Semantic Scholar Review
By Itai Varochik | Last updated February 1, 2026
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Our Verdict
Semantic Scholar is the best free academic search engine. Its AI-powered relevance ranking and TLDR summaries make it far more efficient than Google Scholar for literature discovery.
GetASearch Score: 8/10
Rating: 4.5/5 (550 reviews)
Pros
- Completely free
- AI-powered relevance ranking
- TLDR paper summaries
- Excellent API
Cons
- No full-text access
- Limited to indexed papers
- No writing assistance
- Basic UI
Score Breakdown
| Criteria | Score |
|---|---|
| Features | 8.0/10 |
| Ease of Use | 8.0/10 |
| Value for Money | 10.0/10 |
| Customer Support | 5.0/10 |
| Overall | 8.0/10 |
What is Semantic Scholar?
Semantic Scholar is a free, AI-powered academic search engine developed by the Allen Institute for AI. It uses machine learning to surface the most relevant papers and extract key findings.
Semantic Scholar Features
| Feature | Available | Description |
|---|---|---|
| TLDR Summaries | Yes | Auto-generated paper summaries |
| Citation Graph | Yes | Visualize paper connections |
| Research API | Yes | Free API access |
Semantic Scholar Pricing
Free
Best For
- Graduate students
- Academic researchers
- Developers building research tools
- Literature review
Final Verdict
Semantic Scholar is the best free academic search engine. Its AI-powered relevance ranking and TLDR summaries make it far more efficient than Google Scholar for literature discovery.