Citely

AI citation checker and source finder — 160M+ papers

About Citely

Citely is an AI citation checker and source finder that verifies references against CrossRef, PubMed, arXiv and OpenAlex so researchers cite only what is real. It detects fabricated citations and AI-hallucination patterns such as invented DOIs, flags mismatched entries in reference lists, and finds verified, ready-to-cite sources for a claim in APA, MLA and other formats. It integrates with Zotero, Mendeley and EndNote libraries.

Citely website preview

Live preview of citely.ai via the WordPress mShots service — it can take a few seconds to generate on a first visit.

Citely: strengths & things to check

Strengths

Paid product with a commercial model behind it — support and continued development are funded by paying customers.
Covers citations, reference checker, academic research, source finder — see the focus areas listed in its key facts.
Has 6 close alternatives in the same category on this page, so switching or comparing is easy.

Things to check

No free tier is listed in this directory — budget for a paid plan, and use any trial the official site offers before buying.
Current plan prices are not listed here (they change too often to print reliably) — confirm the exact price on the official site.
It is one of 699 tools in the Learning & Education category here — compare it against the alternatives below before you commit.

Derived from this listing's own data (pricing model, focus areas and category) — not a hands-on review score.

Citely pricing

Pricing model	Paid — this directory does not list a free tier for it.
Free access	No free tier listed
Current plan prices	Listed on the official site — prices change, so this directory links out instead of printing a number that may already be stale.
Official site	citely.ai

Citely key facts

Category: Learning & Education
Pricing: Paid — this directory does not list a free tier for it.
Focus areas: citations, reference checker, academic research, source finder
Official site: citely.ai

Citely FAQ

How much does Citely cost?

Paid — this directory does not list a free tier for it. Current plans and prices are listed on the official site (citely.ai).

What is Citely used for?

AI citation checker and source finder — 160M+ papers Its focus areas in the Learning & Education category: citations, reference checker, academic research, source finder.

Where can I try Citely?

On its official site, citely.ai — the Visit Official Site button above goes straight there.

Citely vs alternatives

	Citely	AnswerThis	Citavi	CiteMe
Pricing	Paid — this directory does not list a free tier for it.	Freemium — a free tier lets you start, and paid plans are available if you need more.	Paid — this directory does not list a free tier for it.	Freemium — a free tier lets you start, and paid plans are available if you need more.
Focus areas	citations, reference checker, academic research, source finder	literature review, research, citations, systematic review	research, citations, knowledge management, windows	citations, academic, references, research
Official site	citely.ai	answerthis.io	citavi.com	citeme.app
Directory status	Listed	Listed	Listed	Listed

Side-by-side from each listing's own directory data. Full alternative cards are below.

About the Learning & Education category

Online courses and learning platforms to build new skills. The Learning & Education category on Tools Hub currently lists 699 tools. Alongside Citely, it includes Reference Checker, Teacher AI, Avatalks, DETPractice.

PaidLearning & Educationcitationsreference-checkeracademic-researchsource-finder

Alternatives to Citely

Tools in the same Learning & Education category that share focus areas with Citely — worth comparing before you commit:

Learning & Education

AnswerThis

AI research assistant that turns questions into literature reviews from 300M+ papers

Freemiumliterature-reviewresearchcitationssystematic-review

Learning & Education

Citavi

Reference management plus knowledge organization for Windows

Paidresearchcitationsknowledge-managementwindows

Learning & Education

CiteMe

Citation generator and reference checker searching real scholarly records

Freemiumcitationsacademicreferencesresearch

Learning & Education

Fastcase

Legal research with citation analysis

Paidlegal researchcase lawcitationslawyers

Learning & Education

Inciteful

Find relevant academic literature using citations

Freeresearchcitationsliterature-discoveryacademic-search

Learning & Education

Literfy

AI literature review generator for researchers

Freemiumliterature-reviewacademicpaperscitations

More in Learning & Education

Comparing tools in the Learning & Education category? These related listings are worth a look: Reference Checker — Verify entire bibliographies against scholarly records, free; Teacher AI — Unlimited speaking practice with AI language teachers; Avatalks — AI language learning with 3D avatar tutors.