Paperpile review (2026): is it worth $8.30 a month, billed yearly?
Reference manager built around Google Drive, Docs and Word
Black Friday: is there a Paperpile sale?
Paperpile report card
Fair · out of 4.0 · graded Nov 13, 2026
Best for a reference manager for Google Docs and Word
Paperpile is a reference manager built around Google Drive and Docs, with a Word plug-in and a browser extension. Billing is annual only, sign-up goes through a Google account in Chrome, and notes, annotations and shared libraries are not in the cheaper plan.
Who Paperpile is for
- Fits if you write in Google Docs and keep your files in Drive
- Works for students and researchers who want citations dropped into Word
Who Paperpile is not for
- Skip it if you want a plan that stays free, as there is only a 30-day trial
- Tight if you pay monthly, as there is no monthly billing and all plans bill annually
- Watch out: full-text PDF search, notes, annotations and shared libraries need Expert
- Watch out: sign-up is through a Google account, and the page says only Chrome can be used to sign up
- Skip it if you use Safari or Firefox, as support is described as a beta coming later
Why Paperpile gets a 2.2
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- CValue for moneyRegular is $8.30 a month on annual billing, above the $7.92 that starts the cheaper quarter of research tools. Expert is $11.50.
- CFree plan and trialA 30-day free trial, with the page not saying a card is needed, and no free plan after it.
- CFeaturesSaving papers, a library, citations in Word and Docs, PDF reading and BibTeX. Full-text search, notes, annotations and shared libraries are not in Regular.
- CEase of useNo store rating on record. Sign-up is through a Google account and Chrome.
- BPlatforms and integrationsWeb, an extension, iPhone and Android, with Docs, Word, Drive, Overleaf, OneDrive, Scopus and Web of Science. No desktop app.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Paperpile's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
Make Paperpile? Put this grade on your site
Paste this where you want the badge. It links here and follows the grade if it changes. About badges
<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/paperpile#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/paperpile.svg" alt="Paperpile: 2.2 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where Paperpile stands among AI research tools
Paperpile's GPA of 2.2 is higher than 16 of the 69 other AI research tools we grade, and level with 14.
It stands best on platforms and integrations (B, above 28 of 69) and worst on features (C, above 1).
Its paid plans start at $8.30 a month, against a middle price of $10 for the category: 15 of the 48 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. 12 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 70 AI research tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. Paperpile’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 10 of 69, level with 37
- CFree plan and trialAbove 9 of 69, level with 39
- CFeaturesAbove 1 of 69, level with 51
- CEase of useAbove 1 of 69, level with 40
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 28 of 69, level with 39
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 59 AI research tools. Further left costs less, and higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Point at a dot to see which tool it is.
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
Keep Paperpile, or make your own?
Keep it
To replace Paperpile 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: 39 of the 69 other AI research tools grade higher. It costs $99.60 a year.
What you could make
- Web clipper and highlights: an app builder makes these well.
What you could not
- A library of papers and sources to search.
- Citation records for millions of papers.
- A real app for iOS and Android. Something home-made would be a web page.
- Several people working in it at the same moment.
- It plugs into other products, Google Docs, Microsoft Word and Google Drive among them.
- What a company asks for before it lets staff use something: roles and permissions.
What this rests on. Paperpile’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is Paperpile?
Paperpile is a reference manager for collecting papers, storing PDFs and inserting citations while you write. It runs in the browser with a Chrome extension, connects to a Google account and Google Drive, and has plugins for Google Docs and Word. Plans are billed annually, with a 50% academic discount.
Worth knowing
- All plans are billed annually; the pricing page says there is no monthly billing.
- Sign-up is through a Google account, and the page says only Chrome can be used to sign up.
- Full-text PDF search, notes, annotations and shared libraries are not in the Regular plan.
- Safari and Firefox support is described as a beta that is coming later.
Key features
- Save papers from the web
- A browser extension saves papers and PDFs from publisher pages and academic databases, and extracts metadata from PDFs you upload.
- Library organization
- Folders, labels, duplicate detection and merging, and automatic fixing of missing metadata keep a large library tidy.
- Citations in Word and Google Docs
- Plugins insert citations and bibliographies in more than 10,000 styles. Custom styles need the Expert plan.
- PDF reading and annotation
- Highlight and note PDFs in the app. Notes and PDF annotations are Expert features, as is collaborative annotation.
- BibTeX and LaTeX
- Export and import BibTeX, customize citation keys, and on Expert keep a .bib file synced to Google Drive or Overleaf.
- Sharing
- Share with private links on every plan. Shared folders and shared libraries with access permissions are on Expert.
Paperpile pricing
As of Nov 13, 2026, Paperpile is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $8.30 per month, billed annually.
- Starts at
- $8.30 per month, billed annually
- Free plan
- None
- Free trial
- 30-day free trial
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Regular | $8.30per month, billed annually | Reference collection, PDF storage, citations in all major styles and BibTeX, and basic Word and Google Docs integrations. |
| Expert | $11.50per month, billed annually | Adds full-text search across PDFs, notes and annotations, shared folders and libraries, and any file type. |
| Enterprise and Institutions | Custom | Everything in Expert plus SAML single sign-on, a custom MSA and SLA, vendor security reviews and HIPAA support. |
Read from paperpile.com on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Paperpile before you buy.
Ways to pay less
- Education50% academic discount
Students, faculty, researchers and eligible nonprofits get 50% off, so Regular is $4.15 and Expert $5.75 per month billed annually.
Stated on paperpile.com - Other savingsGroup discount on Expert
Expert plans get an automatic group discount of up to 20%, growing with the number of seats.
Stated on paperpile.com
Works with
- Google Docs
- Microsoft Word
- Google Drive
- Overleaf
- OneDrive
- Scopus
- Web of Science
- IEEE Xplore
Paperpile alternatives
- Paperpile vs Zotero
Free plan · from $20/yr
- Paperpile vs Mendeley
Free plan · from $26/mo
- Paperpile vs ReadCube Papers
Free trial · from $95/yr
- Paperpile vs Lean Library Workspace
Free plan · from $6.99/mo
- Paperpile vs Scholarcy
Free plan · from $90/yr
Common questions
Does Paperpile have a Windows app?
No Windows app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Paperpile is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Does Paperpile have a macOS app?
No macOS app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Paperpile is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Is Paperpile open source?
Paperpile is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Nov 13, 2026.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026.