Scite vs Scopus AI (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Scite grades higher than Scopus AI: 2.2 against 1.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Scite grades higher on the free plan, features and platforms. Scopus AI grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Scite
Research assistant that shows how papers have been cited
Scopus AI
Elsevier's AI summaries and concept maps over the Scopus database
Which one is for you
Pick Scite if
- Fits if you need to know whether a finding held up in later research
- Works for researchers who want cited answers inside Claude or ChatGPT through the MCP connector
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a free plan, as there's only a 7-day trial that rolls into a paid one
- Pricey if you need patent, clinical trial or grant search, or Collections past 1,000 papers, which start on Pro at $50 a month
- Tight if you lean on it through Claude or ChatGPT, with 250 MCP credits a month on Basic
- Watch out: annual billing and a Team plan are offered, but their prices couldn't be confirmed
- Not for you if you want a phone or desktop app, as only the web app and a browser extension are listed
Pick Scopus AI if
- Fits if your university or company already subscribes to Scopus
- Works for people who want concept maps over Scopus results
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you are an individual, as it is sold to institutions through Elsevier sales
- Skip it if you want a price on the page, as none is published
- Not for you if you want answers from the wider web, as it uses only Scopus content
- Watch out: the page says it uses OpenAI's model hosted on Microsoft Azure, with an agreement against training use
- Skip it if you want to try it free, as no plan or trial is listed
How we grade them
| 2.2GPASciteFair | 1.6GPAScopus AIWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DBasic is $20 a month billed monthly, which lands in the dearest tenth of a category whose middle is $10. Unlimited Assistant queries, full-text search and citation alerts are in. Patents, clinical trials, grants and Collections past 1,000 papers need Pro at $50. Annual billing exists at a price we couldn't confirm. | CNo price is published, and the page's call to action is Contact us. |
| Free plan and trial | DNo free plan at all. New users get a 7-day trial, and it rolls into whichever plan you chose at sign-up unless you cancel first, so your card is in from the start. Set a reminder if you're only looking! | FNo free plan and no trial are listed, so nothing can be tried without paying. |
| Features | AScite's citation reports show whether later papers supported a finding, contrasted it or only mentioned it, with the context around each one, and nothing else in this category does that. The Assistant links every claim to a sentence, and search runs inside 280 million full-text articles under publisher agreements. | CSummaries, follow-up questions, foundational documents, concept maps and emerging themes. Answers come only from Scopus content. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. The browser extension is the easy part, putting Scite's citation counts beside papers on Google Scholar and PubMed. The rest asks more of you: no free plan to practice on, Collections with size caps to watch, and MCP use running on a monthly credit count. | CNo store rating on record. It sits inside an institutional Scopus login. |
| Platforms and integrations | BA web app and a browser extension, plus a Zotero plugin, an API and an MCP connector that runs Scite inside Claude and ChatGPT. MCP use is capped at 250 credits a month on Basic. No phone or desktop app is listed, so those connectors are what earn the B. | CWeb only, with no integrations or apps listed. |
| Best for | checking if a paper's findings held up | AI summaries over the Scopus database |
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: Scite and Scopus AI. How we grade
Where they differ
At a glance
| Scite | Scopus AI | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Paid |
| Starts at | $20 per month, billed monthly | Not published |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial for new users; it rolls into the plan chosen at sign-up unless canceled first. | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Scite LLC (Research Solutions) | Elsevier |
| Price read from | scite.ai | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Scite
- No free plan is listed; after the 7-day trial a paid subscription is needed.
- The pricing page also offers annual billing and a Team plan for labs; those prices could not be confirmed in page text and are left out here.
- Patent, clinical trial and grant search and Collections above 1,000 papers need the Pro plan.
- MCP use is capped by monthly credits: 250 on Basic and 2,500 on Pro.
Scopus AI
- No price is published; the page's call to action is Contact us, so it is sold through Elsevier sales.
- Answers draw only on content in Scopus, not on the wider web.
- The page says it uses OpenAI's model hosted on Microsoft Azure, with an agreement against training use.
Key features
Scite
- Smart Citations
- Shows how later research has cited a paper: whether the citing statements support, contrast or simply mention its findings, with the surrounding context.
- Scite Assistant
- Answers questions from the scientific literature and links every claim back to the specific sentence in the paper it came from.
- Full-text search
- Searches inside more than 280 million full-text articles under agreements with Wiley, SAGE and 30+ other publishers, alongside preprints, books, patents and datasets.
- Collections and citation alerts
- Group papers into Collections of up to 1,000 papers on Basic or 10,000 on Pro, and get alerts about new citations.
- Browser extension
- Adds Smart Citation counts to paper listings on Google Scholar, PubMed and publisher sites. Clicking a badge opens the full Scite report.
- MCP, Zotero and API access
- Runs inside Claude, ChatGPT and other MCP-compatible assistants, plugs into Zotero and offers an API for teams building their own tools.
Scopus AI
- Topic and expanded summaries
- A query returns summaries with references to the Scopus documents used and an indication of the tool's confidence in their relevance.
- Follow-up questions
- Suggests Go deeper questions and takes conversational follow-ups, with a history of earlier topics to resume.
- Foundational documents
- Lists high-impact papers cited by the papers behind the summaries, mined from the full Scopus database.
- Concept maps
- Keywords from research abstracts produce an interactive map of a topic and its links to neighboring research areas.
- Emerging themes
- Groups a query's themes as established, rising or novel, to point to gaps for publications, collaborations and funding.
Plans
Scite
Basic$20
per month, billed monthly
Unlimited Assistant queries, full-text search, Smart Citation reports, citation alerts, 250 MCP credits a month and Collections of up to 1,000 papers.
Pro$50
per month, billed monthly
Everything in Basic, plus 2,500 MCP credits a month, Collections of up to 10,000 papers, and search across patents, clinical trials and grants.
EnterpriseCustom
For organizations and universities: unlimited users with pooled usage, SAML/SSO, access by domain, IP or email, and regulatory and safety datasets.
Scopus AI
Pricing could not be confirmed. See elsevier.com.
Ways to pay less
Scite
- Education
Student and academic discount on request
The pricing FAQ says students and academics who recommend Scite to their institution by email, copying Scite's sales and support addresses, are sent a discount code. The amount is not stated.
Scopus AI
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Scite or Scopus AI?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Scite starts at $20 per month, billed monthly, and Scopus AI has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, Scite or Scopus AI?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Scite nor Scopus AI has a free plan. Scite has a free trial.
Which platforms do Scite and Scopus AI run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Scite 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.