Paperguide
Ask it a question, and the answer comes with the exact page it came from.
By Thiago Lourenço Martins
An intern who already read everything before you opened the PDF
Paperguide is an AI research platform: you ask a question, and it searches a database of more than 200 million scientific papers — or just your own files — to give you an answer with the exact sentence and page it came from. If it can't find support, it says so instead of making something up. That's the difference from a generic chat: here, every answer comes with proof attached.
The wrong citation that can cost you in a legal opinion
Asking a generic AI to summarize a case file, a report, or a paper is fast — until it cites a source that doesn't exist. Lawyer, doctor, professor: nobody wants to sign off on a made-up fact.
Paperguide hands back the exact sentence, with the page, that each claim came from — clickable, so you can verify it before you sign off. A case study published by the company itself talks about 10 hours saved per brief for one research team. Your case might save much less — but the principle stays the same: proof instead of promises.
From a PDF stuck in your inbox to an answer with a cited page
- Create a free account
Go to paperguide.ai and click "Sign Up" (or "Start for free"). You can sign up with email and password, or "Sign in with Google" — no card required.
- Open "Chat with PDF"
Pick it from the sidebar of your dashboard — it's where you talk directly to one of your own documents.
- Add your file
Three ways: drag and drop a PDF from your device, paste a link, DOI, or arXiv ID, or pull one from your Reference Manager.
the Free plan allows up to 5 PDFs per session - Wait for indexing to finish
Each file shows a progress bar. Chat unlocks once the full text has been processed — not just the first page.
- Ask your first question
In plain language: "Give me a structured summary of this document" or "What are the main claims and where are they supported?"
- Check the citation
Every answer comes with a page number. Click it and the built-in PDF viewer jumps straight to that passage.
- Compare more than one file
With several PDFs in the same session, type @ and pick one: "How does @Document A differ from @Document B in its methods?"
A ready-made prompt to drop into the chat
Give me a structured summary of this document with the main claims and conclusions, indicating the exact page for each one. Then list the 3 weakest points — the ones an opposing position would question first.
You get a summary with the cited page on every line, plus a list of weak points to review before you sign off.
Who already keeps Paperguide open in a pinned tab
Before citing an article or doctrinal opinion in a filing, uploads the PDF and asks for the weakest points in the argument — gets the exact page to double-check before signing off.
Pastes the thesis topic into AI Search and gets a synthesized answer with the 20 most relevant papers, ready to read.
Uploads three similar technical reports and asks Paperguide to compare each one's methods side by side, with the source marked.
Tips & common mistakes
Do this
- Use @ to point to a specific PDF when you have more than one in the same session — the answer gets much more precise.
- Click every citation: it jumps to the exact passage in the built-in PDF viewer, so you can verify before trusting it.
- Ask specifically ("show me only the limitations from section 4") instead of "summarize this" — the answer comes out far more useful.
Avoid
- Counting on Brazilian case law or legislation in the search — the database is PubMed, arXiv, OpenAlex and Semantic Scholar, built for scientific papers, not court rulings.
- Filling a session with the maximum PDFs the Free plan allows — for deeper comparisons, the company itself recommends around 10 files, which already requires a paid plan.
- Expecting a Portuguese interface. Today Paperguide only works in English; you can ask in Portuguese in the chat, but the product itself stays in English.
From free to a full lab plan, in dollars
Yes, it's free — but with limits built for testing, not for heavy daily use. Paid plans bill in dollars and per seat, aimed more at a research team with project funding than a solo Brazilian professional.
$0 — 1,000 AI credits/month, 20 AI searches/month, 500MB storage, Chat with PDF for up to 5 files. No card.
$17/month per seat, billed annually ($204/year) — 12,500 credits, unlimited searches, systematic reviews up to 1,000 papers.
$39/month per seat, billed annually ($468/year) — 50,000 credits, reviews up to 5,000 papers, image and table extraction.
$119/month per seat, billed annually ($1,428/year) — 150,000 credits, PRISMA-grade dual reviewer screening, dedicated support.
Important detail: there's also an Enterprise plan, by request. Official figures from the pricing page as of July 2026 — the site already shows the price with the annual-billing discount; check the checkout if you'd rather pay month to month.
Our take on Paperguide
rating 4.1 of 5
I tested it by uploading a technical opinion I'd kept around for exactly this kind of test, and asked it to point out the three weakest claims. The answer came back with the page marked for each point — I could click and verify without reopening the file from scratch. That's the kind of detail that separates a serious tool from a generic chatbot. It doesn't replace a case-law database, though: for a Brazilian lawyer, it's useful to back up an argument with academic literature and doctrine, not to find a court ruling. And the credit system, which applies to everything in the platform, takes some attention — it's easy to lose track of what's left until you get stuck mid-search.
Tested and checked against official sources on July 30, 2026.
What works in its favor
- Every answer cites the exact sentence and page inside the PDF or paper — clickable, and never a made-up reference, according to the company
- A database of over 200 million papers (PubMed, arXiv, OpenAlex, Semantic Scholar), with natural-language search via AI Search
- The Free plan is generous enough to really test: 1,000 AI credits a month, 20 searches, Chat with PDF unlocked (up to 5 files), no card required
- Used by over 974,000 researchers, including teams from universities like MIT, Oxford and UC Berkeley, according to the company's own site
Where it struggles
- English-only interface — there's no Portuguese version inside the product (the marketing site has Spanish, the app doesn't)
- Doesn't index Brazilian case law or legislation: it's built for scientific papers, and doesn't replace a database like JusBrasil for lawyers
- Formal security certifications (GDPR, SOC 2, ISO 27001) are listed as "coming soon" on the company's own site — not in place yet
- One credit system covers everything (search, review, writing), which confuses anyone who only wants one feature and loses track of what's spent
Who Paperguide makes sense for
Worth it if you…
- Are a researcher, professor, or grad student who reads and cites scientific papers every week
- Are a lawyer or professional who needs to back up an opinion with doctrine and academic literature, with the page marked for later review
- Already use Zotero or Mendeley and want search, reading and cited writing in the same place, without switching tabs
Think twice if you…
- Need Brazilian case law, legislation or court rulings — that's not what Paperguide's database covers
- Want everything in Portuguese, from the menu to support — today the platform is English-only
- Only want to chat with a PDF every once in a while — for that, something simpler like NotebookLM does the job without any credits to learn
Other paths when Paperguide isn't the fit
When you want a more straight-to-the-point research agent, without a built-in reference manager or systematic review
When the question is simple — like "does science agree on this?" — and you don't need to set up a whole workspace
When the document isn't a scientific paper (it's a contract, a course handout, meeting minutes) and you want a free answer with an audio summary in Portuguese
Test it now with a document of your own
Grab a PDF you already have lying around — an opinion, a paper, long meeting minutes. Upload it to Chat with PDF and ask: "What are the 3 most important pieces of information in this document, with the page for each one?"
It worked if you get an answer with a clickable page number, in under a minute, without having to reread the whole document.
What people ask before getting started
Is Paperguide really free?
Yes, with limits: 1,000 AI credits and 20 searches per month, 500MB of storage, and Chat with PDF for up to 5 files. No card required to start. For heavier use, paid plans start at $17 per month.
Do I need a credit card?
No. Sign-up only asks for an email and password, or you can log in directly with Google. A card is only needed if you decide to subscribe to a paid plan.
Does it work in Portuguese?
The interface is English-only — there's no Portuguese (or Spanish) option inside the product itself, although the marketing site has a Spanish version. You can ask questions in Portuguese in the chat and the AI understands, but the menus stay in English.
Does it work on mobile?
There's no dedicated app announced by the company — it works through your phone's browser. But the screen splits between the chat and the PDF viewer side by side, so in practice a computer is far more comfortable.
Does it cover Brazilian case law and legislation?
No. Paperguide's database is PubMed, arXiv, OpenAlex and Semantic Scholar — scientific and academic papers. To search Brazilian court rulings or statutes, you still need a dedicated legal database, like JusBrasil or the courts' own sites.
Are my documents safe?
Paperguide's own site lists certifications like GDPR, SOC 2 and ISO 27001 as "coming soon" — meaning they aren't in place yet. It's worth being careful about uploading ultra-sensitive documents until that's confirmed.
What are "AI credits"?
It's the internal unit Paperguide uses to measure usage: every search, review, or generated text consumes a certain number of credits, detailed on the company's own help page. The free plan includes 1,000 credits per month, shared across Systematic Review, Research Agent, reports, and AI Writer.
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