Covidence vs Scite (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Covidence and Scite share a 2.2 GPA, neither has a free plan, and Scite starts cheaper, at $20 a month against $28.25 a month when paid by the year.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Covidence grades higher on the free plan. Scite grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Covidence
Web platform for screening and extracting data in systematic reviews
Scite
Research assistant that shows how papers have been cited
Which one is for you
Pick Covidence if
- Fits if you're running a systematic review with two reviewers screening
- Works for a team that already keeps its references in EndNote, Zotero or Mendeley
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you're a student: the page says there's no separate student discount
- Tight if you run more than three reviews, as that means several packages or a site license
- Skip it if you just want to read papers, since it only does review screening
- Watch out: each license covers a set number of reviews for 12 months
- Watch out: the trial is 500 records, and there are no apps beyond the browser
Pick Scite if
- Fits if you need to know whether a finding held up in later research
- Works for researchers who want cited answers inside Claude or ChatGPT through the MCP connector
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a free plan, as there's only a 7-day trial that rolls into a paid one
- Pricey if you need patent, clinical trial or grant search, or Collections past 1,000 papers, which start on Pro at $50 a month
- Tight if you lean on it through Claude or ChatGPT, with 250 MCP credits a month on Basic
- Watch out: annual billing and a Team plan are offered, but their prices couldn't be confirmed
- Not for you if you want a phone or desktop app, as only the web app and a browser extension are listed
How we grade them
| 2.2GPACovidenceFair | 2.2GPASciteFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | D$339 a year for one review, $907 for up to three. That works out to about $28 a month for one review, inside the research category's dearest tenth, which starts at $20. | DBasic is $20 a month billed monthly, which lands in the dearest tenth of a category whose middle is $10. Unlimited Assistant queries, full-text search and citation alerts are in. Patents, clinical trials, grants and Collections past 1,000 papers need Pro at $50. Annual billing exists at a price we couldn't confirm. |
| Free plan and trial | CA free trial with 500 records. The page does not say whether a card is needed, and 500 records is smaller than most reviews. | DNo free plan at all. New users get a 7-day trial, and it rolls into whichever plan you chose at sign-up unless you cancel first, so your card is in from the start. Set a reminder if you're only looking! |
| Features | BImport, dual screening, extraction, quality assessment, mobile screening and PRISMA numbers. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the review work itself. | AScite's citation reports show whether later papers supported a finding, contrasted it or only mentioned it, with the context around each one, and nothing else in this category does that. The Assistant links every claim to a sentence, and search runs inside 280 million full-text articles under publisher agreements. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You set up a review, invite reviewers and set criteria before anything happens. | CNo store rating on record. The browser extension is the easy part, putting Scite's citation counts beside papers on Google Scholar and PubMed. The rest asks more of you: no free plan to practice on, Collections with size caps to watch, and MCP use running on a monthly credit count. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, with EndNote, Zotero, Mendeley, RefWorks and RevMan. No desktop or app-store apps are listed. | BA web app and a browser extension, plus a Zotero plugin, an API and an MCP connector that runs Scite inside Claude and ChatGPT. MCP use is capped at 250 credits a month on Basic. No phone or desktop app is listed, so those connectors are what earn the B. |
| Best for | screening and extracting data in systematic reviews | checking if a paper's findings held up |
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: Covidence and Scite. How we grade
Price against what you get
Covidence starts at $28.25 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Scite starts at $20 a month and scores 3.0.
Scite scores higher and starts $8.25 a month lower. Of the other AI research tools on the chart, 6 score higher than Covidence for less, and none scores higher than Scite 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
- Scite also covers chat assistant and AI search.
At a glance
| Covidence | Scite | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $339 per year for one review | $20 per month, billed monthly |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | Free trial with 500 records | 7-day free trial for new users; it rolls into the plan chosen at sign-up unless canceled first. |
| Web | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Covidence | Scite LLC (Research Solutions) |
| Price read from | covidence.org | scite.ai |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Covidence
- Each paid license covers a set number of reviews for 12 months: 1 for $339 or up to 3 for $907.
- The pricing page says there is no separate student discount, though it offers concessions to review teams in low and lower-middle-income countries.
- More than three reviews means buying several packages or an institutional license.
- The pages read show it as a browser-based service; no desktop or app-store apps are listed.
Scite
- No free plan is listed; after the 7-day trial a paid subscription is needed.
- The pricing page also offers annual billing and a Team plan for labs; those prices could not be confirmed in page text and are left out here.
- Patent, clinical trial and grant search and Collections above 1,000 papers need the Pro plan.
- MCP use is capped by monthly credits: 250 on Basic and 2,500 on Pro.
Key features
Covidence
- Import and deduplication
- References come in from EndNote, Zotero, Mendeley, RefWorks or RIS, CSV and PubMed XML files, with duplicates removed automatically.
- Dual screening
- Independent dual screening, blinding and structured conflict resolution are described as standard, and exclusion reasons are recorded at full-text stage.
- Data extraction and quality assessment
- Extraction and quality assessment are steps inside the same review, so the team works on one copy of the data.
- Mobile screening
- Every plan lists title and abstract screening on a phone.
- PRISMA numbers and export
- The site says PRISMA numbers and the audit trail build as the team works, and the review can be exported.
Scite
- Smart Citations
- Shows how later research has cited a paper: whether the citing statements support, contrast or simply mention its findings, with the surrounding context.
- Scite Assistant
- Answers questions from the scientific literature and links every claim back to the specific sentence in the paper it came from.
- Full-text search
- Searches inside more than 280 million full-text articles under agreements with Wiley, SAGE and 30+ other publishers, alongside preprints, books, patents and datasets.
- Collections and citation alerts
- Group papers into Collections of up to 1,000 papers on Basic or 10,000 on Pro, and get alerts about new citations.
- Browser extension
- Adds Smart Citation counts to paper listings on Google Scholar, PubMed and publisher sites. Clicking a badge opens the full Scite report.
- MCP, Zotero and API access
- Runs inside Claude, ChatGPT and other MCP-compatible assistants, plugs into Zotero and offers an API for teams building their own tools.
Plans
Covidence
Single$339
per year for 1 review
One review with unlimited collaborators, valid for 12 months.
Package$907
per year for up to 3 reviews
Up to 3 reviews with unlimited collaborators, valid for 12 months.
InstitutionsCustom
Departmental or organization-wide licenses with unlimited reviews and users, arranged through sales.
Scite
Basic$20
per month, billed monthly
Unlimited Assistant queries, full-text search, Smart Citation reports, citation alerts, 250 MCP credits a month and Collections of up to 1,000 papers.
Pro$50
per month, billed monthly
Everything in Basic, plus 2,500 MCP credits a month, Collections of up to 10,000 papers, and search across patents, clinical trials and grants.
EnterpriseCustom
For organizations and universities: unlimited users with pooled usage, SAML/SSO, access by domain, IP or email, and regulatory and safety datasets.
Ways to pay less
Covidence
- Other savings
Concessions for low and lower-middle-income countries
Review teams based in a low or lower-middle-income country can contact Covidence about using it for their review.
Scite
- Education
Student and academic discount on request
The pricing FAQ says students and academics who recommend Scite to their institution by email, copying Scite's sales and support addresses, are sent a discount code. The amount is not stated.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Covidence or Scite?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Scite is cheaper to start with: $20 a month, against $28.25 a month when paid by the year for Covidence. Covidence starts at $339 per year for one review, and Scite starts at $20 per month, billed monthly.
Which has a free plan, Covidence or Scite?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Covidence nor Scite has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
Which platforms do Covidence and Scite run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Scite 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.