Moonlight vs SciSpace (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, SciSpace grades higher than Moonlight: 2.4 against 2.2 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. SciSpace grades higher on features and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money and the free plan.
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
SciSpace
AI research platform for literature review and reading 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 SciSpace if
- Fits if you want search, reading and writing tools on one subscription
- Works for research teams of 2 to 300 people who want to be billed per user
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you're on Android, as the mobile app is listed for iPhone and iPad only
- Pricey if you run agents a lot, since the step past 1,200 credits is Advanced at $70 a month billed annually
- Not for you if you need the free limits in writing first, as they couldn't be confirmed
- Tight if you start several jobs at once, as Premium runs 4 tasks at a time and Advanced 8
- Watch out: prices come from an archived copy of the pricing page from 30 September 2026, and no integrations are listed
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAMoonlightFair | 2.4GPASciSpaceFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | CPremium is $12 a month billed annually, or $20 monthly, the middle of this category. That buys 1,200 credits and 4 tasks at once. The next step is a big one: Advanced at $70 for 10,000 credits. These figures come from an archived copy of the pricing page captured on 30 September 2026. |
| 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. | CA free tier is reported by other listings, but SciSpace's own site turned automated readers away, so what it includes couldn't be confirmed on a SciSpace page. We'd sign up and look before planning a project around it. |
| Features | CExplanations in context, layout-preserving translation, citations, chat and summary and a library. Several features are marked Limited on Free. | BLiterature Review answers from more than 270 million papers with references, Chat with PDF explains one paper, Extract Data pulls the findings out of several at once. Add agents, an AI writer, a paraphraser and a citation generator with 2,300+ styles and the whole job is covered. |
| 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 credits are the thing you have to keep in your head: every plan meters the agents by a monthly allowance and caps how many tasks run at once. Asking in plain language, or highlighting a table to have it explained, is the easy part. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb and a Chrome extension. No desktop or mobile app was found, and no integrations are listed. | BWeb, an iPhone and iPad app, and a Chrome extension that explains highlighted text on any page and replies in 13 languages. Phone and computer, then. No Android app was found on Google Play in the US when checked, and the listing shows nothing it connects to. |
| Best for | reading research papers with in-context explanations | search, reading and writing in one place |
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 SciSpace. How we grade
Price against what you get
Moonlight starts at $10 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. SciSpace starts at $12 a month and scores 2.7.
SciSpace scores higher, and starts $2 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other AI research tools on the chart, 10 score higher than Moonlight for less, and 3 score higher than SciSpace 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
- Moonlight also covers highlights.
- SciSpace also covers AI search and AI agents.
At a glance
| Moonlight | SciSpace | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $10 per month, billed annually ($12 billed monthly) | $12 per month, billed annually ($20 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Unlimited document access, with AI features limited to 3 papers a week. | Third-party listings report a free tier, but its current limits could not be read: SciSpace's site turned automated readers away, and the archived pricing data covers paid plans only. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Corca, Inc. | PubGenius Inc. |
| Price read from | themoonlight.io | web.archive.org (not the vendor's own page) |
| 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.
SciSpace
- SciSpace's site blocked automated reading, so prices come from an Internet Archive copy of its pricing page captured on September 30, 2026.
- The limits of the free tier could not be confirmed on a SciSpace page.
- Paid plans meter usage in monthly credits: 1,200 on Premium, 10,000 on Advanced and 40,000 or more on Max.
- The mobile app is listed for iPhone and iPad; no Android app was found on Google Play (US) when checked.
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.
SciSpace
- Literature Review
- Ask a research question in plain language and get answers drawn from a repository of more than 270 million papers, each with references to its sources.
- Chat with PDF
- Ask questions about a paper or PDF and get answers backed by citations that point to where in the source they came from.
- SciSpace Agent and Biomedical Agent
- Agents take on research tasks and draw on the plan's monthly credits. Each plan also caps how many tasks run at once: 4 on Premium, 8 on Advanced and 16 on Max.
- Writing and citation tools
- AI Writer, Paraphraser and AI Detector sit beside a Citation Generator that formats references in APA, MLA and more than 2,300 other styles.
- Extract Data
- Pulls the summary, conclusions and findings out of several PDFs at once so papers can be compared side by side.
- Chrome extension
- Explains highlighted text, math and tables on any web page or PDF, answers follow-up questions with citations and replies in 13 languages.
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.
SciSpace
Premium$12
per month, billed annually ($144); $20 billed monthly
1,200 credits a month and up to 4 concurrent tasks.
Teams (Premium)$15
per user / month, billed annually ($180); $25 billed monthly
For 2 to 300 users, each with 1,200 credits a month and up to 4 concurrent tasks.
Advanced$70
per month, billed annually ($840); $90 billed monthly
10,000 credits a month and up to 8 concurrent tasks.
Teams (Advanced)$75
per user / month, billed annually ($900); $100 billed monthly
For 2 to 300 users, each with 10,000 credits a month and up to 8 concurrent tasks.
MaxFrom $160
per month, billed annually ($1,920); from $200 billed monthly
Priced by credit tier, from 40,000 credits a month up to 300,000, with up to 16 concurrent tasks.
Teams (Max)$175
per user / month, billed annually ($2,100); $220 billed monthly
For 2 to 300 users, each with 40,000 credits a month and up to 16 concurrent tasks.
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.
SciSpace
- Annual discount
Save 20% to 40% with annual billing
Annual billing brings Premium from $20 to $12 a month (40% off), Advanced from $90 to $70 (22% off) and the entry Max tier from $200 to $160 (20% off).
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Moonlight or SciSpace?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Moonlight is cheaper to start with: $10 a month, against $12 a month for SciSpace. Moonlight starts at $10 per month, billed annually ($12 billed monthly), and SciSpace starts at $12 per month, billed annually ($20 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Moonlight or SciSpace?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Moonlight and SciSpace have a free plan.
Which platforms do Moonlight and SciSpace run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only SciSpace lists an iOS app. Both list a web app 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.