# Explainpaper review (2026): is the free plan enough? > Highlight confusing text in a paper and get a plain explanation Checked Nov 12, 2026 ยท graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA. Explainpaper lets you upload a research paper, highlight passages you find hard to follow, and get simpler explanations from an AI model. It also takes follow-up questions about the paper. Free accounts use a basic model; the Pro plan adds figure explanations and automatic outlines. - **Category:** AI Research Tools - **Made by:** Explainpaper - **Website:** https://www.explainpaper.com - **Runs on:** Web - **Who should skip it:** Tight if you stay free: basic AI models only. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 12, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 12, 2026, Explainpaper has a free plan, and paid plans start at $12 per month, billed yearly ($16 billed monthly). - **Pricing model:** Free plan - **Free plan:** Unlimited highlight explanations and follow-up questions, with basic AI models and Zotero library import. - **Free trial:** 7-day free trial of Pro. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Free | $0 | Unlimited highlight explanations, follow-up questions and Zotero import, on basic AI models. | | Pro | $12 per month, billed yearly ($16 billed monthly) | Explains graphs, figures and equations; automatic outlines; saved highlights; questions about the paper. | | Teams | Custom | Everything in Pro, plus team management, priority support and volume discounts. | Read from https://www.explainpaper.com/pricing on Nov 12, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Explainpaper before buying. ## Ways to pay less - **Save 25% with yearly billing** (Annual discount): The pricing page lists Pro at $12 a month billed yearly against $16 a month billed monthly, labeled as a 25% saving. Source: https://www.explainpaper.com/pricing ## Key features - **Highlight to explain:** Select text in an uploaded paper and receive a simpler explanation of that passage. - **Follow-up questions:** Ask further questions about a passage; available on the free plan. - **Figures and equations:** On Pro, click a graph, figure or equation to get it explained. - **Paper outlines:** Pro generates an outline with clickable page references. - **Saved highlights:** Pro keeps your highlights and the explanations you received. - **Zotero import:** Bring in your Zotero library on any plan. ## Good for - Students reading papers outside their own field - Readers who want jargon explained inline ## Worth knowing - Free accounts get basic AI models; the stronger model needs Pro. - Saved highlights and figure explanations are Pro only. - The Teams plan has no published price. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.4 out of 4**, graded Nov 12, 2026. Explainpaper lets you highlight text in a paper and get a plain-language explanation, with follow-up questions. The free version runs on basic AI models, and figure explanations, saved highlights and outlines need Pro at $12 a month billed yearly. - **Value for money: C.** Pro is $12 a month billed yearly ($16 monthly), which puts it in the dearer quarter of a category whose middle is $10. - **Free plan and trial: B.** Free forever with unlimited highlight explanations, follow-up questions and Zotero import, on basic models. A student could live on it, but the stronger model is Pro. Pro has a 7-day trial. - **Features: C.** Explanations, follow-ups, figures, equations, outlines and saved highlights. The listing shows figures, outlines and saved highlights as Pro-only, and it covers just reading a paper. - **Ease of use: B.** No store rating on record. Upload a paper, highlight what you don't follow, and read the answer. - **Platforms and integrations: C.** Web only, with Zotero library import the single integration. No apps are listed. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Explainpaper's own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among AI research tools - Explainpaper's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 19 of the 49 other AI research tools we grade, and level with 13. - It stands best on free plan and trial (B, above 36 of 49) and worst on platforms and integrations (C, above 0). - Its paid plans start at $12 a month, against a middle price of $10 for the category: 21 of the 35 others that charge start lower. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. 13 tools score higher and cost less. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/ai-research ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** To replace Explainpaper you would be making an AI model, which you can rent by the request but not make. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one. It costs $144 a year. - You could make: Highlights and documents: an app builder makes these well. - You could not: An AI model, which you can rent by the request but not make. - You could not: A library of papers and sources to search. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. ## Works with Zotero **Tags:** AI features, Chat assistant, Research, Highlights, Documents ## Alternatives - [SciSpace](https://toolgpa.com/tools/scispace): AI research platform for literature review and reading papers. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/explainpaper-vs-scispace) - [ChatPDF](https://toolgpa.com/tools/chatpdf): Ask questions about PDFs and get answers with citations. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/chatpdf-vs-explainpaper) - [Humata](https://toolgpa.com/tools/humata): Document Q&A with cited answers across your uploaded files. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/explainpaper-vs-humata) - [Paperguide](https://toolgpa.com/tools/paperguide): AI research platform for literature and systematic reviews. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/explainpaper-vs-paperguide) - [AskYourPDF](https://toolgpa.com/tools/askyourpdf): Chat with PDFs and other documents and get cited answers. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/askyourpdf-vs-explainpaper) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 12, 2026: - https://www.explainpaper.com/ - https://www.explainpaper.com/pricing Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/explainpaper Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).