Papers
Last verified: September 2026PaidReference and PDF reading app by ReadCube with best-in-class annotations, AI chat, and smart citations
What is Papers?
Papers is one of the longest-running reference managers aimed specifically at academic readers. It started as a Mac-first PDF reader and reference manager, was acquired by ReadCube in 2016, and today ships as 'Papers by ReadCube', the same product under two brand names. What sets Papers apart from rivals like Zotero and Mendeley is its focus on the reading and annotation experience: the PDF reader is widely considered best-in-class, Apple Pencil support on iPad is excellent, and the SmartCite plugin for Word and Google Docs makes citation insertion painless, with SmartCite for Citekeys covering BibTeX workflows in LaTeX and Markdown. Papers also ships a native AI assistant that chats with single PDFs or with a library of up to 20 articles at once, this brings it into direct competition with tools like Humata and ChatPDF, but with the crucial advantage that chat happens inside your actual library rather than requiring you to upload papers to a separate service. One important change since our last check: the Papers brand has been consolidated into ReadCube's site. As of August 2026 papersapp.com redirects to about.readcube.com, and the tier previously sold as Papers Pro is now listed as Plus. Pricing is $10/month ($95/year) for Essentials and $20/user/month ($185/user/year) for Plus, with a 40% academic discount that drops Essentials to roughly $6/month. Two larger tiers, Team and Enterprise, are quoted on request. Papers offers a 30-day free trial of Plus with no credit card. For academics who value a polished reading experience, Apple Pencil annotation, and a clean writing workflow, Papers is often a better fit than free alternatives once you factor in the time saved on formatting and metadata cleanup.
Papers App demo video
Watch ReadCube's official demo to see Papers App in action before reading our full review.
Official video by ReadCube via YouTube, embedded for reference. ToolChase does not host or claim this video.
⚡ Quick Verdict
Academics who read heavily on iPad and want polished annotations plus native AI chat
Cost-conscious students with small libraries who are fine with free Zotero or Mendeley
Essentials $10/mo · Plus $20/user/mo · 40% academic discount
No, 30-day free trial of Plus
Best-in-class PDF reader with Apple Pencil support and SmartCite writing workflow
No permanent free tier, must subscribe after trial
Bottom line: Papers scores 4.3/5, The best reading experience in the category, especially for iPad users. Claim the academic discount and Essentials is effectively $6/month.
Pricing
Essentials, $10/month or $95/year: Listed by ReadCube as "formerly Papers Essentials". One seat, unlimited PDF storage and archiving, PDF reader with annotations, SmartCite for Word and Google Docs, browser extension, import from EndNote, Zotero and Mendeley, and AI chat with a PDF at 5 chats per day. Up to 5 shared libraries with other Papers users.
Plus, $20/user/month or $185/user/year: Listed as "formerly Papers Pro" and marked Most Popular. Everything in Essentials plus up to 10 users per group, unlimited shared libraries, storage for supplemental file types, transferable seats, advanced search and discovery across Dimensions, saved searches, AI chat with a PDF at 20 chats per day, and chat with a library of up to 20 articles at a time (1 per day).
Team and Enterprise, priced on request: Team, "formerly ReadCube", raises the group cap to 25 users and adds advanced library permissions plus optional document delivery. Enterprise, "formerly ReadCube Pro", removes the user limit and adds SSO, an admin dashboard, custom branding, the Research Assistant, and optional systematic literature review. Neither publishes a price.
Academic Discount, 40% off: Students and faculty with a valid academic email or ID get 40% off. Essentials becomes $6/month and Plus becomes $12/user/month. The discount is applied at checkout once your academic status is verified.
Free Trial: 30 days of Papers Plus with no credit card required. One caveat worth knowing: ReadCube states the AI Assistant is currently available only in the web version of Papers.
Key Features
- Best-in-class PDF reader with annotations, highlights, and sticky notes
- Full Apple Pencil support on iPad for handwritten notes
- Native AI chat with single PDFs and with a library of up to 20 articles (Plus)
- SmartCite writing plugin for Word and Google Docs, plus BibTeX citekeys for LaTeX
- Automatic metadata enrichment and 'match' lookups for random PDFs
- Cross-device sync across Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, web
- 5 shared libraries on Essentials, unlimited shared libraries and up to 10 users per group on Plus
- 40% academic discount for students and faculty
- Full library export via RIS, BibTeX, or EndNote XML
Pros & Cons
Pros
- PDF reader is the best in the reference-manager category
- Apple Pencil support makes iPad reading and annotating a pleasure
- SmartCite writing plugin works smoothly with Word and Google Docs
- 40% academic discount makes it competitive with Zotero storage costs
Cons
- No permanent free tier, ongoing subscription required
- AI features are cloud-based, so PDFs leave your device
- Smaller plugin ecosystem than open-source Zotero
FAQ
Is Papers the same as ReadCube?
Yes, Papers and ReadCube are the same product. ReadCube acquired the Papers brand in 2016 and now markets the combined service as 'Papers by ReadCube.' Pricing, features, apps, and support are identical, and the two brands have now merged in practice: as of August 2026 papersapp.com redirects to about.readcube.com, where the plans are labeled 'formerly Papers Essentials' and 'formerly Papers Pro'. We cover both because each brand still has its own distinct audience, ReadCube tends to attract corporate R&D users while Papers has more academic users from its original Mac-focused history.
What are Papers' strongest features for academics?
Papers excels at PDF reading and annotation, the reader is widely considered best-in-class, with smooth highlighting, sticky notes, and search. For academics specifically, the Word/Google Docs citation plugins, the 40% academic discount, and SmartCite for inserting references while writing make it a strong fit. It also handles 'match' lookups, drag in a random PDF and Papers finds and fills in the correct metadata automatically.
Does Papers have an AI assistant?
Yes. The tier once sold as Papers Pro is now called Plus, and it includes an AI assistant that chats with a single PDF (20 chats per day) and with a library of up to 20 articles at a time (1 per day). Papers Essentials includes chat with a single PDF at 5 chats per day. Chat runs against your own library rather than a separate upload service like ChatPDF or Humata, though ReadCube notes the AI Assistant is currently available only in the web version of Papers, not in the desktop or mobile apps.
How much is Papers with the academic discount?
With the 40% academic discount, Papers Essentials drops to approximately $6/month or $57/year, and Papers Plus (the tier formerly named Papers Pro) drops to $12/user/month or $111/user/year. You need a valid academic email or ID, and the discount is applied at checkout. This brings Papers close to the effective cost of Zotero's unlimited storage tier ($120/year), while giving you a more polished product with native AI.
Can I use Papers on my iPad?
Yes. Papers has dedicated apps for iOS and iPadOS with full support for reading, highlighting, and annotating PDFs with Apple Pencil. Your library syncs in real time with the desktop and web apps. Many researchers prefer the iPad experience for reading long papers on the couch or in meetings, then switching to Mac or Windows for citation insertion during writing.
Does Papers integrate with EndNote?
Papers supports importing from EndNote via RIS and BibTeX files, but there's no live sync between the two. If you're migrating from EndNote, you'd export your library as RIS, then drag it into Papers. Papers keeps metadata, tags, and collections intact during import. Many users report cleaner metadata post-import thanks to Papers' automatic metadata enrichment.
Is Papers better than Mendeley?
Papers has a more modern interface, stronger PDF reading experience, and built-in AI chat. Mendeley is free (with limited storage) and deeply integrated with Elsevier's Scopus and ScienceDirect. If you value polish, iPad support, and AI features, Papers wins. If you prefer free, accept Elsevier ownership, and need tight ScienceDirect integration, Mendeley is still fine. Both support Word and Google Docs.
Can I cancel Papers anytime?
Yes. Papers subscriptions can be cancelled at any time from your account settings. If you cancel, you retain read-only access to your library and can export everything via RIS or BibTeX to another reference manager. Papers doesn't lock you in, your data is yours, which is an important difference from some older research SaaS products.
📋 Good to know
Start a 30-day Plus trial from about.readcube.com (papersapp.com now redirects there), install the desktop app and SmartCite plugin, then import your Zotero/Mendeley/EndNote library.
Cloud-hosted with encrypted sync. AI features route PDFs through ReadCube's servers to cloud LLMs. Not suitable for highly classified research.
Essentials is enough for most individuals and is capped at a single seat. Plus is for heavy AI users and lab leads who need more than 5 shared libraries or up to 10 people in a group.
Low. If you've used any reference manager before, Papers is intuitive within an hour.
