Connected Papers vs Scinapse (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Connected Papers grades higher than Scinapse: 2.4 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 9, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Connected Papers grades higher on value for money and ease of use. They get the same grade on the free plan, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Connected Papers
Visual graphs of similar academic papers for literature search
Scinapse
Citation-based paper search, field trends and expert finding
Which one is for you
Pick Connected Papers if
- Fits if you have one key paper and want to see the field around it
- Works for checking a bibliography for a paper you missed, a few times a month
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want an AI to answer questions or summarize papers, as this draws maps and stops there
- Tight if you're staying free and deep in a review, at 5 graphs a month
- Pricey if your work is commercial, since that needs Business at $20 a month billed yearly or $30 a month billed quarterly
- Watch out: prices are set by where you are, plans renew on their own, and refunds cover only overlapping coverage
- Not for you if you want it on a phone or inside other tools, as it's web only with no app, extension or API
Pick Scinapse if
- Fits if you judge papers by citations within your own field
- Works for people hunting for experts on a topic
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you want the network maps or saved mini-reviews, which start at $36 a month
- Tight if you stay free: AI mini-reviews, author analytics and advanced filters are paid
- Watch out: AI Smart Query is capped at 5 credits per 4 hours on Pro
- Skip it if you want an app, as it is web only
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAConnected PapersFair | 1.8GPAScinapseWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BUnlimited graphs are $6 a month on Academic, the low end of this category, but that's the year paid up front at $72. Quarterly it's $10, and commercial work needs Business at $20 a month, which is the dear end here. Prices are set by where you are, so yours may differ. | DBasic is $23 a month billed yearly, which is where the dearest tenth of the category starts ($23). Network maps and saved AI reviews need Pro at $36, and Max is $52. |
| Free plan and trial | CEvery feature is in the free plan. The problem is the count: 5 graphs a month. Two or three sittings with a new topic and that's the month gone, so it's a cap you will hit. | CA free plan with search, collections and citation export, plus a 7-day Pro trial. AI features, advanced filters and author analytics sit behind paid plans. |
| Features | CIt does its own job fully: each graph is built from about 50,000 papers, with views for the prior works and for what came after, more starting papers if you want them, and a .bib download. But drawing a citation map is a smaller job than this category's. Nothing here reads a paper for you. | CField-specific impact, expert finder, journal analytics and AI mini-reviews. The listing shows network maps and AI Smart Query only on Pro or Max, and Smart Query is rate limited every 4 hours. |
| Ease of use | BNo App Store rating on record, so this rests on what the listing shows: paste a DOI, an arXiv link or just a title and the graph appears, with nothing to install and no account to connect. Similar papers sit close together, so there's little to learn. | CNo store rating on record, and you work through filters, collections and citation analyses to get value from it. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb and nothing else. The listing shows no phone app, no extension and no API. It reads Semantic Scholar's corpus and takes arXiv and PubMed links, but that's where it gets its papers, not somewhere you plug it in. The .bib download is your only way out. | CWeb only: no mobile or desktop app and no API are listed. |
| Best for | seeing a research field as a map | finding papers by impact in a field |
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: Connected Papers and Scinapse. How we grade
Price against what you get
Connected Papers starts at $6 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Scinapse starts at $23 a month and scores 2.0.
Connected Papers scores higher and starts $17 a month lower. Of the other AI research tools on the chart, 6 score higher than Connected Papers for less, and 42 score higher than Scinapse 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
- Scinapse also covers AI search and reports.
At a glance
| Connected Papers | Scinapse | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $6 per month, billed annually ($72) | $23 per month, billed annually |
| Free plan | 5 graphs per month with every feature included, among them prior and derivative works, multi-origin graphs, saved papers and graph history. | Keyword paper search ranked by impact, collections and history, citation export, and basic paper, author and journal information. |
| Free trial | None listed | 7-day free trial on the Pro plan |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Connected Papers | Pluto Labs |
| Price read from | web.archive.org (not the vendor's own page) | scinapse.io |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Connected Papers
- Free accounts are limited to 5 graphs per month; unlimited graphs need a paid plan.
- Prices are set by visitor location. The US prices here come from an Internet Archive copy of the pricing page's own price data, captured on October 1, 2026.
- The Academic plan is restricted to academic, non-profit and personal use; for-profit work needs the Business plan.
- Subscriptions run for a full year or quarter and renew automatically, and the terms allow refunds only for overlapping coverage.
Scinapse
- Network maps, saved mini-reviews and AI Smart Query need Pro or Max.
- AI Smart Query is rate limited to a set number of credits every 4 hours.
- Prices shown are billed annually; the pricing page says yearly billing saves up to about 21%.
- Web only; no mobile or desktop app is listed.
Key features
Connected Papers
- Similarity graphs
- Each graph is built by analyzing about 50,000 papers and keeping the few dozen most strongly connected to the origin paper, arranged so that similar papers sit close together.
- Prior and derivative works
- The Prior Works view lists important ancestor papers in the field, and the Derivative Works view lists literature reviews and recent papers that followed the origin paper.
- Multi-origin graphs
- A paper found in a graph can be added as another origin, so that one graph is built around several starting papers instead of one.
- Saved papers and graph history
- Papers can be saved to a list and earlier graphs reopened from a history. Graphs, saved papers and history can each be downloaded as a .bib file.
- Search by title or identifier
- Start a graph from keywords, a paper title, a DOI, or a paper URL from arXiv, Semantic Scholar or PubMed.
- Group plans
- On group plans, administrators assign premium access to members from a pool of purchased seats on one invoice, at the same price per seat. Seats added mid-cycle are charged pro rata.
Scinapse
- Field-specific impact
- Measures citation impact inside the set of papers for a topic instead of across all research.
- AI mini-reviews
- Generates a short review of a field; Basic and above can generate them, Pro and above can save them.
- Expert Finder
- Finds researchers by keyword and filters by career and affiliation; full search needs a paid plan.
- Network map
- Shows how papers and authors connect through citations. Pro and Max only.
- Journal analytics
- Shows journal performance and trending topics, aimed at journal editors and authors choosing where to publish.
- AI Smart Query
- Turns a plain description of a research question into a query. Credits are shared with Expert Finder and Research Intelligence.
Plans
Connected Papers
Free$0
5 graphs per month, with all features included.
Academic$6
per month, billed annually ($72); $10 billed quarterly ($30)
Unlimited graphs for academics, non-profits and personal use. Commercial use is not allowed on this plan.
Business$20
per month, billed annually ($240); $30 billed quarterly ($90)
Unlimited graphs for commercial use in business and industry.
Scinapse
Free$0
Keyword paper search driven by impact, collections and history, customizable citation export.
Basic$23
per month, billed annually
Adds real-time citation analysis within a field, advanced paper search filters, author analytics and AI mini-review generation by field.
Pro$36
per month, billed annually
Adds network maps of paper and author citations, saved AI mini-reviews and AI Smart Query at 5 credits per 4 hours.
Max$52
per month, billed annually
Everything in Pro, with AI Smart Query at 25 credits per 4 hours.
Ways to pay less
Connected Papers
- Annual discount
Annual billing costs up to 40% less
Academic works out to $6 a month billed annually against $10 billed quarterly, and Business to $20 against $30. The pricing page offers both billing cycles.
- Other savings
Scholarship program for those who cannot pay
The pricing FAQ says researchers who cannot afford a subscription can email the scholarships address to request a discounted or free Premium plan.
- By country
Lower price shown to buyers in India
On October 9, 2026 the pricing page showed Academic at $3 a month, billed annually ($36), to a reader in India. Its US price data, archived on October 1, 2026, gives $72 a year ($6 a month).
Scinapse
- Annual discount
Save up to about 21% with yearly billing
The pricing page says yearly billing saves up to about 21% against monthly.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Connected Papers or Scinapse?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Connected Papers is cheaper to start with: $6 a month, against $23 a month for Scinapse. Connected Papers starts at $6 per month, billed annually ($72), and Scinapse starts at $23 per month, billed annually.
Which has a free plan, Connected Papers or Scinapse?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Connected Papers and Scinapse have a free plan.
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.