Citely vs SciSpace (2026): which should you pick?

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 SciSpace if

• Fits if you want search, reading and writing tools on one subscription
• Works for research teams of 2 to 300 people who want to be billed per user

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you're on Android, as the mobile app is listed for iPhone and iPad only
• Pricey if you run agents a lot, since the step past 1,200 credits is Advanced at $70 a month billed annually
• Not for you if you need the free limits in writing first, as they couldn't be confirmed
• Tight if you start several jobs at once, as Premium runs 4 tasks at a time and Advanced 8
• Watch out: prices come from an archived copy of the pricing page from 30 September 2026, and no integrations are listed

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.

SciSpace

• SciSpace's site blocked automated reading, so prices come from an Internet Archive copy of its pricing page captured on September 30, 2026.
• The limits of the free tier could not be confirmed on a SciSpace page.
• Paid plans meter usage in monthly credits: 1,200 on Premium, 10,000 on Advanced and 40,000 or more on Max.
• The mobile app is listed for iPhone and iPad; no Android app was found on Google Play (US) when checked.

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.

SciSpace

Literature Review

Ask a research question in plain language and get answers drawn from a repository of more than 270 million papers, each with references to its sources.

Chat with PDF

Ask questions about a paper or PDF and get answers backed by citations that point to where in the source they came from.

SciSpace Agent and Biomedical Agent

Agents take on research tasks and draw on the plan's monthly credits. Each plan also caps how many tasks run at once: 4 on Premium, 8 on Advanced and 16 on Max.

Writing and citation tools

AI Writer, Paraphraser and AI Detector sit beside a Citation Generator that formats references in APA, MLA and more than 2,300 other styles.

Extract Data

Pulls the summary, conclusions and findings out of several PDFs at once so papers can be compared side by side.

Chrome extension

Explains highlighted text, math and tables on any web page or PDF, answers follow-up questions with citations and replies in 13 languages.

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.

SciSpace

• Premium$12

  per month, billed annually ($144); $20 billed monthly

  1,200 credits a month and up to 4 concurrent tasks.

• Teams (Premium)$15

  per user / month, billed annually ($180); $25 billed monthly

  For 2 to 300 users, each with 1,200 credits a month and up to 4 concurrent tasks.

• Advanced$70

  per month, billed annually ($840); $90 billed monthly

  10,000 credits a month and up to 8 concurrent tasks.

• Teams (Advanced)$75

  per user / month, billed annually ($900); $100 billed monthly

  For 2 to 300 users, each with 10,000 credits a month and up to 8 concurrent tasks.

• MaxFrom $160

  per month, billed annually ($1,920); from $200 billed monthly

  Priced by credit tier, from 40,000 credits a month up to 300,000, with up to 16 concurrent tasks.

• Teams (Max)$175

  per user / month, billed annually ($2,100); $220 billed monthly

  For 2 to 300 users, each with 40,000 credits a month and up to 16 concurrent tasks.

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.

SciSpace

• Annual discount

  Save 20% to 40% with annual billing

  Annual billing brings Premium from $20 to $12 a month (40% off), Advanced from $90 to $70 (22% off) and the entry Max tier from $200 to $160 (20% off).