Semantic Scholar vs Connected Papers
Side-by-side comparison of AI Research tools
Semantic Scholar
Free AI academic search with 200M+ papers, TLDR summaries, and citation graphs.
Visit Semantic Scholar →Connected Papers
Visual graph explorer that maps related papers based on similarity, not just citations.
Visit Connected Papers →Key Features
- 200M+ paper database
- TLDR summaries
- Citation graphs
- Key figure extraction
- Author profiles
- API access
- Visual paper graphs
- Similarity-based connections
- Prior work view
- Derivative work view
- Export to reference managers
Pricing
free
Completely free. API access available for developers.
freemium
Free tier allows 5 graphs per month. Pro plan at $3/month for unlimited graphs.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Completely free
- Massive database
- AI-generated TLDR summaries
- Great API for developers
Cons
- Academic papers only
- Less polished UI
- TLDR can oversimplify complex topics
Pros
- Unique visual approach
- Discovers non-obvious connections
- Intuitive interface
- Free tier available
Cons
- Limited free graphs per month
- Only works with indexed papers
- Graphs can be overwhelming for broad topics