Scite.ai and Scholise both help researchers work with academic papers, but they approach the problem differently. This guide helps you decide which tool fits your workflow.
What is Scite.ai?
Scite.ai specialises in Smart Citations — it analyses how papers cite each other, showing whether a citation supports, contradicts, or merely mentions a finding. It helps you understand the reception of a paper within the broader literature.
What is Scholise?
Scholise is an AI research workspace with two main tools: a Research Assistant that searches 200M+ papers and synthesises cited answers, and a Source Finder for discovering and saving real academic papers. It also includes evidence tables, draft checking, and outline generation.
Feature comparison
Source discovery
- Scite.ai: Search papers, but primary value is in citation analysis
- Scholise: Purpose-built Source Finder with peer-review and open-access filters
AI synthesis
- Scite.ai: Assistant that answers questions with citations
- Scholise: Research Assistant with structured answers (Summary, Evidence, Gaps, Contested Areas)
Citation analysis
- Scite.ai: Smart Citations showing supporting/contrasting/mentioning context — this is Scite's core strength
- Scholise: Counter-evidence finder identifies contradicting research
Workflow tools
- Scite.ai: Citation analysis, dashboards, reference checks
- Scholise: Evidence tables, draft citation checker, outline generator, reference export
Pricing
- Scite.ai: Free limited access; paid plans from ~$20/month
- Scholise: Free plan (15 questions/day, 25 sources); Pro at $7.99/month
When to use Scite.ai
- You need to know whether a specific paper's findings are supported or contradicted by subsequent research
- You are conducting a systematic review and need citation context
- Your institution provides Scite.ai access
- You want to check whether a paper has been retracted or challenged
When to use Scholise
- You need to find sources for a specific assignment or essay
- You want AI-powered answers with verified citations
- You need to build an evidence table from your saved papers
- You want to check your draft for uncited claims
- You are a student who needs a guided research workflow
- Budget matters — Scholise's free plan and $7.99 Pro are significantly cheaper
Can you use both?
Yes. They solve different problems. Use Scite.ai to understand how a paper has been received by the field. Use Scholise to find papers, build your argument, and check your work before submission.
Try Scholise's Research Assistant. Start free →