Explainpaper vs Google NotebookLM
Google NotebookLM uniquely has 13 features · Explainpaper uniquely has 11 features.
| Explainpaper | Google NotebookLM | |
|---|---|---|
| Company | ||
| Founded | 2022 | 2023 |
| HQ | San Francisco, USA | Mountain View, USA |
| AI model | Advanced AI models (basic AI on free tier) | Gemini |
| User base | 400,000+ | Millions (Google product) |
| Platforms | Web | Web |
| Languages | 50+ | 25+ |
| Pricing | ||
| Pricing model | Freemium | — |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | No |
| Starting price | $16/mo | $44.99/yr |
| Enterprise | Contact us | Available via Google Workspace (Business), Google Workspace for Education, and Google Cloud (Enterprise) — custom pricing |
| Refund policy | 14-day money-back guarantee on initial Pro subscriptions | — |
| All plans | Free$0/moPro$16/moTeamsContact us | NotebookLMFreeGoogle AI Plus$4.99/moGoogle AI Pro$19.99/moGoogle AI Ultra$99.99/mo |
| Positioning | ||
| Best for | Professional research and academic paper comprehension | Research, analysis, and learning from uploaded sources |
| Differentiator | Math and figure explanations, Zotero import, whole-paper summaries, multilingual output | Source-grounded AI notebooks with Audio & Video Overviews and large notebook sizes up to 600 sources |
| Competitors | Consensus, Elicit, SciSpace, ChatPDF, Semantic Scholar, Perplexity | Notion AI, Perplexity AI, Elicit, ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot |
| Features | ||
| Advanced AI Models | ✓ | — |
| Artifact Creation | — | ✓ |
| Ask Follow Up Questions | ✓ | — |
| Audio Overviews | — | ✓ |
| Enterprise API (Preview) | — | ✓ |
| Follow Up Questions | ✓ | — |
| Large Notebook Size | — | ✓ |
| Math & Figure Explanations | ✓ | — |
| Saved Highlights | ✓ | — |
| Saved Highlights & Explanations | ✓ | — |
| Slides Generation | — | ✓ |
| Smart Outlines & Key Point Extraction | ✓ | — |
| Video Overviews | — | ✓ |
| Whole Paper Summaries | ✓ | — |
| Zotero Import | ✓ | — |
| Zotero Library Import | ✓ | — |
| Academic Search | ✕ | ✓ |
| AI Summarization | ✓ | ✓ |
| API Access | ✕ | — |
| Browser Extension | ✕ | ✕ |
| Citation Generation | ✓ | ✓ |
| Data Privacy | — | ✓ |
| Document Upload | ✓ | ✓ |
| Export Formats | — | Reports, Slides, Infographics, Audio Overviews, Video Overviews, Flashcards |
| Fact Checking | ✕ | ✓ |
| Follow Up Questions | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mobile App | ✕ | ✓ |
| Multi Source Synthesis | ✕ | ✓ |
| Team Collaboration | ✓ | ✓ |
| Web Search | ✕ | ✓ |
| Integrations | ||
| API Access | ✕ | — |
| Browser Extension | ✕ | ✕ |
| Google Docs Export | ✕ | ✓ |
| Key Integrations | Zotero | Google Workspace (Docs, Drive, Slides), Google Cloud, Google One AI Premium subscription |
| Notion Integration | ✕ | ✕ |
| Zotero Integration | ✓ | ✕ |