Explainpaper vs Paperguide (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Paperguide grades higher than Explainpaper: 2.6 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Explainpaper grades higher on the free plan and ease of use. Paperguide grades higher on features and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Explainpaper
Highlight confusing text in a paper and get a plain explanation
Paperguide
AI research platform for literature and systematic reviews
Which one is for you
Pick Explainpaper if
- Fits if you're a student who hits a paragraph in a paper that makes no sense
- Works for readers who keep their papers in Zotero
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free: basic AI models only
- Pricey if you want figure and equation explanations, outlines or saved highlights, which are Pro at $12 a month
- Skip it if you want to search for papers, as it only helps you read one
- Watch out: the Teams plan has no published price, and there are no apps beyond the browser
Pick Paperguide if
- Fits if your team runs systematic reviews and needs every screening decision documented
- Works for students and academics, who get 30% off with a university email
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you're staying free, with 20 AI searches and 2,000 credits a month, and no systematic reviews or shared workspaces
- Pricey if you need dual-reviewer screening, which sits on Evidence at $89 a seat a month billed annually
- Watch out: every AI feature draws on one monthly credit pool, 12,500 on Plus and 50,000 on Pro
- Skip it if you were counting on image and table extraction, as that's still marked coming soon
- Not for you if you want a phone or desktop app, as only a web app and browser extension are listed
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAExplainpaperFair | 2.6GPAPaperguideGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CPro is $12 a month billed yearly ($16 monthly), which puts it in the dearer quarter of a category whose middle is $10. | CPlus is $12 a seat a month billed annually, or $19 monthly, which is the middle of this category exactly. It does carry systematic reviews of up to 1,000 papers, unlimited AI searches and 12,500 credits a month, and a university email takes 30% off. Dual-reviewer screening is another matter: Evidence, at $89. |
| Free plan and trial | BFree forever with unlimited highlight explanations, follow-up questions and Zotero import, on basic models. A student could live on it, but the stronger model is Pro. Pro has a 7-day trial. | CFree gives you 2,000 AI credits and 20 AI searches a month, 500 MB of reference storage and extraction tables of up to 10 papers and 5 columns. Enough to learn the tool, not to run a project on: there are no systematic reviews and no shared workspaces. |
| Features | CExplanations, follow-ups, figures, equations, outlines and saved highlights. The listing shows figures, outlines and saved highlights as Pro-only, and it covers just reading a paper. | ATwo parts rivals like Elicit and Consensus don't list: screening that ends in a PRISMA diagram with dual-reviewer checking, and a full reference manager with 1,000-plus citation styles. Then AI search across 200 million papers, extraction tables, an agent and a writer. |
| Ease of use | BNo store rating on record. Upload a paper, highlight what you don't follow, and read the answer. | CNo store rating on record, and the work is front-loaded: a protocol to define for screening, columns to set up for extraction, and one monthly credit pool that every AI feature draws on. It does import a Zotero or Mendeley library, so your references don't start from nothing. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, with Zotero library import the single integration. No apps are listed. | BA web app with a browser extension, plus a Search API at 10 requests a month on Free and 500 on Pro. It imports from Zotero and Mendeley and connects to Claude and ChatGPT. No phone or desktop app is listed, so that API is what earns the B. |
| Best for | getting a plain explanation of a confusing paragraph | search, references and reviews in one workspace |
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: Explainpaper and Paperguide. How we grade
Price against what you get
Explainpaper starts at $12 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Paperguide starts at $12 a month for each person and scores 3.0.
Paperguide scores higher for the same starting price. Of the other AI research tools on the chart, 13 score higher than Explainpaper for less, and none scores higher than Paperguide 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
- Explainpaper also covers documents and highlights.
- Paperguide also covers AI search, AI agents, citations and long-form writing.
At a glance
| Explainpaper | Paperguide | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $12 per month, billed yearly ($16 billed monthly) | $12 per seat / month, billed annually ($8 with the academic discount) |
| Free plan | Unlimited highlight explanations and follow-up questions, with basic AI models and Zotero library import. | 2,000 AI credits and 20 AI searches a month, 500 MB of reference storage, extraction tables of up to 10 papers and 5 columns, and 10 Search API requests a month. |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial of Pro | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Explainpaper | Paperguide |
| Price read from | explainpaper.com | paperguide.ai |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Explainpaper
- Free accounts get basic AI models; the stronger model needs Pro.
- Saved highlights and figure explanations are Pro only.
- The Teams plan has no published price.
Paperguide
- The Free plan has no systematic reviews or shared workspaces and is limited to 20 AI searches and 2,000 AI credits a month.
- AI features draw on a monthly credit pool: 12,500 on Plus, 50,000 on Pro and 150,000 on Evidence.
- Dual-reviewer screening for systematic reviews needs the Evidence plan, at $89 per seat / month billed annually.
- Image and table extraction is marked as coming soon on the pricing page.
Key features
Explainpaper
- Highlight to explain
- Select text in an uploaded paper and receive a simpler explanation of that passage.
- Follow-up questions
- Ask further questions about a passage; available on the free plan.
- Figures and equations
- On Pro, click a graph, figure or equation to get it explained.
- Paper outlines
- Pro generates an outline with clickable page references.
- Saved highlights
- Pro keeps your highlights and the explanations you received.
- Zotero import
- Bring in your Zotero library on any plan.
Paperguide
- AI Search
- Ask a research question in plain language and get a synthesized answer drawn from more than 200 million papers, with each claim linked to its source.
- Systematic reviews
- Screens papers against a predefined protocol with cited evidence for each criterion, then produces verified extraction tables, a report and a PRISMA diagram. Dual-reviewer screening is on the Evidence plan.
- Reference manager
- Imports from Zotero or Mendeley, or by DOI, URL, PDF, BibTeX or RIS, fetches metadata and open-access PDFs, and formats citations in more than 1,000 styles.
- Extract Data
- You define the columns and the AI fills them across the selected papers, with every value linked to the statement it came from. Tables export to CSV or Excel.
- Research Agent
- Investigates a topic across the paper database and your library, answers questions about one or several PDFs, and can generate a literature review of up to 50 papers.
- AI Writer
- Drafts and edits documents with citations from your library and the paper database, and exports them as Word, PDF or LaTeX files.
Plans
Explainpaper
Free$0
Unlimited highlight explanations, follow-up questions and Zotero import, on basic AI models.
Pro$12
per month, billed yearly ($16 billed monthly)
Explains graphs, figures and equations; automatic outlines; saved highlights; questions about the paper.
TeamsCustom
Everything in Pro, plus team management, priority support and volume discounts.
Paperguide
Free$0
2,000 AI credits and 20 AI searches a month, 500 MB of reference storage, and extraction tables of up to 10 papers and 5 columns.
Plus$12
per seat / month, billed annually ($144); $19 billed monthly
12,500 AI credits a month, systematic reviews of up to 1,000 papers, unlimited AI searches and reference storage, and shared workspaces.
Pro$29
per seat / month, billed annually ($348); $49 billed monthly
50,000 AI credits a month, systematic reviews of up to 5,000 papers and 500 Search API requests a month.
Evidence$89
per seat / month, billed annually ($1,068); $149 billed monthly
150,000 AI credits a month, PRISMA-grade dual-reviewer screening, a dedicated support channel and 1,500 Search API requests a month.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom AI credits, systematic reviews of up to 20,000 papers, dual-reviewer screening and a dedicated support channel.
Ways to pay less
Explainpaper
- Annual discount
Save 25% with yearly billing
The pricing page lists Pro at $12 a month billed yearly against $16 a month billed monthly, labeled as a 25% saving.
Paperguide
- Annual discount
Save up to 41% with yearly billing
Billed yearly, Plus is $12 a seat per month against $19 billed monthly, Pro is $29 against $49 and Evidence is $89 against $149. The pricing page labels the saving as 41%.
- Education
30% academic discount with a university email
Verifying a university email takes 30% off: Plus becomes $8, Pro $20 and Evidence $62 per seat / month billed yearly, or $13, $34 and $104 billed monthly.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Explainpaper or Paperguide?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Explainpaper starts at $12 per month, billed yearly ($16 billed monthly), and Paperguide starts at $12 per seat / month, billed annually ($8 with the academic discount). One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, Explainpaper or Paperguide?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Explainpaper and Paperguide have a free plan.
Which platforms do Explainpaper and Paperguide run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Paperguide 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.