Explainpaper vs SciSummary (2026): which should you pick?

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 SciSummary if

• Fits if you read scientific papers and want the figures explained
• Works for someone who searches PubMed and arXiv and wants one library

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you want a free plan, as only a 7-day capped trial exists
• Pricey if you read the vendor's own pages: they disagree between $12.50 and $4 a month
• Watch out: the trial caps summaries at 30,000 words, 5 figures and 100 chat messages
• Watch out: uploads are capped at 200 MB, and there's no desktop or mobile app

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.

SciSummary

• The homepage shows $12.50 a month billed yearly and $15 billed monthly, but the site's llms.txt file lists $4 and $7 a month, so the vendor's own pages disagree.
• The 7-day trial caps summaries at 30,000 words, 5 figures and 100 chat messages; non-AI features are free without a card.
• Only a web version is described, with no desktop or mobile app.
• Uploads are capped at 200 MB per file, and the FAQ says larger files may fail.

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.

SciSummary

Structured summaries

Breaks a paper into labeled sections and can summarize several papers into one combined summary, or compare papers with AI.

Figure analysis

Explains figures, tables and charts, including statistics such as p-values, confidence intervals and effect sizes.

Chat with papers

Ask questions of one paper, or of the whole library through semantic search and chat.

Library with folders and tags

Papers can be organized into folders and tags, and imported from a PDF, DOI, PubMed ID, arXiv ID or URL.

API and agent access

A REST API for bulk summarization, an MCP server and a command-line tool are described on the site's developer pages.

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.

SciSummary

• Pro Plan$12.50

  per month, billed yearly ($15 billed monthly)

  Unlimited summaries, figure analysis, chat messages and article searches, and semantic search over 1,000 indexed documents. Yearly billing is $150 a year.

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.

SciSummary

• Annual discount

  Yearly billing at $150

  The homepage shows the Pro Plan at $12.50 a month billed as $150 a year, labeled Save $30 a year against $15 a month billed monthly.