Free and open first
Best AI PDF Assistants in 2026
When you want help working through PDFs, document limits and ways to use the answers are key comparison points. Anara, AskYourPDF, and Audeus are among the options. Check maximum file size and maximum PDF pages against the documents you use, and see whether scanned PDFs and multiple PDFs in one chat are supported. Source citations can help you trace answers back to a document; export formats and access platforms matter for carrying results into your workflow. Free-plan availability and the paid-from price round out the listed criteria, so you can compare practical fit as well as cost.
- 27 apps
- Research read 23 Sept 2026
- How the order is worked out
- 1
Anara
Free plan ExtensioniPhoneMac+1Anara combines academic search, source-linked answers, and scientific writing tools.
- 2
AI PDF Reader
Free plan iPhoneMacWindowsAI PDF Reader combines question answering with page-level citations and a broad set of reading and annotation tools.
- 3
AskYourPDF
Free plan AndroidAPIExtension+2AskYourPDF combines document chat, website agents, PDF form completion and API functions. The Free plan has defined daily and upload limits; Premium lists higher limits and is billed yearly.
- 4
Audeus
Free plan AndroidExtensioniPhone+1Audeus combines text-to-speech with scanning and document annotation across web and mobile platforms. Review the free-plan limits and trial terms, including automatic plan start, before choosing Pro.
- 5
ChatPDF
Free plan AndroidAPIExtension+5ChatPDF combines document summaries, questions, citations, and file sharing, with support for several document formats and languages.
- 6
ChatDOC
Free plan APIWebChatDOC combines document conversations with citations and multi-file queries, and it offers APIs for integration.
- 7
DeinPDF
Free plan AndroidiPhoneWebDeinPDF brings document chat, citations, summaries, and translation together, with usage-based billing rather than a forced subscription.
- 8
- 9
DeepPDF
Free plan ExtensionWebDeepPDF brings document Q&A, OCR, translation, academic search and PDF utilities together in a browser service.
- 10
Chonvy
Free plan WebChonvy combines document navigation with answers linked back to PDF content. Its free access has file-format and size limits, and the service notes that usage limits may change as it grows.
- 11
docAnalyzer
Free plan APIWebdocAnalyzer brings document chat, source-linked answers, OCR, and batch workflows into one workspace.
- 12
Humata
Free plan APIWebChoose Humata if you want document answers with citations, or need to summarize and compare files.
- 13
Doxy
Free plan WebDoxy combines cited document answers with project organization and broad file support. Check the plan limits and web-page access restrictions against the material you need to use.
- 14
Explainpaper
Free plan WebChoose Explainpaper if you want an AI reader that explains passages in context and lets you ask questions about a paper.
- 15
PaperDraft
Free plan WebChoose PaperDraft if you want academic drafting, document questions and citation tools in one web workspace.
- 16
PDF.chat
Free plan APIWebChoose PDF.chat if page-cited answers, scanned document OCR, or side-by-side AI model comparisons are useful to your document work.
- 17
PDF.ai API
Free plan APIPDF.ai API combines PDF parsing, structured extraction, section finding, and Q&A in one HTTP API. Review the operation-specific credit charges and key handling before building it into a workflow.
- 18
pdfAssistant.ai
Free plan WebChoose pdfAssistant.ai if you want to create reusable workflows from natural-language instructions, process PDF batches, or use AI Studio for document tasks.
- 19
PDF-GPT
Free plan APILinuxSelf-hosted+1PDF-GPT provides a documented open-source route to PDF chat with semantic retrieval and page references.
- 20
PDFCite
Free plan ExtensionPDFCite brings document questions, citation tools and paper-network exploration into a browser extension.
- 21
PDFtoChat
Free plan Self-hostedWebChoose PDFtoChat if you want to ask questions about uploaded PDFs and value a free account or access to the source code.
- 22
Regeste
Free plan Self-hostedWebRegeste offers citation-linked document answers with several ways to handle answering and data. Check browser storage availability and the daily cloud allowance against your intended use.
- 23
PDFpal
Free plan APISelf-hostedWebPDFpal combines local document control with project-based research chat and scripting.
6.6 Visit site - 24
ResearchPal AI Paraphraser
Free plan WebResearchPal combines AI writing assistance with academic search, PDF analysis, and citation tools. Its free tier is limited, and users should independently verify generated summaries and citations.
- 25
Rorobot
Free plan WebRorobot brings document reading, questions, flashcards, and quizzes together in a searchable hub. Its free plan and arXiv search may suit readers looking for a web-based study tool.
#1Places #1, #2, #3, #4, #5 on this list can be bought by the makers of the software on it. See the price
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