Compare software

Paperpile vs I, Librarian: catalog facts
Paperpile	I, Librarian
Paid Paid subscription with a 30-day free trial.	Freemium The open source version is free to self-host; the hosted and professional editions are…
Android, iOS, Web, Browser extension	Web, Self-hosted
Built-in PDF viewer with annotation tools Citation plugins for Google Docs and Word	Imports references from major academic databases Boolean search and bulk tagging for literature reviews
Requires a Google account Sign-up only on Chrome for now, Safari and Firefox in beta	Needs Apache and PHP when installed manually AI research features belong to the commercial edition
Downloadable app, Web application, Browser extension	Self-hosted, Hosted service
Closed source	Open source
License not stated	License: GPL-3.0
Account needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Not stated if it works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 1, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 2, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.