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Scite

An AI platform that shows how a paper has actually been cited by later research — supporting, contrasting, or merely mentioning a claim — to judge evidence beyond citation counts.

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What it does

Scite analyzes how scientific papers have been cited by later research and classifies each citation as supporting, contrasting, or simply mentioning the original claim — giving researchers a more meaningful signal than a raw citation count. Its browser extension overlays this Smart Citation data directly on Google Scholar, PubMed, and journal pages, and its Reference Check feature audits a manuscript’s citations for retractions before submission, making it a strong complement to literature-discovery tools like Consensus or Elicit.

Ideal users

  • Academic researchers and PhD students verifying claims before citing them
  • Journal editors and peer reviewers checking a manuscript's citation integrity
  • Institutions wanting citation and author-level analytics
  • Fact-checkers or writers verifying scientific claims made in other sources

Who should avoid it

  • You need general web search or literature discovery from scratch — pair it with a discovery tool instead of using it alone for first-pass search
  • You're a casual user unwilling to pay — the free tier is quite limited
  • You need document synthesis or writing support rather than citation verification

Key features

  • Smart Citations that classify 1.6B+ citation statements as Supporting, Contrasting, or Mentioning
  • AI Research Assistant that generates evidence-backed answers with citations
  • Browser extension that overlays Smart Citation data on Google Scholar, PubMed, and journal websites
  • Reference Check that audits a manuscript's citations for retractions before submission
  • Custom dashboards for journal-, author-, and institution-level citation analytics
  • An index of 280M+ articles, preprints, books, patents, and datasets

Pros

  • Goes beyond raw citation counts to show whether later research actually supports or contradicts a paper's claims
  • Browser extension makes it easy to check citation context while reading elsewhere
  • Reference Check is a genuinely useful pre-submission manuscript audit
  • Large citation-statement database with real publisher partnerships

Cons

  • Free tier is quite restrictive — limited daily searches and no access to full citation-statement text
  • Best used alongside a discovery tool like Consensus or Elicit rather than as a standalone literature-search engine
  • Institutional or enterprise pricing can be significant for organization-wide access
  • Citation classifications are automated and should be spot-checked for high-stakes claims

Pricing

Free — $20/month (Individual; ~$12/month billed annually)

Team is $30/user/month; Enterprise and institutional pricing is custom, typically $5,000–$25,000/year depending on organization size.

Typical workflows

  • A researcher drafting a paper checks whether a key claim they're about to cite has actually been supported or contradicted by later studies, using Smart Citations instead of relying on raw citation counts.
  • Before submission, an author runs Reference Check to confirm none of their cited papers carry retraction or correction notices.

Integrations

  • Chrome, Firefox, and Safari browser extensions
  • Overlays on Google Scholar, PubMed, and journal websites
  • Publisher partnerships (30+)

Privacy & security notes

Citation classifications are generated algorithmically from the citing text's context — treat them as a strong signal, not a definitive verdict, and read the actual citing passage for claims that matter in a publication or clinical decision.

Frequently asked questions

How is Scite different from a citation count?

Instead of just counting how many times a paper was cited, Scite classifies each citation as Supporting, Contrasting, or Mentioning the original claim, and shows the actual citing text.

Can Scite help me find new papers on a topic?

It's better used for verifying and contextualizing citations you already have than for first-pass literature discovery — pair it with Consensus or Elicit for initial search.

What is Reference Check?

A feature that audits a manuscript's cited papers for retractions or editorial notices before submission, helping avoid citing compromised research.

Is the free plan usable?

Only for very light use — it caps daily searches and doesn't show full citation-statement text, which is the tool's main value; most serious users need Individual or Team.

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