Compare
Mosaic vs Anara
Checked against Anara's own pages on
The short answer
Mosaic is a web workspace built around the research project itself. Your own library, a PDF reader with highlights and notes, tasks and goals, linked Google Docs and Word files, and citations inserted in both stay together in one project, with a scheduled briefing of new papers. Its assistant answers from the papers, notes and tasks you chose, with sources, and the writing stays your own.
Anara describes itself as "the AI researcher that shows its work": it searches the literature, answers from one paper, a folder or your whole library with a link to the exact passage, turns a folder of papers into a cited table, and drafts notes with citations, on the web, in a Mac app and on iPhone and iPad. Pick Anara if cited extraction tables across many files, or working on a phone or tablet, matter most to you.
The two overlap more than most pairs on this site, so the choice comes down to where you write and how much of the work you want AI to do. Mosaic is in an invite-only beta behind a waitlist, and it is free during the beta.
Side by side
| Feature | Mosaic | Anara |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Running a research project: library, reading, tasks and goals, documents and citations in one workspace | AI research across your files: search, extract, synthesize and write with citations |
| Tasks and new papers | Per-project tasks and goals with assignees and due dates, and a briefing of new papers from PubMed or Semantic Scholar on a schedule | Not part of the feature set described on the Anara pages we read |
| Add-ins for writing tools | Word add-in and Google Docs add-on that insert citations from your library in nine styles, with a reference list that updates itself | Word add-in with an agent that researches and edits, and a cite tool that inserts references |
| Where you write | In Google Docs or Microsoft Word, the editors you already use. Mosaic links the files to the project | In Anara notes, with citations suggested from your library, or in Word through its add-in |
| Questions about your papers | The assistant answers from the project's papers, notes and tasks, with sources | Ask one paper, a folder or the whole library. Every answer links to the exact passage |
| Collaboration | Shared workspaces with owner, admin and member roles, and per-project access | Workspaces with private, shared and team folders, and viewer, collaborator and owner roles |
| Paper search | The assistant searches OpenAlex, PubMed, Semantic Scholar and the web | Search across what it states as over 300 million papers, saved to your library with a click |
| What you can add | Papers by DOI, PubMed ID, link, PDF upload or the Chrome extension, plus a one-time import from Zotero and Mendeley that leaves the original library unchanged | Files, web pages, papers and recordings, including YouTube links, and papers by DOI, PMID or URL. Zotero and Mendeley connectors, described as sync |
| Access | Free during the beta, which is invite-only behind a waitlist | Open sign-up, with a free plan and paid plans |
| Extraction tables | Extraction is one stage of a deep research report, alongside search, screening and synthesis | Turns a folder into a table: one row per paper, one column per question, every cell cited |
| Export | Deep research reports export to Google Docs or Word; your data exports as a zip | Word, LaTeX or BibTeX for writing, and CSV or Excel for tables |
| Where it runs | Web app in any modern browser, with a Chrome extension, a Word add-in and a Google Docs add-on | Web app, Mac app, iPhone and iPad, Word add-in and a Chrome extension |
Choose Mosaic if
- You write in Google Docs. Mosaic has a Google Docs add-on that cites from your library; see cite while you write.
- You want the plan next to the papers: goals, tasks with assignees and due dates, and the documents for each project in the same workspace.
- You want new papers for each project to arrive on a schedule, as a briefing from PubMed or Semantic Scholar.
- You want the assistant to answer from your notes and tasks as well as your papers.
- You want the writing to stay your own, with AI kept to answering questions and finding papers.
When Anara is the better fit
- You need cited tables across a folder of papers, with one column per question.
- You need to read and ask questions on an iPhone or iPad, or in a Mac app.
- You need BibTeX or LaTeX export, or a continuing connection to Zotero or Mendeley.
Using Anara and Mosaic together
Adding Mosaic gives the project itself a home: the working library, tasks, linked documents and citations in Google Docs or Word. Because the two overlap, most people will be better served by choosing one. If you do combine them, a clear split is Anara for extraction tables and analysis across a large set of files, and Mosaic for running the project.
The two products run side by side, without a direct connection. Both connect to Zotero and Mendeley, so a reference manager you already keep can feed each of them. Mosaic's import is a one-time copy; see import from Zotero or Mendeley.
Questions
Is Mosaic an Anara alternative?
Yes, for many researchers. Both keep a library, answer questions from your papers with sources and cite in Word. Mosaic goes further on running the project: tasks and goals, a Google Docs add-on and a scheduled briefing of new papers. Anara goes further on AI analysis: extraction tables, drafting and more file types.
Does Mosaic show where an answer came from?
Yes. The assistant lists the papers, notes or tasks it used, and you can open them to check. See check sources.
Does Mosaic work with Google Docs and Word?
Yes. A Google Docs add-on and a Word add-in insert citations from your project library in nine styles and keep the reference list up to date. The styles are listed in styles and references.
How does Mosaic help me write my paper?
You write in Google Docs or Word, and the add-ins insert citations from your library. The assistant answers questions from your papers and can write a deep research report on a question, which you can save as a document. The writing itself stays yours.
Is Mosaic free?
Mosaic is free during its beta, which is invite-only behind a waitlist. The assistant has usage limits; see usage limits.
Sources
Everything this page says about Anara comes from its own public pages, read on November 10, 2026. Tools change. If something here is out of date, tell us and we will correct it.