SciSpace vs Sourcely (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, SciSpace and Sourcely share a 2.4 GPA, both have a free plan, and Sourcely starts cheaper, at $9 a month against $12 a month.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
SciSpace grades higher on features. Sourcely grades higher on ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
SciSpace
AI research platform for literature review and reading papers
Sourcely
Paste an essay and find academic sources to cite
Which one is for you
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
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
| 2.4GPASciSpaceFair | 2.4GPASourcelyFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | CPro is $9 a month billed yearly ($17 monthly), in the middle of the research range. Ultra is $19. |
| Free plan and trial | 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. | CA free version exists, but its limits aren't on the pricing page beyond being mostly English-language sources. |
| Features | 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. | 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 | 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. | BNo store rating on record. Paste your text and get sources back, with nothing to set up. |
| Platforms and integrations | 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. | BWeb only, with MCP support for ChatGPT and Claude. |
| Best for | search, reading and writing in one place | 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: SciSpace and Sourcely. How we grade
Price against what you get
SciSpace starts at $12 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 $3 a month lower. Of the other AI research tools on the chart, 3 score higher than SciSpace 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
- SciSpace also covers AI agents.
At a glance
| SciSpace | Sourcely | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $12 per month, billed annually ($20 billed monthly) | $9 per month, billed annually ($17 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | 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. | 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 | ||
| iOS | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | PubGenius Inc. | Sourcely |
| Price read from | web.archive.org (not the vendor's own page) | sourcely.net |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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
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).
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, SciSpace or Sourcely?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Sourcely is cheaper to start with: $9 a month, against $12 a month for SciSpace. SciSpace starts at $12 per month, billed annually ($20 billed monthly), and Sourcely starts at $9 per month, billed annually ($17 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, SciSpace or Sourcely?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both SciSpace and Sourcely have a free plan.
Which platforms do SciSpace and Sourcely run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only SciSpace lists an iOS app and 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.