Papers Pro
AI-enhanced academic research and literature management tool.. [Free Trial]
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What is Papers Pro?
Papers Pro 3 is an advanced reference management software designed to help students, academics, and researchers find, organize, read, cite, and share scholarly research. The tool combines traditional reference management with cutting-edge AI capabilities, allowing users to chat with PDFs, ask questions across their entire library, and discover new research through a database of over 150 million publications powered by Dimensions.
Key features include AI-powered analysis with Chat with PDF functionality, cross-device syncing across Mac/PC desktop, browser, and mobile (iOS/Android), shared libraries for team collaboration (up to 25 users), SmartCite for generating bibliographies in over 10,000 citation styles, browser extensions for one-click importing, metadata matching, collection management, and the ability to store multiple file types including images, Word documents, and data files. The AI Assistant helps summarize articles, translate content, explain complex terminology, and identify research gaps.
Papers Pro is ideal for students needing core reference management, academic professionals working on multiple research projects, and research teams collaborating on manuscripts. The software is trusted by millions of users across thousands of academic institutions worldwide and supports importing from existing reference managers like EndNote, Zotero, and Mendeley.
Papers Pro pricing
Pricing model: Freemium
Papers offers three plans: Essentials at $7/month or $65/year ($5.42/mo), Pro at $14/user/month or $130/user/year ($10.83/mo), and Enterprise with custom pricing. All rates are billed in USD. Academics with a valid educational email receive 40% off both Essentials and Pro plans. Essentials includes AI Chat with PDF (daily limits apply), unlimited PDF storage and annotation, cross-device sync, importing from other reference managers, browser extension with SmartCite, 5 shared libraries, and recommendations. Pro includes everything in Essentials plus up to 25 users per group, mixed-media file storage, 15 shared libraries, 2 custom fields per shared library, transferable team seats, advanced search through Dimensions with 150M+ publications, saved searches, extended Chat with PDF limits, and Chat with Library (ask questions of up to 20 articles). Enterprise adds unlimited users, unlimited shared libraries, SSO, document delivery, dedicated support/training/onboarding, admin dashboard, and AI-powered Literature Review add-on. All users get a 30-day free trial of Pro with no credit card required.
Papers Pro pros
- AI-powered Chat with PDF for asking questions about articles
- Chat with Library feature to analyze up to 20 articles at once
- Access to 150+ million publications through Dimensions database
- AI-assisted query builder converts natural language to complex searches
- Cross-device sync across web, desktop (Mac/PC), and mobile (iOS/Android)
- Over 10,000 citation styles with SmartCite for Word and Google Docs
- Shared libraries for team collaboration up to 25 users
- 15 shared libraries in Pro plan for collaborative projects
- Easy importing from EndNote, Zotero, Mendeley, and Papers 3
- Browser extension for one-click PDF importing from PubMed, Google Scholar
- Store multiple file types including images, Word docs, PowerPoint, data files
- 40% academic discount with valid educational email
- 30-day free trial with no credit card required
- AI privacy protection - prompts not used to train LLM
- Metadata matching automatically links article information and supplements
- Save searches to track newly published papers in your interests
- Custom metadata fields (2 per shared library) for organization
- Offline access by downloading articles for reading without internet
- Clickable inline citations and linked supplements in PDF viewer
- Transferable team seats that can be reassigned as team evolves
Papers Pro cons
- AI Assistant only available in web version, not desktop app
- Essentials plan has daily query limits for AI features
- Chat with Library (Pro) responds only in English despite multi-language queries
- Requires active internet connection for syncing features
- AI Assistant may occasionally hallucinate or misinterpret context
- AI Assistant cannot analyze papers not already in your library
- AI Assistant not designed for writing articles, only answering questions
- Pricing may be high for individual users without academic discount
- Custom fields limited to maximum 2 per shared library
- Free tier not available - only 30-day trial before paid subscription
Frequently asked questions about Papers Pro
What does the AI Assistant do in Papers Pro?
The AI Assistant is designed to make research easier by providing real-time, in-depth analysis, summarization, and contextual understanding of scholarly articles. You can 'chat with a PDF' to ask questions about individual articles and receive contextual answers based on the full text. The Library Assistant (Pro feature) lets you ask questions across up to 20 articles at once to identify patterns, gaps, and insights. The AI also summarizes articles in simple terms, translates content, explains complex academic jargon, and identifies research gaps.
Does Papers AI support multiple languages?
Yes, the Papers AI Assistant (Chat with PDF) supports other languages - you can speak to the Assistant in a language other than English and it will generally respond in that language. However, the Library Assistant (Chat with Library - Pro feature) supports queries in any language but will only respond in English. This may change with future updates and improvements to the tool.
How is my privacy protected with the AI features?
Papers has designed the AI Assistant with privacy and security top of mind. When you use the AI Assistant, none of your prompts or the returned answers are sent back to the large language model (LLM) to train the AI. This ensures all your information and privacy remains secure, giving you peace of mind when analyzing your research materials.
Can I revert to the previous version of Papers?
Yes, you can toggle back and forth between the new and classic version of Papers. Navigate to your user profile on the bottom left of the app and click 'revert to previous version.' You can also revert back to the latest version by going to Settings in the app or clicking the banner at the top of the app window.
Where can I access the new Papers user interface?
The latest version of Papers is available exclusively on the web application at app.readcube.com in your browser of choice. All product screenshots and videos have been updated to reflect the new user interface.
Can I upgrade from Essentials to Pro later?
Absolutely! You can upgrade from Essentials to Pro at any time. You can also trial Pro free for 30 days before deciding. All users are entitled to a free 30-day trial of Papers Pro, even if they've used a free trial in the past.
What academic discount is available?
Papers offers a 40% off discount for all academics with a valid educational email address. This discount applies to both Papers Essentials and Papers Pro plans. The discount is applied at checkout, and academic email or ID is required for verification.
Can the AI Assistant analyze papers not in my library?
No, the AI Assistant utilizes the full text of PDFs stored in your own Papers library. If you do not have a copy of the PDF in your library, the AI Assistant would not have access to the text for analysis. You must first add the paper to your library for the AI to analyze it.
What are the differences between Essentials and Pro plans?
Essentials is ideal for students and academic professionals needing core reference management plus AI, with daily limits on AI questions, 5 shared libraries, and basic search. Pro is for academic power users collaborating across multiple projects and includes everything in Essentials plus: up to 25 users per group, mixed-media file storage, 15 shared libraries, 2 custom fields per shared library, transferable team seats, access to 150M+ publications through Dimensions, saved searches, extended Chat with PDF limits, and Chat with Library (ask questions of up to 20 articles simultaneously).
Can Papers write articles for me?
No, the AI Assistant was not designed to write articles. Instead, it helps answer questions within existing articles in your library. The tool focuses on enhancing research efficiency by providing analysis, summarization, and contextual understanding of scholarly articles you already have, accelerating how you interact with complex academic content rather than generating new content.