Free trial
A 30 day free trial is offered through a dedicated signup page, and the homepage links to it as the way to try the platform before choosing a plan.
Learn morePapers
Literature management for researchers, with cited AI answers from 165M+ publications
Intermediate
What is Papers?
Papers is an academic research tool. ReadCube combines a PDF library, cited AI answers over a large publication index, recurring literature alerts and dual-reviewer screening for systematic reviews in one research platform.
ReadCube is a reference and literature management platform built for people whose work depends on reading scientific papers closely. At its center is a library that holds PDFs with full metadata, tags, custom fields and Smart Lists, so a collection that grows into the thousands of papers stays sortable. Searching draws on a large index of publications and patents, and every imported reference arrives with citations, supplemental data and full text rather than a bare title. The AI layer is aimed at scientific work specifically. A researcher can ask a plain-language question and get an answer assembled from their own library and from trusted databases, with each claim linked to the exact passage it came from. There is also chat over a single paper or across a whole library, including side by side comparison of up to 20 papers to expose patterns, gaps and contradictions. A search builder turns natural language into structured queries without hand-written Boolean strings. One detail that stands out is the AI Access Indicator, which marks per paper whether publisher terms allow AI use, a question that matters for anyone publishing results. Monitoring is the third piece. Saved searches can run on a recurring schedule, with daily, weekly or monthly email alerts, and AI reads each new result against the user's criteria to filter out weak matches. Shared libraries keep a group working from identical evidence. For formal reviews, the platform supports dual-reviewer abstract and full-text screening with automatic conflict flags, custom data extraction forms, AI Autofill that proposes answers linked to their source, and PRISMA flow diagrams with audit trails ready to export. The product is split into Essential for individual researchers, Plus for power users and small groups, and Enterprise for organizations running research at scale. Labs, university departments and industry research teams are the obvious audience; casual readers are better served by lighter reference managers.
How do you use Papers?
1Pick the plan that matches your workload
Compare Essential, Plus and Enterprise on the pricing page. Individuals building a personal library usually start with Essential, while groups needing shared libraries and review workflows look higher.
2Start the 30 day trial
Register for the trial from its own page so the full feature set can be tested against your actual reading load before any commitment.
3Import papers with full metadata
Bring in existing PDFs and references so citations, supplemental data and full text come along. Use tags, custom fields and Smart Lists to shape the library as it grows.4Search and set up alerts
Run a plain-language search across the publication and patent index, then save it as a recurring search. Choose daily, weekly or monthly email delivery and let AI filter each new result.5Ask a cited question
Pose a question in natural language and check the answer against the linked source passages. For deeper work, open a chat across several papers to compare findings.6Set up a review with PRISMA output
For a formal review, configure dual-reviewer screening, build the extraction form and confirm AI Autofill suggestions. Flow diagrams and audit trails then assemble for export.
Pros and cons
Pros
- AI answers link every claim back to the exact passage in the source, which makes verification realisticAI
- Compare up to 20 papers at once to spot patterns, gaps and contradictionsAI
- Natural language search replaces hand-built Boolean queriesAI
- PRISMA flow diagrams and audit trails build automatically for systematic reviewsAI
- Recurring searches with AI filtering limit alert noise to genuinely relevant papersAI
Cons
- No prices or plan limits are shown on the homepage, so cost has to be checked on the pricing pageAI
- AI answers are only as good as the licensed index and the user's own library, so coverage outside that pool is unclearAI
- The review workflow with dual reviewers and extraction forms is heavy setup for anyone not running a formal systematic reviewAI
- The per-paper AI access indicator highlights that some publisher terms restrict AI use, which can limit the assistant on parts of a libraryAI
- Feature tiers are split across Essential, Plus and Enterprise, and the homepage does not say which capabilities fall behind the higher tiersAI
How much does Papers cost?
Pricing
Three tiers are listed. Essential targets individual researchers building a library, Plus adds more shared libraries and more AI for power users and small groups, and Enterprise covers organizations with optional AI-powered literature review, unlimited scale and dedicated support. No prices are given on the homepage.
Learn moreSupport
Dedicated support is listed as part of the Enterprise tier. The homepage does not describe support arrangements for the Essential or Plus plans.
Integrations
Citation insertion works with Word and Google Docs, and the platform draws on the Dimensions research database for its indexed paper search.
Features
A scalable library with tags, custom fields and Smart Lists; PDF annotation with highlights, drawings, notes and sticky comments; search across a large publication and patent index; AI answers linked to source passages; chat over one paper or a whole library with comparison of up to 20 papers; per-paper AI access indicators; saved searches with recurring email alerts; shared libraries; dual-reviewer screening, custom extraction forms, AI Autofill and PRISMA reporting.
Learn moreFrequently asked questions about Papers
How much does Papers cost?
Three tiers are listed. Essential targets individual researchers building a library, Plus adds more shared libraries and more AI for power users and small groups, and Enterprise covers organizations with optional AI-powered literature review, unlimited scale and dedicated support. No prices are given on the homepage.Does Papers offer a free trial?
A 30 day free trial is offered through a dedicated signup page, and the homepage links to it as the way to try the platform before choosing a plan.How do you use Papers?
The walkthrough on this page covers 6 steps: 1. Pick the plan that matches your workload 2. Start the 30 day trial 3. Import papers with full metadata 4. Search and set up alerts 5. Ask a cited question 6. Set up a review with PRISMA output.What platforms does Papers support?
Papers is available on Web App.What does Papers integrate with?
Citation insertion works with Word and Google Docs, and the platform draws on the Dimensions research database for its indexed paper search.What are the limitations of Papers?
No prices or plan limits are shown on the homepage, so cost has to be checked on the pricing page. AI answers are only as good as the licensed index and the user's own library, so coverage outside that pool is unclear. The review workflow with dual reviewers and extraction forms is heavy setup for anyone not running a formal systematic review.
Status
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Added10/21/2026
Platforms
Web App
Pricing
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