when paid by the year, against $14 a month for Citely. Citely starts at $14 per month, billed annually ($19 billed monthly), and Scholarcy starts at $90 per year, or $9.99 per month billed monthly.
Which has a free plan, Citely or Scholarcy?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Scholarcy has a free plan. Citely does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Citely and Scholarcy run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Scholarcy lists a browser extension. Both list a web app. 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.