Dimensions vs Iris.ai (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Dimensions grades higher than Iris.ai: 2.8 against 1.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Dimensions grades higher on value for money, the free plan and platforms. They get the same grade on features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Dimensions
Linked research database of publications, grants and patents
Free plan
Which one is for you
Pick Dimensions if
- Fits if you're a student or researcher who wants to find papers and grants for free
- Makes sense if you look up who funds what and who has cited what
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you work at a company, since the free version is personal and non-commercial only
- Skip it if you want to manage references or screen papers, as it isn't a reference or review tool
- Watch out: the full products have no published prices and go through a demo
- Watch out: the ChatGPT tool needs ChatGPT Plus or Enterprise
Pick Iris.ai if
- Fits if your company needs data pulled out of large piles of technical documents
- Makes sense if you're an R&D team happy to buy through a demo
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a price, as none is published and pricing couldn't be verified
- Skip it if you're an individual researcher, since the products are for enterprises
- Watch out: no free tier or trial is listed
- Watch out: no apps or integrations are listed
How we grade them
| 2.8GPADimensionsGood | 1.6GPAIris.aiWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AThe free version is no cost and covers search, analytics, export and AI summaries, which is a lot for a research database. Paid products have no listed price. | CNo price is published and every product is sold through a demo request. There is nothing to compare against the category's $10 middle, so it sits at C. |
| Free plan and trial | BThe free version has no stated cap, but it's personal and non-commercial only, so a company can't use it. | FNothing free on record: no free plan and no trial. |
| Features | CA database and analytics tool with AI summaries. The listing says it is not a reference manager or a review screening tool, so you need other software alongside. | CData extraction, industry templates, an enterprise knowledge engine and R&D search. The listing doesn't show a gap, but it also doesn't show what a single researcher would get. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. Search and filters take some learning, and the paid apps go through a demo. | CNo store rating on record. Deploying on your own data means setup work. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, with ReadCube, ORCID and ChatGPT. Dimensions Research GPT is described for ChatGPT Plus and Enterprise users. | CWeb only, with no integrations or apps on the listing. |
| Best for | searching papers, grants and patents in one database | enterprise teams turning documents into AI-ready data |
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: Dimensions and Iris.ai. How we grade
Where they differ
- Dimensions also covers AI search and citations.
- Iris.ai also covers AI agents and documents.
In commonWebAI featuresResearch
At a glance
| Dimensions | Iris.ai | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Paid |
| Starts at | Not published | Not published |
| Free plan | Free version for personal, non-commercial use, with search, analytical views and export. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Digital Science | Iris.ai AS |
| Price read from | dimensions.ai | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Dimensions
- The free version is limited to personal, non-commercial use.
- Paid products have no published prices; access goes through a demo request.
- Dimensions Research GPT is described for ChatGPT Plus and Enterprise users.
- It is a database and analytics tool, not a reference manager or review screening tool.
Iris.ai
- No prices are published; every product is sold through a demo request.
- Pricing could not be verified, so no plan or price is listed.
- Aimed at enterprises, not individual researchers.
Key features
Dimensions
- Linked research data
- The free version page cites more than 140 million publications and 29 million datasets, linked to grants, patents, clinical trials and policy documents.
- Search and filters
- Full-text search with filters for researchers, source titles, categories and open access.
- Analytical views
- Citation-based indicators and Altmetric Attention Scores help show the impact of the research being viewed.
- AI summarization
- The free version includes AI summaries of the content and topics in a set of results.
- Account tools
- A free account can export data, save favorites, store references with ReadCube and link publications to an ORCID record.
Iris.ai
- Axion data extraction
- Turns PDFs, reports, images, graphs and tables into structured, machine-readable data.
- Industry schema templates
- Prebuilt structures for legal contracts, patents, clinical trials and financial statements.
- Neuralith
- Described as turning enterprise knowledge into an AI engine, with agentic workflows.
- RSpace
- Described as precision intelligence for complex R&D.
- Deployment on your own data
- The vendor says teams run Iris.ai on their own documents and systems.
Plans
Dimensions
Free Version$0
Publication and dataset search with analytical views, export and AI summaries, for personal, non-commercial use only.
Institutional and commercialCustom
Full Dimensions applications and data, with no published prices; the site directs visitors to request a demo.
Iris.ai
Pricing could not be confirmed. See iris.ai.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Dimensions or Iris.ai?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Dimensions publishes no starting price, and Iris.ai has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, Dimensions or Iris.ai?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Dimensions has a free plan. Iris.ai does not.
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.