Best CORE Alternatives in 2026
Updated
20 apps from academic research databases ranked against CORE on the same published basis.
- 1CORE vs JSTOR
- 2CORE vs MAXQDA
- 3CORE vs AGRICOLA
- 4CORE vs arXiv
- 6CORE vs Europe PMC
- 7CORE vs OpenAlex
- 8CORE vs PubMed
- 9CORE vs SSRN
- 10CORE vs The Lens
- 11CORE vs Dimensions
- 12CORE vs ERIC
- 13CORE vs Directory of Open Access Journals
- 14CORE vs Embase AI
- 15CORE vs CAB Abstracts
- 16CORE vs Academia.edu
- 17CORE vs bioRxiv
- 18CORE vs medRxiv
- 19CORE vs Project MUSE
- 20CORE vs ProQuest Central
- 21CORE vs zbMATH Open
CORE alternatives compared
| # | App | Score | Free plan | From | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | JSTOR | 6.6 | Free plan | $16.58/mo | Android, iOS, Web |
| 2 | MAXQDA | 6.5 | No | — | Mac, Windows |
| 3 | AGRICOLA | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Web |
| 4 | arXiv | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | API, Web |
| 6 | Europe PMC | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | API, Web |
| 7 | OpenAlex | 6.4 | Free plan | $416.67/mo | API, Browser, self-hosted, Web |
| 8 | PubMed | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | API, Web |
| 9 | SSRN | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Web |
| 10 | The Lens | 6.4 | Free plan | $83.33/mo | API, Web |
| 11 | Dimensions | 6.3 | Free plan | Free | Web |
| 12 | ERIC | 5.5 | No | — | API, Web |
| 13 | Directory of Open Access Journals | 5.4 | No | — | API, Web |
| 14 | Embase AI | 5.4 | No | — | Windows, Mac, iOS, Android |
| 15 | CAB Abstracts | 5.3 | No | — | Web |
| 16 | Academia.edu | 5.2 | No | — | Web |
| 17 | bioRxiv | 5.2 | No | — | Web |
| 18 | medRxiv | 5.2 | No | — | Web |
| 19 | Project MUSE | 5.2 | No | — | Web |
| 20 | ProQuest Central | 5.2 | No | — | Web |
| 21 | zbMATH Open | 5.2 | No | — | Web |
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Questions about CORE alternatives
What is the best alternative to CORE?
JSTOR, number 1 in academic research databases with a score of 6.6 out of 10. The others here: MAXQDA, AGRICOLA, arXiv and 16 more.
What is the best free alternative to CORE?
JSTOR is the best-ranked alternative with a free plan. 9 of the 20 alternatives here publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
How are these alternatives ranked?
Ranked free-and-open first: a usable free tier and open-source code, then the platforms it runs on and its documentation.