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Mosaic vs Paperpile
Checked against Paperpile's own pages on
The short answer
Mosaic is a web workspace organized around research projects, not around one reference library. Each project holds its papers, a PDF reader with highlights and notes, tasks and goals, the Google Docs and Word files you write in, a briefing of new papers, and an assistant that answers from that project library with sources. The planning and the literature monitoring for a project sit next to the papers themselves.
Paperpile is a web-based reference manager with plugins for Google Docs and Word, BibTeX export for LaTeX and Overleaf, and apps for iOS and Android. Pick Paperpile if you write in LaTeX, read and annotate on a phone or tablet, or need a citation style outside the nine Mosaic ships.
Moving across is done paper by paper: add the papers for one active project to Mosaic by DOI, PubMed ID, link or PDF, and keep Paperpile for the rest. Mosaic is an invite-only beta, free while the beta lasts. Paperpile is a paid subscription with a free trial.
Side by side
| Feature | Mosaic | Paperpile |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A project workspace: each project holds its library, PDF reader, tasks and goals, linked documents, a briefing of new papers on a schedule, and an assistant | A reference manager to collect, organize, annotate and cite papers |
| AI | An assistant inside each project that answers from your papers, notes and tasks with sources, searches OpenAlex, PubMed, Semantic Scholar and the web, and writes a staged deep research report | Ask AI sends PDFs from your library to outside assistants such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini |
| Sharing and teamwork | Workspaces with owner, admin and member roles, per-project access, and tasks with assignees and due dates in Table, Cards and Timeline views | Shared folders and shared libraries |
| Word processors | Word add-in and Google Docs add-on that insert citations, keep a reference list that updates itself, and find a source for a highlighted sentence | Google Docs plugin and a Word plugin for Windows and macOS |
| PDF reading | Reader with highlights, underlines and notes, next to the project tasks and documents | Highlights and annotations on the web and in the mobile apps |
| Browsers | Runs in any modern browser, with a Chrome extension that saves a paper straight into a project | Fully supported on Chrome and Chromium-based browsers. Firefox and Safari extensions are in beta |
| Adding papers | By DOI, PubMed ID, link, PDF upload or the Chrome extension, with open-access PDFs looked up in the background, plus a one-time import from Zotero or Mendeley | Imports BibTeX, RIS, EndNote and Zotero files, among others |
| Cost and access | Free during the beta, which is invite-only behind a waitlist | Paid subscription after a free trial. Open to anyone |
| Citation styles | Nine styles covering the common ones: APA 7th, MLA 9th, Chicago author-date, Chicago notes, Harvard, Vancouver, IEEE, AMA, Nature | More than 10,000 styles, as Paperpile states it, plus custom CSL files |
| Platforms and offline use | Web app: open it in any modern browser on a computer, nothing to install | Web app, plus apps for iOS and Android. The mobile apps can keep chosen PDFs on the device for offline reading |
| Export and LaTeX | Citations go into Word and Google Docs through the add-ins; your data exports as a zip | Exports BibTeX, RIS and JSON. BibTeX export for LaTeX, with automatic export to an Overleaf project |
Choose Mosaic if
- You organize your work by project and want each project to keep its papers, notes, tasks and goals in one place instead of spread across several apps.
- You want new papers for each project to arrive on a schedule, drawn from PubMed or Semantic Scholar, instead of checking alerts by hand.
- You want an assistant built into the workspace that answers from the papers in your project and shows its sources, with no PDFs to send to a separate tool.
- You work with a lab or co-authors and want roles and per-project access in the same place as tasks and papers.
- You write in Google Docs or Word and want to find a source for a sentence you have just written, from your library or the web, without leaving the document.
When Paperpile is the better fit
- You write in LaTeX or Overleaf and need BibTeX export.
- You need a citation style outside the nine Mosaic ships, or your own CSL file. Paperpile states more than 10,000 styles and accepts custom ones.
- You read and annotate on a phone or tablet. Paperpile has iOS and Android apps.
Moving from Paperpile to Mosaic
Mosaic gives a project its tasks, briefing and assistant as soon as its papers are in. To bring papers across from Paperpile, add them by DOI, PubMed ID or link, upload their PDFs, or save them with the Chrome extension. Mosaic then looks for open-access PDFs in the background. See how to add papers.
Papers come across one by one, not as a library file, so it makes sense to start with the papers for one active project and keep Paperpile for the rest.
Questions
Is Mosaic a Paperpile alternative?
Yes, for researchers who want more than a reference library. Both are web-based, store papers, and cite in Google Docs and Word. Mosaic adds per-project tasks and goals, a briefing of new papers and an assistant over your project library. Paperpile stays the fit for LaTeX, for mobile reading, and for styles beyond the nine in Mosaic.
How do I bring papers from Paperpile into Mosaic?
Add them by DOI, PubMed ID or link, upload the PDFs, or save them with the Chrome extension. Mosaic looks for an open-access PDF in the background. Papers come across individually, not as a library file, so most people start with a single active project. See how to add papers.
Does Mosaic work with Google Docs like Paperpile?
Yes. Mosaic has a Google Docs add-on and a Word add-in that insert citations from a project library and keep a reference list up to date, in nine styles. The styles are listed in the help center.
Can I use Mosaic and Paperpile together?
Yes. The two do not connect, so they run side by side: Paperpile as the full reference library, and Mosaic for the project you are working on now, with its papers, tasks, briefing and assistant.
Is Mosaic free?
Mosaic is free during its beta, which is invite-only behind a waitlist.
Sources
Everything this page says about Paperpile 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.