Tool profile
Scite: cost, fit and limits
Scite is a research platform made by Scite LLC, part of Research Solutions, that answers questions from the scientific literature and classifies whether later papers support, challenge or only mention a cited claim. Academic authors and libraries are its main buyers.
What to know first
Scite sells Basic at $12 per month and Pro at $40 per month, both billed yearly, plus a quote-based Enterprise plan. There is no free tier: a 7-day trial on Basic and Pro enrolls you in the chosen plan automatically afterward. The product centers on Smart Citations, which show how later work treats a paper, alongside an Assistant that links each claim to a sentence. The privacy page returned an error, so data terms were not checked.
Scite at a glance
| Maker | Scite LLC, United States |
|---|---|
| Free plan | Free trial only |
| Entry price | $12/month (Basic, billed yearly) |
| API access | Yes |
| Category | Best AI Literature Search Tools in 2026, rank 4 of 13 |
| Website | scite.ai |
Who Scite is best for
Authors vetting their reference list
Smart Citation reports show whether later papers support or challenge each reference, which catches retracted or disputed results before a manuscript goes out.
Librarians and research offices
Holdings gives full-text access through your library, and the Enterprise plan adds SSO plus IP, domain and email access for a campus.
Developers wiring literature into agents
Pro includes API access and 2,500 MCP credits a month, so Claude or ChatGPT can query Scite data from inside a chat.
Clinical and policy analysts
Pro adds patent, clinical trial and grant datasets, and Enterprise adds regulatory and safety datasets, which widens the material beyond journal articles.
Scite plans and pricing
| Plan | Price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | $12 per month, billed yearly | Full Assistant and Search access, Smart Citation reports, citation alerts and dashboards, 250 MCP credits a month and collections up to 1,000 papers. |
| Pro | $40 per month, billed yearly | Everything in Basic plus API access, patent, clinical trial and grant datasets, a limited-time $60 API credit, 2,500 MCP credits and 10,000-paper collections. |
| Enterprise | Custom quote, based on users and usage | Everything in Pro, unlimited users with pooled usage, SSO, IP, domain and email access, regulatory and safety datasets and 50,000-paper collections. |
Checked November 2026.
What Scite does
- Assistant
- Questions are answered from the research literature, and every claim links to the sentence in the paper that supports it, so a reader can check the wording at the source before reusing it.
- Smart Citations
- Each citation is classified by how the later paper treats the earlier one: supporting, challenging or merely discussing. Citation alerts and dashboards track that picture for a set of papers over time.
- Holdings
- Library subscriptions are linked so full text opens through your institution, which saves the step of finding access paper by paper when reading results. Campus teams use this to skip per-paper access hunting.
- Zotero plugin and browser extension
- A plugin and an extension show citation badges while browsing or managing references, so the support or dispute signal appears where you already read. The signal then appears without a separate search.
- MCP server
- An MCP server connects AI agents such as Claude and ChatGPT to Scite data, metered by monthly credits that differ by plan. Credits renew monthly and differ by plan.
How Scite handles your data
The vendor's policy was not checked for training use, retention, hosting region or certifications, because the privacy page returned an error when fetched and the pricing page says nothing on these points. No certification is stated on the pages opened. Libraries or labs that plan to upload unpublished manuscripts should request the current privacy policy and any data processing terms from Scite in writing before they subscribe, particularly on the Enterprise route.
Where Scite falls short in practice
- No standing free plan. After the 7-day trial, Basic and Pro enroll you in the chosen plan automatically, so a reader who only wants occasional checks pays from the first month.
- Collection size is capped. Basic collections stop at 1,000 papers and Pro at 10,000, which a large review can exceed and force an Enterprise conversation. Moving to Enterprise means a sales conversation.
- Credits are metered. MCP use draws on 250 credits a month on Basic and 2,500 on Pro. The pages do not say what one request costs, so heavy agent use is hard to forecast.
- Inconsistent plan wording. The FAQ says API access comes with Pro and Team, yet the pricing page lists no separate Team plan, so confirm the tier name before buying.
Works with
Alternatives to Scite
Scite: common questions
How much does Scite cost?
Basic is $12 per month and Pro $40 per month, each billed yearly, and Enterprise is a quote based on users and usage. Prices are as of November 2026 from the vendor's pricing page. The page notes yearly savings of $96 and $120 respectively.
Does Scite have a free trial?
Yes, a 7-day free trial applies to Basic and Pro. The page says users are auto-enrolled in the chosen plan after the trial, so cancel before day seven if you only want to test it. No standing free plan is listed.
What is a Smart Citation?
A Smart Citation shows how a later paper cites an earlier one, classified as supporting, challenging or discussing it. Scite builds citation reports and alerts from that data, so a reader sees whether a result held up before relying on it in a manuscript.
Can Scite connect to Claude or ChatGPT?
Yes through its MCP server. Basic includes 250 MCP credits per month and Pro 2,500. Pro also lists API access. The pages opened do not state how many credits a single request uses, so measure one typical query first. The pricing page lists both allowances side by side.
Does Scite train models on my uploads?
The vendor's policy was not checked for this, since the privacy page returned an error when fetched and the pricing page is silent. Request the current policy in writing before uploading unpublished work. Neither the homepage nor the pricing page covers it.