Keenious vs Sourcely (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Keenious grades higher than Sourcely: 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
Keenious grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Keenious
Academic search that recommends papers from your own text
Sourcely
Paste an essay and find academic sources to cite
Which one is for you
Pick Keenious if
- Fits if you have a draft essay and need sources that match it
- Works for people who write in Word or Google Docs and want papers suggested in the sidebar
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you're staying free, at 3 conversations a day with 5 AI responses each and 3 MB uploads
- Pricey if you pay monthly, at $20 against $10 a month on the annual plan
- Watch out: Plus has no free trial, and the FAQ says early cancellations aren't refunded
- Not for you if you want to keep your chats, as uploads and conversations are deleted after 1 day
- Skip it if you want a review written for you or a choice of AI model, as results are retrieved and chat runs on Gemini only
Pick Sourcely if
- Fits if you've drafted an essay and need papers to back it up
- Works for someone who uses ChatGPT or Claude and wants source search there
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you do a lot of searching: 10 deep searches a month on Pro, 30 on Ultra
- Not for you if you want to know the free limits first, as they aren't on the pricing page
- Watch out: the free version is mostly English-language sources
- Watch out: Ultra's monthly price isn't shown, and there's no app
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAKeeniousGood | 2.4GPASourcelyFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CPlus is $10 a month if you pay the year up front ($120), which is where this category's prices start rather than below them. Month by month it's $20, the dear end here, and Plus has no trial, so you're committing blind. Students get 30% off the annual plan. | CPro is $9 a month billed yearly ($17 monthly), in the middle of the research range. Ultra is $19. |
| Free plan and trial | BEvery search result is free, and searching is the main product here, with no credits to count. The caps are on the chat: 3 conversations a day with 5 AI responses each, and uploads stop at 3 MB. One person could genuinely work on this. | CA free version exists, but its limits aren't on the pricing page beyond being mostly English-language sources. |
| Features | CIts own trick: paste or upload a draft and get related papers from 250 million works, as a list and as a map by research area. But the chat only explains methods and terms, results are retrieved rather than written up for you, and conversations are deleted after 1 day. | CSource finding from text, deep search, summaries, chat, citation export and filters. Deep searches are capped monthly on both paid plans: 10 on Pro, 30 on Ultra. |
| Ease of use | BNo App Store rating on record, so this rests on the listing: there's no query to craft, you paste what you've already written, and the Word and Google Docs sidebars are add-ins you switch on. It works in nearly 100 languages, so a question in one can find research in another. | BNo store rating on record. Paste your text and get sources back, with nothing to set up. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, plus sidebars inside Microsoft Word and Google Docs, with results exported as citations for a reference manager. Universities can wire it to their library holdings through EBSCO or Primo. No phone or desktop app on the listing, and no API. | BWeb only, with MCP support for ChatGPT and Claude. |
| Best for | finding sources that match your draft | finding academic sources for an essay you've written |
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: Keenious and Sourcely. How we grade
Price against what you get
Keenious starts at $10 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Sourcely starts at $9 a month and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and Sourcely starts $1 a month lower. Of the other AI research tools on the chart, 3 score higher than Keenious for less, and 3 score higher than Sourcely 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
At a glance
| Keenious | Sourcely | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $10 per month, billed annually ($20 billed monthly) | $9 per month, billed annually ($17 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | All search results, 3 conversations a day with 5 AI responses each, and PDF uploads of up to 3 MB. | A free version exists, limited mostly to English-language sources; its other limits are not on the pricing page. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Keenious AS | Sourcely |
| Price read from | keenious.com | sourcely.net |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Keenious
- The free plan allows 3 conversations a day with 5 AI responses each, and PDF uploads stop at 3 MB.
- Keenious Plus has no free trial, and the pricing FAQ says early cancellations are not refunded.
- Uploaded files and conversations are deleted automatically after 1 day.
- The site lists a web app and add-ins for Microsoft Word and Google Docs, but no mobile or desktop apps.
Sourcely
- Deep searches are capped monthly on both paid plans.
- The free version is mostly limited to English-language sources.
- The monthly price for Ultra is not shown on the pages read.
Key features
Keenious
- Search from your own text
- Type a question, paste text or upload a PDF, and Keenious returns related papers. Results are retrieved from its index by meaning and keyword ranking; they are not written by a language model.
- Chat about papers
- Chat explains methods, statistics and terminology, including text you highlight in a paper. It runs on Google's Gemini 3.5 Flash, and there is no choice of model.
- Search map
- Shows each result as a dot placed by meaning, colored by research area and sized by citation count. Selecting an area filters the map and the list together.
- Word and Google Docs add-ins
- Keenious runs as a sidebar in Microsoft Word and Google Docs, so related research appears beside the document being written.
- Search across languages
- The site says Keenious can be used in nearly 100 languages, and a question in one language can find research written in another.
- Bookmarks and citation export
- Papers can be bookmarked, and results or bookmarks exported as citations for a reference manager; the help center points EndNote users to the RIS format.
Sourcely
- Source finding from text
- Paste an essay or paragraph and Sourcely highlights citation-worthy parts and suggests sources.
- Deep search
- Quick and Deep modes; paid plans include a monthly number of deep searches.
- Summaries and chat
- Gives a summary of each source and lets you ask questions about it.
- Citation export
- Exports references in more than 700 citation styles and saves sources to a library.
- Filters
- Narrow results by publication year, authorship and relevance.
- MCP support
- Paid plans list MCP support for ChatGPT, Claude and similar assistants.
Plans
Keenious
Free$0
All search results, 5 AI responses per conversation, 3 conversations a day and a 3 MB file upload limit.
Plus for Individuals$10
per month, billed annually ($120); $45 quarterly or $20 monthly
Unlimited conversations and responses, export of all results in formats such as RIS and BibTeX, and 20 MB file uploads.
Plus for Teams$20
per user / month, billed annually ($240); $90 quarterly or $40 monthly
All Plus features with an admin console, centralized billing, two-factor authentication and dedicated support.
InstitutionsCustom
Access for all students and faculty with SSO, SAML or IP-based access, library collection links and a data processing agreement.
Sourcely
Pro$9
per month, billed annually ($17 billed monthly)
10 deep searches and 25 source credibility checks a month, plus MCP support.
Ultra$19
per month, billed annually
30 deep searches and 100 credibility checks a month, on a smarter AI model.
Ways to pay less
Keenious
- Annual discount
Annual billing is half the monthly rate
The pricing page's price data lists Plus for Individuals at $120 a year, $45 a quarter or $20 a month, and Plus for Teams at $240, $90 or $40 per user.
- Education
30% off annual billing for students
The pricing FAQ offers students a 30% annual discount. They email the verification address from their institution's email account and receive a discount code.
Sourcely
- Annual discount
Save 50% with yearly billing
The pricing page shows a Yearly toggle labeled as saving 50% against monthly billing.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Keenious or Sourcely?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Sourcely is cheaper to start with: $9 a month, against $10 a month for Keenious. Keenious starts at $10 per month, billed annually ($20 billed monthly), and Sourcely starts at $9 per month, billed annually ($17 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Keenious or Sourcely?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Keenious and Sourcely 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.