SF-based, founded 2022 by Aman Jha + Jade Abbott, pre-seed/early VC (JHA Capital), ~400K+ researchers, private. No acquisition, no sunset, no shutdown — but maintenance cadence slowed since 2025 (no changelog/blog, empty GitHub org, co-founder LinkedIn dropped the role; site/billing still live Aug 2026). Category ai-productivity-data, pipeline_stage=none. Edu/research-productivity lane — extra card, not in your original 11.Official site: https://www.explainpaper.com

Pricing: https://www.explainpaper.com (in-app Pro/Teams)

Explainpaper — Highlight-to-Explain AI Reader for Dense Research Papers (Context-Grounded Plain-English Fixes)

Snapshot

Field	Value
Status	Active (site live, billing runs, free tier works Aug 2026) — low-momentum maintenance mode
Origin	Explainpaper, SF, 2022, Aman Jha + Jade Abbott, pre-seed (JHA Capital)
Lane	Single-paper reading comprehension (highlight confusing text → in-context plain-English explanation)
Core interaction	Upload PDF → highlight sentence/equation/jargon → explain; follow-up Q&A grounded in paper
Users	400K+ researchers (self-reported)
Category	`ai-productivity-data` / edu-research-productivity sublane

Features (table)

Layer	Capability	Notes
In-context explain	Highlight any span → plain-English fix at beginner→expert level, 50+ languages, paper-context grounded (not generic dictionary)	Core differentiator vs ChatPDF
Math & figures	Pro: “Math Explain” for formulas, figure/table interpretation	Free tier = basic model only, no math
Paper chat	Follow-up Q&A, cite specific sections, summarize key findings, smart outline	Single-paper scope — no cross-paper corpus Q&A
Inputs	PDF upload, paste text, Zotero library import	No YouTube/audio/web-article (vs Mindgrasp/Coconote)
UX	Side-panel highlight, no bulky file manager, distraction-free	Deliberately narrow (“highlight→explain”)
No	No literature discovery (≠ Elicit), no structured flashcards (≠ Scholarcy), no API, no LMS/LTI, no mobile app, no team collab on consumer tiers	Reading-comprehension only

Pricing (2026-09, USD)

Tier	Price	Includes
Free	$0 (no card)	Unlimited highlight explanations + follow-up Q&A, Zotero import, basic AI model, ~5 paper uploads/mo (sources vary 5/upload-cap vs unlimited highlights)
Pro	$16/mo (7-day trial, card on file; annual ~25% off ≈$ 12/mo effective)	Advanced models, full-paper summary, saved highlights/explanations, per-paper Q&A, Math Explain (formulas/figures)
Teams	Custom quote	Everything in Pro + team management, priority support, volume discounts

starting_price=$0; first paid $16/mo (or ~$ 12/mo annual). No API tier, no per-seat baseline like LangSmith.

Reviews (2026)

Source	Signal
ToolChase 4.2/5, RecaTools 6/10	Praised: highlight UX beats chat for real reading, free tier genuinely usable (unlimited explains), context-grounded answers, math explain on Pro. Criticized: single-paper only (no Elicit/Humata cross-corpus), maintenance drift since 2025 (no changelog, empty GitHub, founder LinkedIn dropped co), ChatGPT/Claude/NotebookLM now cover same job + more
ToolRadar	Mid-pack $16/mo (vs Consensus$ 9.99, Elicit $10, SciSpace$ 12, ResearchRabbit $12.50); “advanced math/summary behind paywall”
Common praise	30-min paper grasp, explain why a formula works not just what symbol means, 50+ lang, Zotero sync
Common complaint	Free caps (~5 uploads/mo), no nuance on theoretical/statistical depth, English-centric, no roadmap signals, redundant if already paying ChatGPT Plus

Access / Integration (table)

Method	Supported
Web	explainpaper.com app (browser only)
Import	PDF upload, paste text, Zotero library import
Export	None meaningful (highlights live in-app)
No	No API, no MCP, no mobile app, no LMS/LTI, no SSO, no Anki/markdown export (vs Scholarcy/Coconote)

Best For / Not For

Best For	Not For
Grad students / cross-discipline readers stuck on one dense paper	Literature reviews across 50 papers (→ Elicit/Humata)
Users wanting highlight-not-chat reading flow	Teams needing shared annotations/LMS (→ Scholarcy Institutional)
Non-native readers (50+ lang, level slider)	Visual STEM relying on diagrams/scan pages (weak OCR)
People already on free tier only (unlimited explains)	Users paying ChatGPT Plus/Claude Pro anyway (redundant)
Zotero users	Dev/eval/obs use (wrong lane)

Competitors (lane map)

Lane	Tool	Explainpaper edge / gap
Paper explainer	SciSpace (Typeset)	SciSpace cheaper Pro ($12) + corpus Q&A + literature review; Explainpaper highlight UX cleaner, free unlimited explains
PDF chat	ChatPDF, Humata	Humata multi-doc + cited answers; Explainpaper paper-native, highlight-first
Research assistant	Elicit	Elicit discovery + data extraction across 138M papers; Explainpaper comprehension-only
Structured summary	Scholarcy	Scholarcy flashcards + Literature Matrix + Zotero sync + export; Explainpaper no structured output
General LLM	ChatGPT/Claude/NotebookLM	Cover highlight+explain + more; Explainpaper distraction-free niche
In-list overlap	Socratic (shutdown→Lens), Mindgrasp, Coconote, Scholarcy	Edu lane only; Explainpaper = narrowest single-paper reader