LaunchpadHQ
Discover/Research & Academic Tools/Semantic Scholar

Semantic Scholar

by Allen Institute for AI

SaveOpen Semantic Scholar

The Launchpad take

Verdict

AI-powered academic paper discovery

Paper discovery; citation analysis; AI-generated TLDRs; literature search; bibliography building

Best for

ResearchersPhD studentsacademicsscientistsliterature reviewers

Quick facts

Free tier
Completely free; unlimited search; TLDR summaries; API access; citation data
Starting price
Free
Platforms
web, api
Company
Allen Institute for AI
Ready to try Semantic Scholar? Start with the getting-started guide.

Pricing

PlanPriceKey limits
FreeFreeAPI: 1 request/second default; authenticated: higher; web: unlimited

Key capabilities

Works with

  • Academic papers
  • citations
  • metadata

Outputs

  • Search results
  • BibTeX
  • citation data
  • API JSON

Get it

How to use Semantic Scholar on phones and tablets.

  • Mobile web: Works in a mobile browser (responsive or dedicated mobile site).

Technical details

Offline
No
API
Yes
Languages
Multilingual (academic papers in many languages)
Difficulty
Intermediate
Privacy
High
Time to productivity
5 min
Upgrade when
N/A (fully free); API rate limit increases for institutional use
Integrations
API, Zotero, Chrome extension, Research Rabbit
more

Connected Papers

Alternatives

SciSpace

by SciSpace (Typeset)

AI paper reading, literature review, and writing

FreemiumFree tier available with limits; paid plans unlock more.IntermediateWeb

Good for research

Free-plan details

limited paper reads; basic Q&A; limited highlights; Copilot queries

Meet the tool

Consensus

by Consensus

AI search engine for evidence-based scientific answers

FreemiumFree tier available with limits; paid plans unlock more.IntermediateWeb

Good for research

Free-plan details

unlimited searches; AI-synthesized answers; basic paper results

Meet the tool

Elicit

by Elicit (Ought)

AI research assistant for systematic literature review

Free planThe Basic plan is free for academic and industry users.IntermediateWeb

Good for research

Free-plan details

The Basic plan is free for academic and industry users.

Paid options: $11

Source · checked 2026-10-26 ↗Meet the tool

Connected Papers

by Connected Papers

Visual citation network graphs for paper discovery

FreemiumFree tier available with limits; paid plans unlock more.IntermediateWeb

Good for research

Free-plan details

5 graphs/month; visual citation exploration; basic features

Meet the tool

Related in Research & Academic Tools

Tutorials