Sourcely review (2026): is the free plan enough?
Paste an essay and find academic sources to cite
Black Friday: is there a Sourcely sale?
Sourcely report card
Fair · out of 4.0 · graded Nov 12, 2026
Best for finding academic sources for an essay you've written
Sourcely takes pasted text and finds academic sources to cite. Pro is $9 a month billed yearly for 10 deep searches a month, and the free version is mostly limited to English-language sources.
Who Sourcely is for
- 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
Who Sourcely is not for
- 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
Why Sourcely gets a 2.4
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- CValue for moneyPro is $9 a month billed yearly ($17 monthly), in the middle of the research range. Ultra is $19.
- CFree plan and trialA free version exists, but its limits aren't on the pricing page beyond being mostly English-language sources.
- CFeaturesSource 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.
- BEase of useNo store rating on record. Paste your text and get sources back, with nothing to set up.
- BPlatforms and integrationsWeb only, with MCP support for ChatGPT and Claude.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Sourcely's own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
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<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/sourcely#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/sourcely.svg" alt="Sourcely: 2.4 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where Sourcely stands among AI research tools
Sourcely'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 ease of use (B, above 29 of 49) and worst on features (C, above 1).
Its paid plans start at $9 a month, against a middle price of $10 for the category: 12 of the 35 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4. 3 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 50 AI research tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. Sourcely’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 6 of 49, level with 29
- CFree plan and trialAbove 4 of 49, level with 31
- CFeaturesAbove 1 of 49, level with 32
- BEase of useAbove 29 of 49, level with 20
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 16 of 49, level with 31
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 40 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 Sourcely, or make your own?
Keep it
To replace Sourcely 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.
It costs $108 a year.
What you could not
- A library of papers and sources to search.
- A search engine with an AI model behind it.
- An AI model, which you can rent by the request but not make.
- Citation records for millions of papers.
What this rests on. Sourcely’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 Sourcely?
Sourcely takes pasted text and searches a database of more than 200 million papers for sources to support it, with summaries, citation export and a personal library. A free version exists, limited mostly to English-language sources. Paid plans add deep searches and source credibility checks.
Worth knowing
- 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
- 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.
Sourcely pricing
As of Nov 12, 2026, Sourcely has a free plan, and paid plans start at $9 per month, billed annually ($17 billed monthly).
- Starts at
- $9 per month, billed annually ($17 billed monthly)
- Free plan
- A free version exists, limited mostly to English-language sources; its other limits are not on the pricing page.
- Free trial
- None listed
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Pro | $9per month, billed annually ($17 billed monthly) | 10 deep searches and 25 source credibility checks a month, plus MCP support. |
| Ultra | $19per month, billed annually | 30 deep searches and 100 credibility checks a month, on a smarter AI model. |
Read from sourcely.net on Nov 12, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Sourcely before you buy.
Ways to pay less
- Annual discountSave 50% with yearly billing
The pricing page shows a Yearly toggle labeled as saving 50% against monthly billing.
Stated on sourcely.net
Works with
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Common questions
Does Sourcely have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 12, 2026. Sourcely is listed for Web.
Does Sourcely have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 12, 2026. Sourcely is listed for Web.
Is Sourcely open source?
Sourcely is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Nov 12, 2026.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 12, 2026.