The Undermind Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Undermind 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.
Undermind
The Insider’s Guide
AI literature search agent that reads hundreds of papers
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among AI research tools, read from Undermind’s own pages.
Made by Undermind AI, Inc. · 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 Undermind’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Undermind’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
2.2
GPA, above 2 of the 27 other AI research tools we grade
Undermind is an AI research assistant for searching the scientific literature. You describe what you are working on, and it runs a deep search that reads and ranks hundreds of papers from a database of over 200 million articles, then writes a report with in-line citations. You can keep working with the results through chat, custom tables and alerts for new papers, and outside AI agents can connect through an MCP server.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about Undermind, taken from its own pages and our grades.
No store rating on record, so B is the ceiling.
- 1
Best for hard questions keyword search can't crack
Undermind is a paper search tool: you describe your question, it asks a few back, then reads and ranks hundreds of papers and writes a report with in-line citations.
- 2
Paid plans start at $16 a month
As its pricing page puts it: $16 per month, billed annually, at the academic rate ($60 for industry).
- 3
There is a free plan
Chat, deep searches and reports with standard rate limits, shared workspaces and agent connections. Searches cover abstracts and metadata, not full texts.
- 4
It runs on Web
Web.
- 5
Deep literature search
You describe a research goal in plain language and answer follow-up questions. Undermind then reads and evaluates hundreds of papers and follows citation trails; a typical search takes about 2 minutes.
- 6
Reports with in-line citations
Findings come back as a report in which statements carry in-line citations that lead to the source paper, alongside a paper list you can sort and filter to judge relevance.
- 7
Chat and custom tables
After a search you can brainstorm with an assistant grounded in the papers it found, extract details from full texts and generate custom tables.
- 8
A 2.2 GPA, above 2 of 27
That is against the other AI research tools we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 9
Keep it
To replace Undermind 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.
Undermind at a glance
- Pricing
- Free plan, from $16 per month, billed annually, at the academic rate ($60 for industry)
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- None stated
- Runs on
- Web
- Made by
- Undermind AI, Inc.
- Category
- AI Research Tools
- Our grade
- 2.2 GPA, fair
The report card
Best for hard questions keyword search can't crack
Undermind is a paper search tool: you describe your question, it asks a few back, then reads and ranks hundreds of papers and writes a report with in-line citations. A deep search takes about 2 minutes. Academics pay $16 a month on annual billing, industry pays $60 for the same Pro, the free plan reads abstracts and metadata only, and charges aren't refunded once a billing period begins.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | D | Pro at the academic rate is $16 a month billed annually, or $20 monthly, which already puts it in the dearest tenth of a category whose middle is $10. Industry is another world: $60 a month billed annually for the same Pro, five times the dear end here. |
| Free plan and trial | C | Free covers chat, deep searches, reports, shared workspaces and agent connections. The rate limits are only described as standard, with no numbers given, and free searches read abstracts and metadata rather than full texts. |
| Features | C | A deep search reads and ranks hundreds of papers from a database of over 200 million, follows citation trails and comes back with a report carrying in-line citations, then chat, custom tables and alerts. Searching is all it does: no reading tools, no writing. |
| Ease of use | B | No store rating on record, so B is the ceiling. There's nothing to configure, though: describe what you're working on in plain language, answer a few follow-up questions, and it goes off to read. Then you wait, because a deep search takes about 2 minutes. |
| Platforms and integrations | B | A web app, with an MCP server so Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, VS Code and Copilot can run Undermind searches for you, and that's included on the Free plan. No phone or desktop app is on the listing. |
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 Undermind is for
- Fits if your question is too tangled for keyword search to find the right papers
- Works for academics, who pay $16 a month on annual billing against $60 for industry
Who it is not for
- Pricey if you work in industry: Pro is $60 a month billed annually ($75 monthly), and Team is $60 a seat from 3 seats
- Tight if you're staying free and need full texts read, since free searches cover abstracts and metadata only
- Not for you if you want an answer in seconds, as a deep search takes about 2 minutes
- Watch out: the free plan's rate limits have no published numbers, and charges aren't refunded once a billing period starts
- Skip it if you want a phone or desktop app, or writing tools, as it's a web app for searching
Good to know
Good for
- Complex research questions where keyword search misses relevant papers
- Academics, who pay $16 a month on annual billing instead of the $60 industry rate
- People who want literature search inside Claude, ChatGPT or a coding agent
- R&D teams tracking new publications in specific technical areas
Worth knowing
- Free-tier searches read abstracts and metadata only; full-text search of open-access papers and preprints needs Pro.
- Industry pricing is far higher than academic: Pro is $60 a month billed annually against $16.
- A deep search typically takes about 2 minutes to finish, so results are not instant.
- Charges are non-refundable once a billing period has begun, except where the law requires a refund.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$16
A month to start. There is a free plan too
Undermind has a free plan. Paid plans start at $16 per month, billed annually, at the academic rate ($60 for industry).
Free covers chat, deep searches, reports, shared workspaces and agent connections.
Free
$0
Chat, deep searches and reports with standard rate limits, shared workspaces and agent connections over MCP.
Pro (Academic)
$16
per month, billed annually ($192); $20 billed monthly
The newest AI models, full-text analysis, 10x higher usage limits, and unlimited workspaces, files and paper libraries.
Pro (Industry)
$60
per month, billed annually ($720); $75 billed monthly
The same Pro features at the industry rate.
Team (Academic)
$15
per person / month, billed annually; $18.70 billed monthly
From 3 seats. Pro features plus member management, priority support and central billing. Falls to $12.50 per person at 60 or more seats.
Team (Industry)
$60
per person / month, billed annually; $75 billed monthly
From 3 seats at the industry rate, with member management, priority support and central billing.
Enterprise
Custom
Increased compute, sitewide organizational login, an admin dashboard, onboarding seminars, and custom terms, SLA and security review.
The free plan
Chat, deep searches and reports with standard rate limits, shared workspaces and agent connections. Searches cover abstracts and metadata, not full texts.
Read from undermind.ai on Oct 5, 2026.
Ways to pay less
Annual discount
Save 20% with annual billing
Pro is $16 a month billed annually against $20 billed monthly at the academic rate, and $60 against $75 at the industry rate. The pricing section labels this a 20% saving.
Stated on undermind.aiEducation
Academic pricing from $16 a month
Choosing Academic in the pricing section shows Pro at $16 a month billed annually or $20 billed monthly, against $60 and $75 under Industry.
Stated on undermind.aiOther savings
Volume pricing on academic Team plans
On annual billing the academic Team price per person is $15 for 3 to 10 seats, $14.17 for 11 to 25, $13.33 for 30 to 50 and $12.50 for 60 to 200.
Stated on undermind.ai
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
AI literature search agent that reads hundreds of papers. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: chat assistant, AI search, AI agents, research, citations.
Searching is all it does: no reading tools, no writing.
- Deep literature search
- You describe a research goal in plain language and answer follow-up questions. Undermind then reads and evaluates hundreds of papers and follows citation trails; a typical search takes about 2 minutes.
- Reports with in-line citations
- Findings come back as a report in which statements carry in-line citations that lead to the source paper, alongside a paper list you can sort and filter to judge relevance.
- Chat and custom tables
- After a search you can brainstorm with an assistant grounded in the papers it found, extract details from full texts and generate custom tables.
- Alerts for new papers
- Undermind keeps track of your areas of interest and notifies you when relevant papers are published.
- Agent connections over MCP
- An MCP server lets assistants and coding agents such as Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and VS Code run Undermind searches. Connecting agents is included in the Free plan.
- Full-text search on Pro
- The Free tier searches abstracts and metadata. Pro adds compute to search the full texts of nearly all open-access and preprint articles.
Where it runs
- Web
What it works with
- ChatGPT
- Claude
- Cursor
- VS Code
- Codex
- Claude Code
- GitHub Copilot
- Microsoft Copilot
Undermind is made by Undermind AI, Inc.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
2/27
Other AI research tools it is graded above
Undermind's GPA of 2.2 is higher than 2 of the 27 other AI research tools we grade, and level with 3.
It stands best on ease of use (B, above 13 of 27) and worst on value for money (D, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $16 a month, against a middle price of $10 for the category: 18 of the 20 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4. 5 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 28 AI research tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. Undermind’s own letter is outlined.
- DValue for moneyAbove 0 of 27
- CFree plan and trialAbove 1 of 27
- CFeaturesAbove 1 of 27
- BEase of useAbove 13 of 27
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 8 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. Undermind 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
To replace Undermind 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: 22 of the 27 other AI research tools grade higher. It costs $192 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 agent, with the models and the safeguards behind it.
- An AI model, which you can rent by the request but not make.
- Citation records for millions of papers.
- It plugs into other products, ChatGPT, Claude and Cursor among them.
What this rests on. Undermind’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
Elicit, Consensus, SciSpace, Ai2 Asta and Edison Scientific
The 5 tools Undermind is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.4GPA
Elicit
Free plan · from $49/mo
AI research assistant for literature search and systematic reviews.
- Only Elicit lists a browser extension.
- Undermind also covers chat assistant.
- 2.6GPA
Consensus
Free plan
AI search engine that answers questions from peer-reviewed papers.
- Only Consensus lists an Android app.
- Undermind also covers chat assistant.
- 2.4GPA
SciSpace
Free plan · from $12/mo
AI research platform for literature review and reading papers.
- Only SciSpace lists an iOS app.
- Only SciSpace lists a browser extension.
- 3.2GPA
Ai2 Asta
Free
AI research assistant for finding papers and analyzing data.
- Ai2 Asta is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Undermind also covers chat assistant.
- 2.4GPA
Edison Scientific
Free plan
AI agents for scientific research, led by the Kosmos AI Scientist.
- Edison Scientific is self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Undermind also covers chat assistant and AI search.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
14
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 Undermind free?
Undermind has a free plan. Chat, deep searches and reports with standard rate limits, shared workspaces and agent connections.
How much does Undermind cost?
Undermind lists 6 plans. Free: $0.
What platforms does Undermind work on?
Undermind is available on Web.
Does Undermind offer any discounts?
Undermind publicly lists the following: Save 20% with annual billing; Academic pricing from $16 a month; Volume pricing on academic Team plans.
Does Undermind have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 5, 2026. Undermind is listed for Web.
Does Undermind have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 5, 2026. Undermind is listed for Web.
Is Undermind open source?
Undermind is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 5, 2026.
What does Undermind integrate with?
Undermind's listing names ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor, VS Code, Codex, Claude Code, GitHub Copilot and Microsoft Copilot.
Does Undermind have a student discount?
Academic pricing from $16 a month. Choosing Academic in the pricing section shows Pro at $16 a month billed annually or $20 billed monthly, against $60 and $75 under Industry.
Who makes Undermind?
Undermind is made by Undermind AI, Inc.
What are the alternatives to Undermind?
The closest alternatives to Undermind in our directory are Elicit, Consensus, SciSpace, Ai2 Asta and Edison Scientific.
How does Undermind compare with other AI research tools?
Undermind's GPA of 2.2 is higher than 2 of the 27 other AI research tools we grade, and level with 3.
Is Undermind good value for money?
ToolGPA grades Undermind D for value for money. Its paid plans start at $16 a month, against a middle price of $10 for the category: 18 of the 20 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of Undermind?
To replace Undermind you would be making a library of papers and sources to search.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Undermind’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 Undermind's own pages on 5 October 2026. Also tested with a demo account on 2026-05-02.
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 Undermind AI, Inc. Prices change, so check undermind.ai 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
- Undermind, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/undermind
- 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, "Undermind: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 5, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/undermind
Know someone choosing between AI research tools?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/undermind/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded AI research tools after Undermind, 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 Undermind’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. Undermind is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Undermind AI, Inc. Prices and plans change: check undermind.ai before you buy.