mendeley Review, Pricing & Features

Mendeley helps researchers organize, read, and cite academic papers, with free storage plus paid AI Reading Assistant plans starting at $4.99/mo.

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Category
Knowledge Base
Pricing
freemium, from $4.99/ mo
Verified
Not yet
Last updated
August 8, 2026
Free PlanWeb AppDesktop AppFreemium

Mendeley is a reference management platform for researchers and students, covering the research workflow from discovering and storing papers through citing them in finished work. Users can upload and organize PDFs into collections and tags, highlight and annotate documents, and automatically generate citations and references. The service syncs libraries across a desktop application, a web platform, a Microsoft Word plugin, and a browser extension.

Mendeley also offers an AI-powered "Reading Assistant" that lets users ask questions about their papers and surfaces patterns and relationships across a research library, in addition to AI-assisted search over stored documents.

The free plan includes 2GB of storage and a limited number of Reading Assistant questions per month. Paid plans (PLUS, PRO, and MAX) remove the Reading Assistant question limit and add more storage plus features such as "Compare Experiments" and "Ask My Library" on the higher tiers, up to unlimited storage on the top plan.

Key Features

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Free tier includes 2GB of storage
  • Cross-platform: desktop app, web, Word plugin, and browser extension
  • AI Reading Assistant can answer questions about stored papers
  • Automatic citation and reference generation

Cons

  • Free plan limits Reading Assistant to 5 questions
  • Advanced AI features (Compare Experiments, Ask My Library) require PRO or MAX tiers
  • Unlimited storage only available on the top MAX plan

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Mendeley free to use?

Yes, Mendeley offers a free plan with 2GB of storage and 5 Reading Assistant questions. Paid PLUS, PRO, and MAX plans unlock unlimited Reading Assistant access, more storage, and additional features.

How much does Mendeley cost?

Paid plans start at PLUS for $4.99/month ($55/year), PRO for $9.99/month ($110/year), and MAX for $14.99/month ($165/year). Annual billing includes one free month.

What platforms does Mendeley support?

Mendeley is available as a desktop application, a web-based platform, a Microsoft Word plugin, and a browser extension, with libraries synced across devices.

What is Mendeley's Reading Assistant?

Reading Assistant is an AI feature that lets users ask questions about papers in their library and returns context-rich answers, with higher usage limits on paid plans.

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