Perplexity vs scite

Perplexity (AI answer engine with cited web research.) and scite (AI research assistant with Smart Citations over 300M+ scholarly articles.) compared side by side: plans and prices, vendor-stated features, platforms and sign-in, with the date each fact was checked. Matches based on official product information.

Based on official vendor pages, linked below
Perplexity pricing checked: 2026-10-30
scite pricing checked: 2026-10-31

At a glance

Perplexity

Perplexity AI

AI research tools

What it does: AI answer engine with cited web research.
Strong at: Strong fit for research questions where cited, browsable sources matter more than conversation.
Free plan: Yes - mixed free access
Paid plans from: Not stated

Pricing checked 2026-10-30 · Full Perplexity record · Official site

scite

AI research tools

What it does: AI research assistant with Smart Citations over 300M+ scholarly articles.
Strong at: Strong fit for literature reviews and checking how scholarly articles are cited, using Smart Citations over 300M+ articles.
Free plan: No free plan
Paid plans from: US$20 / month

Pricing checked 2026-10-31 · Full scite record · Official site

Plans & pricing

Perplexity plans & pricing

Checked 2026-10-30. · Vendor pricing page Confirm prices and terms with the vendor before buying.

Pro

$17/month

$17/month when billed annually

Max

$167/month

$167/month when billed annually

scite plans & pricing

Checked 2026-10-31. · Vendor pricing page Confirm prices and terms with the vendor before buying.

Basic

$20/month, or $12/month billed yearly ($144)

Full Assistant and Search access; 250 MCP credits/month; Smart Citation reports; collections up to 1,000 papers.

Pro

$50/month, or $40/month billed yearly ($480)

API access with $60 API credit (limited time per vendor); 2,500 MCP credits/month; collections up to 10,000 papers; patent, clinical trial and grant datasets.

Enterprise

Custom

Unlimited users with pooled usage; SSO/IP/domain access; regulatory and safety datasets.

Side-by-side facts

	Perplexity	scite
Free plan	Yes - mixed free access	No free plan
Paid plans from	Not stated	US$20 / month
Sign-in	Optional for some features. Sign in for uploads, Pro Search and saved sessions.	Not stated

What each tool says it does

Perplexity - vendor-stated features

Deep research
Model choice
Documents & apps

Worth knowing before you choose

Perplexity - worth knowing

Paid figures shown here are annual-billed equivalents.
Free basic searches are practically unlimited. Pro Searches have a renewable daily allowance (3/day), and Research has a renewable monthly allowance (1/month).
Advanced models are excluded from the Free plan. API credits are billed separately.
The mobile apps are distinct from the Comet browser product.

scite - worth knowing

Pricing page.
Student/academic discount available by email per FAQ.
Enterprise custom.
API: key required (Pro, API Console) EXCEPT public Papers and Tallies endpoints - public endpoints do not mean the core product is free/anonymous.
Browser extension exists; which browsers are supported is not stated on the extension page.
Identity: 'AI for Research - Ask a question, get answers grounded in the scientific literature' (scite.ai homepage, 2026-10-27); 300M+ scholarly sources per vendor copy.

Common questions

Is Perplexity or scite free to use?

Perplexity: Yes - mixed free access (checked 2026-10-30). scite: No free plan (checked 2026-10-31).

Which is better, Perplexity or scite?

It depends on the job. Perplexity: Strong fit for research questions where cited, browsable sources matter more than conversation. scite: Strong fit for literature reviews and checking how scholarly articles are cited, using Smart Citations over 300M+ articles. The feature and pricing tables above show where they differ.

Where do these facts come from?

Every fact on this page is read from the vendors' own product and pricing pages, with the checked date shown beside it. Links to both official pages are at the top of each column.

Keep comparing

This comparison is not a recommendation: it sets out what each vendor states on its own pages, with the dates those pages were checked. Prices and features change - confirm with the vendor before buying.