The STORM Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about STORM in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
STORM
The Insider’s Guide
Open-source AI that writes Wikipedia-style reports with citations
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among AI research tools, read from STORM’s own pages.
Made by Stanford Open Virtual Assistant Lab (OVAL) · checked Oct 5, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from STORM’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on STORM’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 5, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
2.8
GPA, above 21 of the 27 other AI research tools we grade
STORM is a research prototype from Stanford's Open Virtual Assistant Lab that researches a topic through Internet search and writes a Wikipedia-like report with citations. It works by collecting different perspectives on the topic and simulating a conversation between a writer and a topic expert. Co-STORM, a collaborative mode, lets the user join a discussion among AI experts while a mind map organizes what has been found. The code is open source, and a hosted research preview runs in the browser.
To get you started, here are 8 things to know about STORM, taken from its own pages and our grades.
Whatever you type into the hosted site is collected for research, and running it yourself needs your own model and search API keys.
- 1
Best for a cited first overview of a new topic
Its own developers say the output isn't publication-ready and often needs a lot of edits.
- 2
It is free
STORM has no paid plan at all. Free research preview with no paid plans. The code is open source under the MIT license; running it yourself needs your own language model and search API keys.
- 3
It runs on Web
Web.
- 4
Report generation
Researches a topic through Internet search, drafts an outline and writes a full-length, Wikipedia-like article with citations to its sources.
- 5
Perspective-guided questions
Looks for different perspectives on the topic and simulates a conversation between a writer and a topic expert, grounded in sources, to work out which questions to ask.
- 6
Co-STORM
A collaborative mode in which the user takes part in a discussion among AI experts, with a moderator that raises questions from information not yet used.
- 7
A 2.8 GPA, above 21 of 27
That is against the other AI research tools we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 8
Keep it
STORM is free, so making your own would save you nothing.
STORM at a glance
- Pricing
- Free
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- None stated
- Runs on
- Web
- Made by
- Stanford Open Virtual Assistant Lab (OVAL)
- Category
- AI Research Tools
- Our grade
- 2.8 GPA, good
The report card
Best for a cited first overview of a new topic
STORM is a free Stanford research prototype that searches the web on a topic and writes a Wikipedia-style report with citations, and its code is open under the MIT license. Its own developers say the output isn't publication-ready and often needs a lot of edits. Whatever you type into the hosted site is collected for research, and running it yourself needs your own model and search API keys.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | A | Free, with no paid plans, in a category where they start at $10 a month. The hosted preview costs nothing and the code is MIT-licensed. Running it yourself needs your own language model and search API keys, which you pay for elsewhere. |
| Free plan and trial | A | The whole thing is free: the hosted research preview of STORM and Co-STORM, and the open-source package. What you give instead is your inputs: on the hosted site they're collected for research and may be distributed under a Creative Commons license. |
| Features | D | One function: research a topic through Internet search and write a long, cited, Wikipedia-like article. Co-STORM adds a discussion among AI experts and a mind map, and that's the lot. No paper library, no PDF chat, no reference manager, and the developers say the output often needs a significant number of edits. |
| Ease of use | B | No store rating on record, so B is the ceiling. The hosted preview asks nothing of you: give it a topic and wait for the report. Running it yourself means a pip install and your own model and search keys. |
| Platforms and integrations | C | The hosted version is web only, with no app and no API. The breadth is all on the input side: the open-source package plugs into Bing, You.com, Brave, Serper, Tavily, DuckDuckGo, SearXNG and Google search, with a vector store for your own documents. Search back ends, not places it runs. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who STORM is for
- Fits if you want a cited overview of a topic you know nothing about yet
- Works for developers who want an open-source research pipeline to adapt
Who it is not for
- Skip it if you need text you can publish as it is, since the developers say it often needs a lot of edits
- Not for you if your topic is confidential, as inputs on the hosted site are collected for research
- Too light for anyone who wants a paper library, PDF chat or a link to their reference manager
- Watch out: the hosted site is a research preview with limited safety measures, and its terms warn reports can contain mistakes
- Tight if you want to run it yourself, as you need your own language model and search API keys
Good to know
Good for
- Getting a cited overview of an unfamiliar topic
- The pre-writing stage of a long article or report
- Developers who want an open-source research pipeline to adapt
Worth knowing
- The hosted site is a research preview with limited safety measures, and its terms warn that reports can contain mistakes.
- Inputs on the hosted site are collected for research and may be distributed under a Creative Commons license.
- The developers say the output is not publication-ready and often needs a significant number of edits.
- Running the open-source package yourself requires your own language model and search API keys.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
Free
No paid plan at all
STORM is free to use.
The hosted preview costs nothing and the code is MIT-licensed.
Free
$0
The hosted research preview of STORM and Co-STORM, and the MIT-licensed knowledge-storm package for running it yourself.
The free plan
Free research preview with no paid plans. The code is open source under the MIT license; running it yourself needs your own language model and search API keys.
Read from github.com on Oct 5, 2026.
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
1
Place it runs: Web
Open-source AI that writes Wikipedia-style reports with citations. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: open source, self-hostable, AI agents, research, citations, mind mapping.
One function: research a topic through Internet search and write a long, cited, Wikipedia-like article.
- Report generation
- Researches a topic through Internet search, drafts an outline and writes a full-length, Wikipedia-like article with citations to its sources.
- Perspective-guided questions
- Looks for different perspectives on the topic and simulates a conversation between a writer and a topic expert, grounded in sources, to work out which questions to ask.
- Co-STORM
- A collaborative mode in which the user takes part in a discussion among AI experts, with a moderator that raises questions from information not yet used.
- Mind map
- Co-STORM keeps a mind map that sorts the collected information into a hierarchy of concepts, updated as the discussion goes on.
- Open-source Python package
- The knowledge-storm package installs with pip and is MIT-licensed. Language and embedding models are configured through litellm.
- Pluggable search
- Retrieval modules cover Bing, You.com, Brave, Serper, Tavily, DuckDuckGo, SearXNG and Google search, plus a vector store for grounding on your own documents.
Where it runs
- Web
What it works with
- Bing Search
- You.com
- Brave Search
- Serper
- Tavily
- DuckDuckGo
- SearXNG
- Azure AI Search
STORM is made by Stanford Open Virtual Assistant Lab (OVAL).
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
21/27
Other AI research tools it is graded above
STORM's GPA of 2.8 is higher than 21 of the 27 other AI research tools we grade, and level with 4.
It stands best on value for money (A, above 24 of 27) and worst on features (D, above 0).
STORM has no paid plan.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.0 out of 4. Nothing scores higher for less, though at least one tool matches that score at a lower price.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 28 AI research tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. STORM’s own letter is outlined.
- AValue for moneyAbove 24 of 27
- AFree plan and trialAbove 24 of 27
- DFeaturesAbove 0 of 27
- BEase of useAbove 13 of 27
- CPlatforms and integrationsAbove 0 of 27
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 25 AI research tools. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. STORM is the marked dot.
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Keep it
STORM is free, so making your own would save you nothing.
And it is not the kind of software a weekend replaces. It is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 2.8 is higher than 21 of the 27 other AI research tools we grade.
What you could make
- Mind mapping: an app builder makes this well.
What you could not
- A library of papers and sources to search.
- An AI agent, with the models and the safeguards behind it.
- Citation records for millions of papers.
- It plugs into other products, Bing Search, You.com and Brave Search among them.
- Sharing with other people, which means accounts and invitations.
What this rests on. STORM’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.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
Ai2 Asta, Undermind, Elicit, Perplexity and Gemini Notebook
The 5 tools STORM is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 3.2GPA
Ai2 Asta
Free
AI research assistant for finding papers and analyzing data.
- STORM also covers mind mapping.
- Ai2 Asta also covers AI search.
- 2.2GPA
Undermind
Free plan · from $16/mo
AI literature search agent that reads hundreds of papers.
- STORM is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- STORM also covers mind mapping.
- Undermind also covers chat assistant and AI search.
- 2.4GPA
Elicit
Free plan · from $49/mo
AI research assistant for literature search and systematic reviews.
- Only Elicit lists a browser extension.
- STORM is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- STORM also covers mind mapping.
- 2.8GPA
Perplexity
Free plan · from $17/mo
AI search assistant that answers questions with cited sources.
- Only Perplexity lists iOS and Android apps.
- Only Perplexity lists a browser extension.
- STORM is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- 3.4GPA
Gemini Notebook
Free plan · from $4.99/mo
Google's AI research assistant that answers from your own sources.
- Only Gemini Notebook lists iOS and Android apps.
- STORM is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- STORM also covers AI agents, research, citations and mind mapping.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
12
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is STORM free?
Yes. STORM is free to use.
How much does STORM cost?
STORM lists one plan. Free: $0.
What platforms does STORM work on?
STORM is available on Web.
Does STORM have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 5, 2026. STORM is listed for Web.
Does STORM have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 5, 2026. STORM is listed for Web.
Is STORM open source?
Yes. STORM is open source, according to its own site.
What does STORM integrate with?
STORM's listing names Bing Search, You.com, Brave Search, Serper, Tavily, DuckDuckGo, SearXNG and Azure AI Search.
Who makes STORM?
STORM is made by Stanford Open Virtual Assistant Lab (OVAL).
What are the alternatives to STORM?
The closest alternatives to STORM in our directory are Ai2 Asta, Undermind, Elicit, Perplexity and Gemini Notebook.
How does STORM compare with other AI research tools?
STORM's GPA of 2.8 is higher than 21 of the 27 other AI research tools we grade, and level with 4.
Is STORM good value for money?
ToolGPA grades STORM A for value for money. STORM has no paid plan.
Could I make my own version of STORM?
STORM is free, so making your own would save you nothing. And it is not the kind of software a weekend replaces.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from STORM’s own pages on Oct 5, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 10, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from STORM's own pages on 5 October 2026. Also tested with a demo account on 2026-07-01.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Stanford Open Virtual Assistant Lab (OVAL). Prices change, so check storm.genie.stanford.edu before you buy.
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
3,189
Tools graded, in 94 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
3,189
tools graded
94
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- STORM, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/storm
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "STORM: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 5, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/storm
Know someone choosing between AI research tools?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/storm/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded AI research tools after STORM, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- AI Research Tools Insider's GuideEvery one of the 28 AI research tools we grade, compared
- Ai2 Asta Insider's GuideAI research assistant for finding papers and analyzing data3.2 GPA
- Semantic Scholar Insider's GuideFree AI-powered search engine for scientific literature3.2 GPA
- ChatPDF Insider's GuideAsk questions about PDFs and get answers with citations2.8 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what STORM’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. STORM is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Stanford Open Virtual Assistant Lab (OVAL). Prices and plans change: check storm.genie.stanford.edu before you buy.