Standout features
scite is the only major tool that classifies citation polarity — telling you whether later papers support, contrast or merely mention a given claim, across 1.6B+ Smart Citations.
Worldwide search interest, indexed 0–100 · Google Trends.
scite does something no other tool does well: tell you what the citing literature actually says about a paper.
- Citation polarity: support, contrast or mention.
- Surfaces retractions and editorial notices.
- Sentence-level citation context.
Deep learning over millions of full-text articles powers the classification.
- Labels relationships with surrounding context and section.
- The assistant cites real, verified sources.
- Unique on polarity — discovery tools do not do this.
A feature-limited free tier exists; full features need a subscription.
- Free tier to try Smart Citations.
- Personal paid subscription for full access.
- Institutional licensing, often a fraction of legacy databases.
scite fits evidence verification and citation context.
- Researchers vetting whether claims hold up.
- Librarians and publishers checking citation quality.
- Writers verifying references before submission.
- You mainly need discovery — pair with Semantic Scholar.
- You want structured extraction — use Elicit.
It complements rather than replaces discovery tools.
- Not a discovery or visualisation engine.
- Full features sit behind paid plans.
- Coverage depends on indexed full text.
- Best used alongside a search tool.
- ✓Unique citation-polarity labels
- ✓1.6B+ Smart Citations
- ✓Surfaces retractions/notices
- ✓Verified-citation AI assistant
- ✓Browser extensions and dashboards
- ✕Not a discovery engine
- ✕Full features are paid
- ✕Coverage tied to full-text index
- ✕Best paired with a search tool
Active researchers call scite indispensable for understanding how a paper has been received, since no other tool labels support versus contrast. The consensus is to use it alongside a discovery engine rather than in place of one.
scite is an AI platform built around Smart Citations, which classify whether citing papers support, contrast or mention a claim. Now part of Research Solutions, it has indexed 1.6B+ citations, partners with 30+ publishers, surfaces retractions and offers an AI assistant and browser extensions.
Company figures are drawn from public disclosures and reputable trackers (gathered Jun 2026). User and revenue numbers are estimates and move fast.
Pick up to two other coding tools to see them head-to-head on the same rubric.