Freedom251 › Research Paper Discovery Tools
Keenious
What Keenious is
Keenious helps students and researchers discover published academic research and understand complex literature with AI guidance. Its research collection includes more than 250 million academic works from OpenAlex, and it identifies open access works through Unpaywall. Search matches titles and abstracts rather than publication full text, making it a tool for research discovery.
Readers can highlight text in papers and ask for explanations of methodologies, statistical concepts, and specialised terminology. Keenious supports interaction in nearly 100 languages and research discovery from more than 100 countries. It is available on the web and as an extension, and integrates with Microsoft Word and Google Docs through add-ins. Institutional link resolver support includes EBSCO, PRIMO, and other library platforms.
The free plan allows three conversations per day, up to five AI responses per conversation, and file uploads up to 3 MB. Plus for Individuals costs $10 a month when billed annually and includes exports of all results, unlimited responses per conversation, unlimited daily conversations, and a 20 MB upload limit. Keenious says uploaded PDFs and conversations are deleted automatically after one day, submitted content is not stored, and the service is ISO 27001 certified and GDPR compliant.
Who it suits
Keenious suits students and researchers looking for published work and explanations of academic material. Librarians and universities may also find it relevant through its institutional plans, library links, authentication options, training, and support.
What it does well
- Searches a collection of more than 250 million academic works.
- Explains methods, statistical concepts, and specialist terminology from highlighted text.
- Supports interaction in nearly 100 languages.
- Integrates with Microsoft Word and Google Docs through add-ins.
- Institutional link resolver support includes EBSCO and PRIMO.
What to know first
- Search matches titles and abstracts, not publication full text.
- The free plan allows three conversations per day.
- Free plan uploads are limited to 3 MB.
Limits
The free plan allows three conversations per day, five AI responses per conversation, and uploads up to 3 MB. Plus for Individuals costs $10 a month when billed annually and permits uploads up to 20 MB.
Plans
| Plan | Billed and limits | Price |
|---|---|---|
| For Institutions | Access for all students and faculty · SSO and SAML · IP-based access · Two-factor authentication · Library collection integration · Data Processing Agreement | On request |
| Plus for Individuals | when billed annually · Export all results · Unlimited responses per conversation · Unlimited conversations per day · 20 MB max file upload size | $10 a month |
| Plus for Teams | per user, when billed annually · All Plus features · Admin console · Centralised billing · Dedicated customer and user support · Two-factor authentication | $20 a month |
| Free | All search results · 5 AI responses per conversation · 3 conversations per day · 3 MB max file upload size | On request |
| Institutions | Pricing for any institution size · Access for all students and faculty · SSO, SAML, IP-Based Access · Library collection links · Dedicated support | On request |
As keenious.com lists them, read 20 Sept 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.
Getting started
- Visit the Keenious website or use its extension.
- Choose the free plan, Plus for Individuals, Plus for Teams, or an institutional plan.
- Connect through a Microsoft Word or Google Docs add-in if you want to use those integrations.
- Upload a PDF of up to 3 MB on the free plan or up to 20 MB on Plus for Individuals.
Verdict
Choose Keenious if you need help discovering academic research and interpreting difficult passages in papers. Its search focuses on titles and abstracts, so people who need full-text publication search should look elsewhere.
Questions
Is there a free plan?
Yes. It includes all search results, five AI responses per conversation, three conversations per day, and a 3 MB maximum file upload.
How much does Plus for Individuals cost?
It costs $10 a month when billed annually.
Is there a team plan?
Plus for Teams costs $20 a month per user when billed annually. It includes Plus features, an admin console, centralised billing, dedicated support, and two-factor authentication.
Which platforms does Keenious support?
Keenious is available on the web and as an extension. It also integrates with Microsoft Word and Google Docs through add-ins.
How does Keenious handle uploaded PDFs and conversations?
Keenious says uploaded PDFs and conversations are automatically deleted after one day and that it does not store submitted content.
What does the institutional plan include?
The institutional offering includes access for students and faculty, SSO, SAML, IP-based access, library collection links, and dedicated support. Pricing is for the institution's size.
Facts from Keenious's own pages
- AI explanations
- Users can highlight text in papers and ask for explanations of methodologies, statistical concepts, and domain-specific terminology. · keenious.com, 8 Oct 2026
- Document integrations
- Keenious integrates with Microsoft Word and Google Docs through add-ins. · keenious.com, 8 Oct 2026
- Headquarters
- Tromsø, Norway · keenious.com, 28 Sept 2026
- Institutional authentication
- The university offering supports IP recognition, institutional email domains, SAML, Microsoft, and Google authentication. · keenious.com, 8 Oct 2026
- Languages
- Users can interact with Keenious in nearly 100 languages and discover research from more than 100 countries. · keenious.com, 8 Oct 2026
- Library integrations
- Institutional link resolver support includes EBSCO, PRIMO, and other library platforms. · keenious.com, 8 Oct 2026
- Privacy
- The site says uploaded PDFs and conversations are automatically deleted after one day, and PDFs have a 20 MB size limit. · keenious.com, 8 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Keenious helps students and researchers find published academic research and understand complex literature with AI guidance. · keenious.com, 8 Oct 2026
- Research corpus
- The site says Keenious provides access to more than 250 million academic works from OpenAlex and identifies open access works through Unpaywall. · keenious.com, 8 Oct 2026
- Research search limits
- Keenious is intended for research discovery, and its search matches titles and abstracts rather than publication full text. · help.keenious.com, 8 Oct 2026
- Security and compliance
- Keenious says it is ISO 27001 certified and GDPR compliant, follows data minimisation, and does not store submitted content. · keenious.com, 8 Oct 2026
- Support
- Team and institution plans include dedicated customer and user support; institutional plans also include training, workshops, and webinars. · keenious.com, 8 Oct 2026
- Who it serves
- Keenious describes audiences including students, researchers, librarians, and universities. · keenious.com, 8 Oct 2026
Where Keenious stands on Freedom251
- Research Paper Discovery Tools#9 of 33
- AI Search Engines#14 of 28