Liner vs Mapify (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Liner grades higher than Mapify: 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
Liner grades higher on features and platforms. Mapify grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Liner
AI search with cited answers, research agents and a writer
Mapify
Turn PDFs, videos, web pages and audio into AI mind maps
Which one is for you
Pick Liner if
- Fits if you want every line of an AI answer tied to a source you can open
- Works for students drafting a literature review or hunting for citations, on a desktop
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if ads in your answers would bother you and you don't plan to pay
- Tight if you lean on the agents, since Pro's 1,000 credits go at 30 to 80 a request
- Not for you if you do your research on a phone, as Liner Scholar and Liner Write are desktop only
- Watch out: Liner doesn't offer refunds, so cancel before the renewal date
- Too light for agent work on the free plan, which allows 1 upload a day and lists 0 agent credits
Pick Mapify if
- Fits if you think in diagrams and want a map of a long PDF or video
- Works for someone who wants maps on both a phone and a Mac
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free: 30 credits once and they never refill
- Pricey if you want audio, Deep Research or AI chat, which need Pro at $11.99 a month
- Watch out: credits are used by every AI action, don't carry over and reset monthly
- Watch out: monthly-billing prices appear as crossed-out figures beside the yearly ones
How we grade them
| 2.6GPALinerGood | 2.4GPAMapifyFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CPro is $14.99 a month billed annually, or $17.99 monthly, which sits above this category's middle of about $12. It does cover all three products and drop the ads. But the agents run on credits: Pro gets 1,000 and one Deep Research request spends 40, and unlimited uploads mean Max at $29.99. | BBasic is $5.99 a month billed yearly ($9.99 monthly), inside the research category's cheaper quarter, which starts at $7.50. Pro is $11.99. |
| Free plan and trial | CAdvanced Search is unlimited, but the rest is thin: ads in the answers, 1 file upload a day, and the plan table lists 0 agent credits, though the FAQ says there are some. So Deep Research and the Scholar agents, the reason you'd come here, are shut. Caps you'll hit. | CThe Free plan grants 30 AI credits one time, no card, which the FAQ calls a trial. They don't refill, so it's a taster rather than a plan. |
| Features | BIt covers the whole job: a citation on every line of an answer, Deep Research reports, Scholar agents for literature reviews, citation finding and peer review across 480 million papers, and Liner Write for the drafting. What it hasn't got is a trick its rivals lack. | CMany source types, chat, export and slides. The listing shows audio and image summaries, Deep Research and timestamps as Pro-only, and the Powerful model as not in Basic. |
| Ease of use | C4.4 on the App Store from 1,371 ratings, which is middling rather than good: our higher band starts at 4.5. Asking a question is simple enough, but credits are the thing to learn, since each agent request costs between 30 and 80 of them. | CNo store rating on record. Credits depend on the model and word count, so you have to learn what an action costs. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android and extensions for Chrome and Edge, plus a search API and MCP servers that hand its scholar search to other AI agents. The catch is that Liner Scholar and Liner Write are desktop only. | BWeb, Chrome extension, iPhone, Android and Mac, with YouTube as the only integration. |
| Best for | AI answers with a source on every line | turning PDFs and videos into mind maps |
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: Liner and Mapify. How we grade
Price against what you get
Liner starts at $14.99 a month and scores 3.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Mapify starts at $5.99 a month and scores 2.3.
Liner scores higher, and starts $9 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other AI research tools on the chart, none scores higher than Liner for less, and 3 score higher than Mapify 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
- Liner also covers AI search, AI agents, research, citations, long-form writing and highlights.
- Mapify also covers transcription, chat assistant, mind mapping and presentations.
At a glance
| Liner | Mapify | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $14.99 per month, billed annually ($17.99 billed monthly) | $5.99 per month, billed yearly ($9.99 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Unlimited Advanced Search with ads in the answers, 1 file upload a day of up to 25 MB and 10 Research Assistant uses a day. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | Free plan with 30 AI credits granted once, no credit card needed; credits do not refill. |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Liner | SUPERMIND PTE. LIMITED |
| Price read from | liner.com | mapify.so |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Liner
- The free plan shows ads in answers and allows 1 file upload a day; the plan table lists 0 agent credits for it, though the FAQ mentions limited credits.
- Agents and external models spend credits: Pro includes 1,000 and Max 2,500, and one Literature Review request uses 40.
- The site's FAQ says Liner Scholar and Liner Write are supported only on desktop.
- Liner does not offer refunds; a subscription can be canceled before it renews.
Mapify
- Credits are consumed by every AI action, depend on the model and word count, do not carry over, and refresh monthly.
- The Free plan grants 30 credits once, which the FAQ calls a trial, and the Powerful model is not part of Basic.
- Audio and image summaries, Deep Research, timestamps and AI chat need Pro at $11.99 a month on yearly billing.
- The monthly-billing prices appear as crossed-out figures beside the yearly ones on the pricing page.
Key features
Liner
- Cited answers
- Answers carry a citation on each line that opens the source. Follow-up questions continue the thread, and an answer can be turned into a mind map.
- Deep Research
- Gathers information on a topic and returns it as an organized report while showing its line of reasoning. Each request uses 40 agent credits.
- Liner Scholar agents
- Agents for academic work include Literature Review, Citation Recommender, Research Tracer, Hypothesis Generator and Peer Review. Each request costs between 30 and 80 credits.
- File uploads
- Upload papers and PDFs to get summaries and ask questions about them: 1 file a day on Free, 20 a day on Pro and unlimited on Max.
- Liner Write
- A writing workspace that drafts from a topic, shapes ideas into emails, newsletters and reports, and lets you search and edit in the same window.
- Search API and MCP
- Developers can call Liner's search and answer agents through an API, and MCP servers expose its web search and scholar search to other AI agents.
Mapify
- Many source types
- Builds maps from PDFs and documents, YouTube videos, web pages, pasted text, audio and podcast recordings, and images, in more than 30 languages.
- Chat and expand
- Chat with a file or map, search the web to add sources, and grow any branch with one click. AI chat is listed from the Pro plan.
- Video timestamps and transcripts
- Map branches for videos link to key moments, and a full transcript is available.
- Export and slides
- Share by link or export to image, PDF or Markdown, and turn a map into slides.
- Cross-platform sync
- One subscription covers the web, browser extension, and iOS, Android, iPadOS and macOS apps.
Plans
Liner
Free$0
Unlimited Advanced Search with ads in the answers, 1 file upload a day of up to 25 MB and 10 Research Assistant uses a day.
Pro$14.99
per month, billed annually; $17.99 billed monthly
1,000 agent credits, 20 file uploads a day of up to 100 MB, ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude models, and no ads. Covers Liner, Liner Scholar and Liner Write.
Max$29.99
per month, billed annually; $35.99 billed monthly
Everything in Pro with 2,500 agent credits and unlimited file uploads of up to 200 MB each.
Team$26.99
per seat / month
For 2 to 20 members: everything in Max plus central billing, a workspace with admin controls and team data excluded from AI training.
EnterpriseCustom
Everything in Team plus a dedicated manager, onboarding sessions, audit logs and higher discount rates.
Mapify
Free$0
30 AI credits granted once: 5 PDF or document maps, 5 YouTube maps, prompt and Markdown maps, and YouTube transcripts.
Basic$5.99
per month, billed yearly ($9.99 billed monthly)
1,000 AI credits a month with the Instant model, PDF and YouTube summaries, editing, export to PDF, Markdown or SVG, and slides.
Pro$11.99
per month, billed yearly ($19.99 billed monthly)
2,000 AI credits a month, the Powerful model, audio and image summaries, Deep Research, files up to 10M words, and AI chat. Listed with a free trial.
Unlimited$17.99
per month, billed yearly ($29.99 billed monthly)
Unlimited AI credits and everything in Pro, plus priority access to new features and priority support. Listed with a free trial.
Ways to pay less
Liner
- Annual discount
Lower monthly rate with annual billing
The pricing page labels annual billing as saving 20%. Pro is $14.99 a month billed annually against $17.99 monthly, and Max is $29.99 against $35.99, about 17% less.
Mapify
- Annual discount
40% off with yearly billing
The Yearly option shows each paid plan 40% below its monthly price, for example $5.99 a month on Basic against $9.99.
- Education
30% off for students and educators
The pricing page says students and educators can get a 30% education discount.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Liner or Mapify?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Mapify is cheaper to start with: $5.99 a month, against $14.99 a month for Liner. Liner starts at $14.99 per month, billed annually ($17.99 billed monthly), and Mapify starts at $5.99 per month, billed yearly ($9.99 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Liner or Mapify?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Liner has a free plan. Mapify does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Liner and Mapify run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Liner lists a Windows app. Both list a web app, macOS, iOS and Android apps and a browser extension. 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.