Moonlight vs OpenRead (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Moonlight grades higher than OpenRead: 2.2 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Moonlight grades higher on ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Moonlight
AI reader for research papers with explanations and translation
OpenRead
AI platform for searching, reading and comparing papers
Which one is for you
Pick Moonlight if
- Fits if you read a few papers a week and want explanations beside the text
- Works for readers who need a paper translated with its layout kept
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free: AI features on only 3 papers a week
- Pricey if you want Claude or Gemini Pro models, which means Premium at $49 a month
- Watch out: Team plans are priced by seat tier and the billing basis isn't shown
- Watch out: no desktop or mobile app, and no integrations are listed
Pick OpenRead if
- Fits if you want to set several papers side by side and see where they disagree
- Works for people who want search, reading, questions and notes in one browser tab
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you need the price up front, as the pricing page couldn't be read
- Watch out: where the free plan stops isn't on record, since the FAQ wouldn't open either
- Not for you if you want a phone app or a browser extension, since only the web app is listed
- Skip it if you lean on Zotero or another reference manager, as no integrations or citation export are on record
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAMoonlightFair | 2.0GPAOpenReadFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CPro is $10 a month billed yearly ($12 monthly), the category's middle. Premium, which adds Claude and Gemini Pro models, is $49. | CNo price is on record at all. The homepage shows a Pro option, but the pricing page sat behind a browser security check both times we looked. With nothing to set against the $10 to $20 a month this category charges, it lands in the middle by default. |
| Free plan and trial | CA free plan with unlimited document access and AI on 3 papers a week, on two base models. A reader doing more than 3 a week will hit it. | CThe homepage puts a Free label on its AI tools, so there is something to use without paying. Where it stops couldn't be confirmed, because the pricing and FAQ pages wouldn't open for our reader. You'll have to sign up to find out. |
| Features | CExplanations in context, layout-preserving translation, citations, chat and summary and a library. Several features are marked Limited on Free. | CSearch across papers or the open web, a reading view with Paper Q&A, a related paper graph and notes, and Paper Compare for setting several papers side by side. The basics of finding and reading, then, with the gaps the listing shows: no reference library, no citation export and nothing it connects to. |
| Ease of use | BNo store rating on record. Upload a paper and read, but features like deep search take some learning. | CNo store rating on record, and the listing shows a platform in several separate pieces to learn: search, Paper Compare, Paper Espresso, Paper Q&A and the Oat chat assistant with its own model picker. Its own pricing and FAQ pages wouldn't load for us either. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb and a Chrome extension. No desktop or mobile app was found, and no integrations are listed. | CA web app and nothing else. The homepage links to no mobile apps and no browser extension, and the listing shows no integrations with reference managers or anything else. |
| Best for | reading research papers with in-context explanations | comparing papers side by side |
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: Moonlight and OpenRead. How we grade
Where they differ
- Moonlight also covers citations and highlights.
- OpenRead also covers AI search and notes.
At a glance
| Moonlight | OpenRead | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $10 per month, billed annually ($12 billed monthly) | Not published |
| Free plan | Unlimited document access, with AI features limited to 3 papers a week. | The homepage shows a Free label on its AI tools and a separate Pro option; what the free plan includes could not be confirmed. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Corca, Inc. | OpenRead, Inc. |
| Price read from | themoonlight.io | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Moonlight
- The Free plan limits AI features to 3 papers a week, and several features are marked Limited there.
- Which AI models you can use depends on the plan: Premium adds the most expensive ones, including Claude and Gemini Pro models.
- Team plans are priced per user in seat tiers (1-3, 4-15, 16-29), with 30 or more seats handled through a partnership; the Team billing basis is not shown.
- The homepage source links a Chrome Web Store listing; no desktop or mobile app was found on the pages read.
OpenRead
- Plan prices and free-plan limits are not recorded: the pricing and FAQ pages were behind a browser security check when this entry was researched.
- The homepage links only to the web app; it lists no mobile apps or browser extension.
Key features
Moonlight
- Explain in context
- Select any part of a paper to get an explanation of the passage, a figure, a table or an equation, without copying and pasting.
- Layout-preserving translation
- Translates a paper line by line, aligned with the original, and can translate whole pages.
- Smart citations
- Shows details of a cited reference in a preview so you can check it without leaving your place in the paper.
- Chat and summary
- Ask questions and discuss the paper, and get keywords and a summary of the key points.
- Library and deep search
- Organizes papers in a library and recommends related papers based on what the library holds.
- Markup and auto highlight
- Highlight, annotate and take notes, or let the tool underline key points automatically.
OpenRead
- Paper and web search
- AI search runs over papers or the open web. The homepage says new papers arrive every 5 minutes from more than 20,000 journals.
- Paper Compare
- Sets several papers side by side to compare their findings and spot contradictions, with options such as an expert review or a comparison of frameworks.
- Reading tools
- The reading view brings together Paper Espresso, Paper Q&A, a Related Paper Graph and note taking, so a paper can be read and annotated in one place.
- Oat chat assistant
- Oat, short for OpenRead AI Technology, is a chat assistant with a choice of AI models plus web access, diagram drawing and image editing.
- Trending papers
- A trending page lists the papers that other readers on the platform are opening most.
Plans
Moonlight
Free$0
Unlimited document access with limited AI features on 3 papers a week and two base models.
Pro$10
per month, billed annually ($12 billed monthly)
Unlimited AI-assisted papers, 5 infographic explanations a week and selected advanced models. Marked with a 1-week free trial.
Premium$49
per month, billed annually ($59 billed monthly)
Everything in Pro with access to all models, including Claude and Gemini Pro models, and 30 infographic explanations a week.
EnterpriseCustom
For larger teams and organizations; contact the vendor. Team seat pricing is shown for 1 to 29 seats.
OpenRead
Pricing could not be confirmed. See openread.academy.
Ways to pay less
Moonlight
- Annual discount
17% off with annual billing
The pricing page marks the Year option as saving 17-20%; Pro is $10 a month on annual billing against $12 monthly, and Premium $49 against $59.
OpenRead
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Moonlight or OpenRead?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Moonlight starts at $10 per month, billed annually ($12 billed monthly), and OpenRead has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, Moonlight or OpenRead?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Moonlight and OpenRead have a free plan.
Which platforms do Moonlight and OpenRead run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Moonlight 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.