Litmaps vs Scinapse (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Litmaps grades higher than Scinapse: 2.0 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 9, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Litmaps grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Litmaps
Literature review tool that maps papers by their citations
Scinapse
Citation-based paper search, field trends and expert finding
Which one is for you
Pick Litmaps if
- Fits if your literature review starts from a handful of papers you already know
- Works for students and academics, who get Pro at $10 a month with an academic email
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you have no academic email, at $40 a month billed annually for the same Pro, or $50 monthly
- Tight if you're staying free, with 2 Litmaps of up to 100 articles, 20 inputs a search and monthly alerts only
- Watch out: Zotero Sync, advanced filters and custom alerts all need Pro, and Team prices aren't published
- Skip it if you work on a phone, as making a Litmap needs a bigger screen and no app is listed
- Too light for reading or writing, as it finds and maps papers but won't answer a question or hold your notes
Pick Scinapse if
- Fits if you judge papers by citations within your own field
- Works for people hunting for experts on a topic
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you want the network maps or saved mini-reviews, which start at $36 a month
- Tight if you stay free: AI mini-reviews, author analytics and advanced filters are paid
- Watch out: AI Smart Query is capped at 5 credits per 4 hours on Pro
- Skip it if you want an app, as it is web only
How we grade them
| 2.0GPALitmapsFair | 1.8GPAScinapseWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CPro is $10 a month billed annually, but only with an academic email. Without one the same Pro is $40, double the dear end of what this category charges. So it's ordinary money at a university and steep outside one. More than 100 lower income countries get a discount code. | DBasic is $23 a month billed yearly, which is where the dearest tenth of the category starts ($23). Network maps and saved AI reviews need Pro at $36, and Max is $52. |
| Free plan and trial | CFree gets you basic search with up to 20 input articles, 2 Litmaps of up to 100 articles each and a monthly alert. One real review week and you're done: a third map means paying, and so do Zotero Sync and the advanced filters. | CA free plan with search, collections and citation export, plus a 7-day Pro trial. AI features, advanced filters and author analytics sit behind paid plans. |
| Features | CIt does citation mapping: three ways to search, maps you can share by link, and Monitor emails when new related papers appear. That is a smaller job than most tools here take on, though. It finds and maps papers. It won't answer a question, hold your notes or write a line. | CField-specific impact, expert finder, journal analytics and AI mini-reviews. The listing shows network maps and AI Smart Query only on Pro or Max, and Smart Query is rate limited every 4 hours. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record, and it isn't a tool you just open and use: you pick seed articles, read a citation map and choose between three search algorithms. The homepage also tells small screens that making a Litmap needs a bigger one. | CNo store rating on record, and you work through filters, collections and citation analyses to get value from it. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only. No phone or desktop app, and no API on the listing. Zotero and LibKey are the only products it connects to, alongside BibTeX, RIS and PubMed files going in and out. | CWeb only: no mobile or desktop app and no API are listed. |
| Best for | literature reviews built from a few known papers | finding papers by impact in a field |
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: Litmaps and Scinapse. How we grade
Price against what you get
Litmaps starts at $10 a month and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Scinapse starts at $23 a month and scores 2.0.
They score the same, and Litmaps starts $13 a month lower. Of the other AI research tools on the chart, 22 score higher than Litmaps for less, and 42 score higher than Scinapse 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
- Scinapse also covers AI search and reports.
At a glance
| Litmaps | Scinapse | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $10 per month, billed annually, with an academic email ($40 commercial) | $23 per month, billed annually |
| Free plan | Basic search with up to 20 input articles, 2 Litmaps of up to 100 articles each, and monthly literature alerts. No collaboration features. | Keyword paper search ranked by impact, collections and history, citation export, and basic paper, author and journal information. |
| Free trial | None listed | 7-day free trial on the Pro plan |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Litmap Limited | Pluto Labs |
| Price read from | litmaps.com | scinapse.io |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Litmaps
- The free plan allows 20 input articles per search and 2 Litmaps of up to 100 articles each.
- Advanced search filters, customizable Monitor alerts and Zotero Sync all need Litmaps Pro.
- The $10 Education price needs an academic email address; the standard Commercial license is $40 a month, billed annually.
- The homepage tells visitors on small screens that creating a Litmap needs a bigger screen, and no mobile app is listed.
Scinapse
- Network maps, saved mini-reviews and AI Smart Query need Pro or Max.
- AI Smart Query is rate limited to a set number of credits every 4 hours.
- Prices shown are billed annually; the pricing page says yearly billing saves up to about 21%.
- Web only; no mobile or desktop app is listed.
Key features
Litmaps
- Citation-network search
- Start from one or more articles and Litmaps returns the most connected papers among their citations, references and co-citations, from a database of 270+ million articles.
- Three search algorithms
- Shared Citations & References is the default. Common Authors finds other work by the same collaborators, and Similar Text uses AI semantic analysis of titles and abstracts.
- Visual literature maps
- Results are shown as a Litmap of articles linked by citation. A map can be shared through a public link, with specific email addresses or as an exported image.
- Monitor alerts
- Monitor reruns a map's search and emails you about newly published articles. Every user can enable it; Pro users can set the frequency, algorithm and filters.
- Import, export and Zotero Sync
- Import BibTeX, RIS or PubMed files and export as BibTeX, RIS or CSV. Zotero Sync, a Pro feature, keeps Zotero collections and Litmaps Tags matched in both directions.
- Advanced search filters
- Pro users can narrow results by publication date, keyword, author, journal title, journal h-index and SJR quartile.
Scinapse
- Field-specific impact
- Measures citation impact inside the set of papers for a topic instead of across all research.
- AI mini-reviews
- Generates a short review of a field; Basic and above can generate them, Pro and above can save them.
- Expert Finder
- Finds researchers by keyword and filters by career and affiliation; full search needs a paid plan.
- Network map
- Shows how papers and authors connect through citations. Pro and Max only.
- Journal analytics
- Shows journal performance and trending topics, aimed at journal editors and authors choosing where to publish.
- AI Smart Query
- Turns a plain description of a research question into a query. Credits are shared with Expert Finder and Research Intelligence.
Plans
Litmaps
Free$0
Basic search with up to 20 inputs, 2 Litmaps of up to 100 articles each and monthly literature alerts.
Pro (Education)$10
per month, billed annually ($120); $12.50 billed monthly
Needs an academic email address. Unlimited inputs, articles and Litmaps, advanced search and configurable alerts.
Pro (Commercial)$40
per month, billed annually ($480); $50 billed monthly
The same Pro features on the standard license, for people without an academic affiliation.
TeamCustom
Pro features for every member in shared Team Workspaces, bought by the seat. The pricing page gives no public price.
EnterpriseCustom
Institution-wide and customizable licensing, arranged with the sales team.
Scinapse
Free$0
Keyword paper search driven by impact, collections and history, customizable citation export.
Basic$23
per month, billed annually
Adds real-time citation analysis within a field, advanced paper search filters, author analytics and AI mini-review generation by field.
Pro$36
per month, billed annually
Adds network maps of paper and author citations, saved AI mini-reviews and AI Smart Query at 5 credits per 4 hours.
Max$52
per month, billed annually
Everything in Pro, with AI Smart Query at 25 credits per 4 hours.
Ways to pay less
Litmaps
- Annual discount
Save 20% with annual billing
Pro costs $10 a month billed annually against $12.50 billed monthly on an Education license, and $40 against $50 on a Commercial one. The pricing page labels the annual price as a 20% saving.
- Education
75% off with an Educational License
Students, professors and others affiliated with an educational institution qualify for the Educational License, which is 75% off the standard price.
- By country
Country discounts in over 100 countries
People doing most of their research in an eligible low or middle income country are shown a discount code when they upgrade in the app. More than 100 countries qualify.
- Nonprofit
Special rates for nonprofits on request
The Litmaps Pro help article invites nonprofits, publicly funded research and government education research to contact the company about special rates.
Scinapse
- Annual discount
Save up to about 21% with yearly billing
The pricing page says yearly billing saves up to about 21% against monthly.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Litmaps or Scinapse?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Litmaps is cheaper to start with: $10 a month, against $23 a month for Scinapse. Litmaps starts at $10 per month, billed annually, with an academic email ($40 commercial), and Scinapse starts at $23 per month, billed annually.
Which has a free plan, Litmaps or Scinapse?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Litmaps and Scinapse 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.