Not satisfied with Paperpal for your research? You're not alone. Every day, thousands of students and researchers search for better ways to tackle their academic writing.
The good news? There are 6 Paperpal alternatives you can try today:
After spending days testing each of these tools, I can confidently say that the right alternative to Paperpal depends on your specific research needs.
In this post, I've put together everything you need to know to make an informed decision and find the perfect research assistant for your academic writing.
What Is Paperpal?
Paperpal is an AI writing assistant for academic documents that offers grammar checking, language suggestions, and manuscript editing. It works with Word and browsers, supporting multiple languages.
What I liked about Paperpal:
Paperpal Student Access: Paperpal offers discounts for students with their school email.
Free Trial: The platform provides 5 uses of AI features daily for new users to explore capabilities.
AI Writing Quality: Text writer produces natural-sounding academic content.
What I didn't like:
Context Awareness: AI assistant struggles to understand what you're writing about without explicitly referencing.
Citations Management: Adding and managing references is difficult compared to other AI research tools.
Missing AI Autocomplete : Can't use AI to finish your sentences as you write.
As you can see, Paperpal is not perfect. And that's the reason I spent my time testing similar alternatives.
Best Paperpal Alternatives
1. Jenni AI
3.6 out of 5
Starts at 30$/month
AI writing assistant that offers autocomplete, citation management, paraphrasing, and PDF analysis features for academic writing. It supports multiple languages and provides both free and paid subscription options.
Here's what I liked about Jenni AI:
Free Trial: Access to all AI features without paying a dime.
AI Writing: The quality of AI writing assistance outperforms all the competitors.
Version Control: Built-in history tracking ensures all changes are automatically saved.
Here's what I didn't like:
Costly Plan: Substantial subscription cost compared to alternatives unless you commit for a full year.
Missing Features: Lacks basic features like grammar check and plagiarism detection.
Jenni AI is good choice if you:
Are a Graduate Student: Students can leverage the student discount while getting AI assistance for academic writing and automatic citation management.
Are an Academic Writer: The combination of outline generation and AI writing assistance streamlines the academic writing workflow.
Are a Research Supervisor: The research paper integration feature allows quick summarization of multiple papers, making it easier to review students' work.
Work Across Multiple Languages: Despite AI features being limited to English, the tool maintains an academic tone when generating content in multiple languages.
Race against deadlines: Instant paper summarization and quick outline generation features save crucial time during tight deadlines.
2. Yomu AI
3.6 out of 5
Starts at 9$/month
Yomu AI streamlines academic writing with AI-powered drafting, editing, and citation tools. It helps students and researchers write papers, manage references, and check for plagiarism.
Here's what I liked about Yomu AI:
Parity Deals: Yomu uses parity pricing which means you get a discount based on the country you live in.
AI Autocomplete: AI writing assistant maintains your writing style while helping you write faster.
Smart Citations: The automatic citation tool saves time by handling all your references instantly.
Customizable AI Models: Yomu lets you pick your preferred AI model for writing.
Here's what I didn't like:
UI Learning Curve: User interface takes time to understand and use effectively, especially with all AI features.
Limited Free Access: All AI features require a paid subscription with no free trial option.
Premium Model Accessibility: Most powerful AI models only available in the highest-priced plan.
Yomu AI is good choice if you:
Are a Graduate Student: Students can leverage the student discount while getting AI assistance for academic writing and automatic citation management.
Are an Academic Writer: The combination of outline generation and AI writing assistance streamlines the academic writing workflow.
Are a Research Supervisor: The research paper integration feature allows quick summarization of multiple papers, making it easier to review students' work.
Work Across Multiple Languages: Despite AI features being limited to English, the tool maintains an academic tone when generating content in multiple languages.
Race against deadlines: Instant paper summarization and quick outline generation features save crucial time during tight deadlines.
3. SciSpace
3.1 out of 5
Starts at 20$/month
A research platform that uses AI to help academics search through 270M+ papers, understand complex research, generate citations, and analyze PDFs with AI assistance.
Here's what I liked about SciSpace:
It's Free: You can try all AI features without paying a cent.
AI Detector: Built-in AI detection system accepts both PDF uploads and direct text input.
Literature Review Toolkit: Easy to analyze large volumes of scientific literature, summarize key findings, and provide helpful insights.
Here's what I didn't like:
Export Restriction: Can't export your document unless you pay for a subscription.
Complex Interface: A cluttered user interface makes it hard to use.
Poor AI Writing: AI writes low-quality robotic text that doesn't meet research standards.
SciSpace is good choice if you:
Are a Graduate Student: Students can leverage the student discount while getting AI assistance for academic writing and automatic citation management.
Are an Academic Writer: The combination of outline generation and AI writing assistance streamlines the academic writing workflow.
Are a Research Supervisor: The research paper integration feature allows quick summarization of multiple papers, making it easier to review students' work.
Work Across Multiple Languages: Despite AI features being limited to English, the tool maintains an academic tone when generating content in multiple languages.
Race against deadlines: Instant paper summarization and quick outline generation features save crucial time during tight deadlines.
4. Aithor
2.9 out of 5
Starts at 24.99$/month
Aithor.com helps you create content faster with AI tools for generating topics, structuring content, refining language, and adding citations.
Here's what I liked about Aithor:
Fast Paper Generation: A fully cited paper was created in just one minute by selecting a topic.
No-Commitment Trial: The tool can be tested without creating an account first.
Intuitive Interface: The user interface design is straightforward and easy to navigate.
Here's what I didn't like:
Limited Language Support: Poor multi-language capabilities make the tool only suitable for English content.
Missing Value Features: Lacks expected features like grammar checking or plagiarism detection for its price point.
Unfulfilled Promises: Failed to deliver on the promised two-week free trial after survey submission.
Aithor is good choice if you:
Are a Graduate Student: Students can leverage the student discount while getting AI assistance for academic writing and automatic citation management.
Are an Academic Writer: The combination of outline generation and AI writing assistance streamlines the academic writing workflow.
Are a Research Supervisor: The research paper integration feature allows quick summarization of multiple papers, making it easier to review students' work.
Work Across Multiple Languages: Despite AI features being limited to English, the tool maintains an academic tone when generating content in multiple languages.
Race against deadlines: Instant paper summarization and quick outline generation features save crucial time during tight deadlines.
5. Unriddle
2.8 out of 5
Starts at 20$/month
A document management platform that helps analyze research materials through AI assistance. Users can upload documents, ask questions about their content, write with AI guidance, and collaborate with team members.
Here's what I liked about Unriddle:
User Interface: Clean, Notion-inspired design creates a distraction-free writing environment.
File Import Flexibility: Document import supports diverse content types including videos, audio, and websites alongside traditional documents.
Team Collaboration: Built-in collaboration features enable seamless teamwork through a dedicated team plan structure.
Here's what I didn't like:
Missing Features: Lacks many features you'll find in similar writing assistants.
Limited Free Use: The free version runs out quickly, forcing you to pay before fully testing.
Unriddle is good choice if you:
Are a Graduate Student: Students can leverage the student discount while getting AI assistance for academic writing and automatic citation management.
Are an Academic Writer: The combination of outline generation and AI writing assistance streamlines the academic writing workflow.
Are a Research Supervisor: The research paper integration feature allows quick summarization of multiple papers, making it easier to review students' work.
Work Across Multiple Languages: Despite AI features being limited to English, the tool maintains an academic tone when generating content in multiple languages.
Race against deadlines: Instant paper summarization and quick outline generation features save crucial time during tight deadlines.
6. Writefull
1.9 out of 5
Starts at 7.21$/month
Writefull X offers AI-powered academic writing tools including title generation, abstract creation, paraphrasing, and style formalization, available as standalone features or integrated with Word and Overleaf.
Here's what I liked about Writefull:
Cost-Effective Solution: Writefull offers affordable pricing compared to other AI research tools in the market.
Academic Discounts: Students can access special discounts by referring the tool to their educational institutions.
Here's what I didn't like:
Limited Interface: The tool lacks a standalone interface, requiring integration with either Word or Overleaf, with no Google Docs support.
Missing Features: Significantly fewer features than competitors, with only basic paraphrasing tools available.
Inconsistent Features: Grammar and style-checking features work differently in Word and Overleaf integration.
Writefull is good choice if you:
Are a Graduate Student: Students can leverage the student discount while getting AI assistance for academic writing and automatic citation management.
Are an Academic Writer: The combination of outline generation and AI writing assistance streamlines the academic writing workflow.
Are a Research Supervisor: The research paper integration feature allows quick summarization of multiple papers, making it easier to review students' work.
Work Across Multiple Languages: Despite AI features being limited to English, the tool maintains an academic tone when generating content in multiple languages.
Race against deadlines: Instant paper summarization and quick outline generation features save crucial time during tight deadlines.