# Moonlight review (2026): is the free plan enough?

> AI reader for research papers with explanations and translation

Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA.

Moonlight is a web-based PDF reader for research papers with AI built into the viewer. You select a passage, figure, table or equation to get an explanation in context, chat about the paper, translate it line by line, and see citation details without leaving the page. A library organizes papers, and plans differ in which AI models they can use.

- **Category:** AI Research Tools
- **Made by:** Corca, Inc.
- **Website:** https://www.themoonlight.io/en
- **Runs on:** Web, Browser extension
- **Who should skip it:** Tight if you stay free: AI features on only 3 papers a week.
- **Facts last checked:** Nov 12, 2026

## Pricing

As of Nov 12, 2026, Moonlight has a free plan, and paid plans start at $10 per month, billed annually ($12 billed monthly).

- **Pricing model:** Free plan
- **Free plan:** Unlimited document access, with AI features limited to 3 papers a week.
- **Free trial:** None listed.

| Plan | Price | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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. |
| Enterprise | Custom | For larger teams and organizations; contact the vendor. Team seat pricing is shown for 1 to 29 seats. |

Read from https://www.themoonlight.io/en/pricing on Nov 12, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Moonlight before buying.

## Ways to pay less

- **17% off with annual billing** (Annual discount): 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. Source: https://www.themoonlight.io/en/pricing

## Key features

- **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.

## Good for

- Graduate students reading papers in a second language
- Researchers who want explanations beside the PDF rather than in a separate chat
- Labs that want a shared plan with per-seat discounts

## Worth knowing

- 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.

## ToolGPA grades

**GPA: 2.2 out of 4**, graded Nov 12, 2026. Moonlight is an AI reader for research papers with explanations, translation and a library. The free plan lets you open unlimited papers but only 3 a week get AI features, and the models you can use depend on a plan that goes up to $49 a month.

- **Value for money: C.** Pro is $10 a month billed yearly ($12 monthly), the category's middle. Premium, which adds Claude and Gemini Pro models, is $49.
- **Free plan and trial: C.** A 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.
- **Features: C.** Explanations in context, layout-preserving translation, citations, chat and summary and a library. Several features are marked Limited on Free.
- **Ease of use: B.** No store rating on record. Upload a paper and read, but features like deep search take some learning.
- **Platforms and integrations: C.** Web and a Chrome extension. No desktop or mobile app was found, and no integrations are listed.

These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Moonlight'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

- Moonlight's GPA of 2.2 is higher than 7 of the 49 other AI research tools we grade, and level with 11.
- It stands best on ease of use (B, above 29 of 49) and worst on platforms and integrations (C, above 0).
- Its paid plans start at $10 a month, against a middle price of $10 for the category: 15 of the 35 others that charge start lower.
- On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. 10 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 Moonlight you would be making a library of papers and sources to search. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one. That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 31 of the 49 other AI research tools grade higher. It costs $120 a year.

- You could make: Highlights: an app builder makes this well.
- You could not: A library of papers and sources to search.
- You could not: An AI model, which you can rent by the request but not make.
- You could not: Citation records for millions of papers.

A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it.

**Tags:** Research, AI features, Chat assistant, Citations, Highlights

## Alternatives

- [SciSpace](https://toolgpa.com/tools/scispace): AI research platform for literature review and reading papers. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/moonlight-vs-scispace)
- [Explainpaper](https://toolgpa.com/tools/explainpaper): Highlight confusing text in a paper and get a plain explanation. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/explainpaper-vs-moonlight)
- [alphaXiv](https://toolgpa.com/tools/alphaxiv): arXiv reading and discovery site with an AI research assistant. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/alphaxiv-vs-moonlight)
- [Paperguide](https://toolgpa.com/tools/paperguide): AI research platform for literature and systematic reviews. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/moonlight-vs-paperguide)
- [OpenRead](https://toolgpa.com/tools/openread): AI platform for searching, reading and comparing papers. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/moonlight-vs-openread)

## Sources

The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 12, 2026:

- https://www.themoonlight.io/en/pricing
- https://www.themoonlight.io/en
- https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/moonlight/lhipdkibljepmfojllcfflfflhflcbgi

Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/moonlight
Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).