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← All toolsDOSSIER · AI search · FLAGSHIP · VERIFIED 2026-06-09
Scira AI86FlagshipBenchmark pendingAgentic research front door and flagship VerdictPal dossier templateVerified 2026-06-09

Dossier · AI search

Scira AI

Agentic research front door and flagship VerdictPal dossier template · last verified 2026-06-09

FlagshipEDITOR'S PICK
AI search
Scira AI
86/100
ROLEAgentic research front door and flagship VerdictPal dossier template
Editorial fit
86
Source quality
82
Citation honesty
86
Privacy controls
78
Value for money
74
Speed
78
FREEHosted Free
$15/MOHosted Pro
$60/MOHosted Max
FlagshipVerified 2026-06-09VP·METHOD

The deepest tool on VerdictPal right now: sixteen scored dimensions, eighteen search modes on a tier map, a Free/Pro/Max matrix, API ledger, competitive lens, and desk rows waiting for your benches.

What is Scira AI?

Scira AI is a tool in the VerdictPal AI search set: Open-source AGPL-3.0 AI search assistant that searches the web, cites sources, supports specialized modes, connects to 100+ apps via MCP, and offers a separate API platform for Search, People, X, and Reddit agents. It scores 86 out of 100 on editorial fit.

Role: Agentic research front door and flagship VerdictPal dossier templateCategory: AI searchEditorial · hands-on
Scira AI at a glance, with the date each field was checked.
FieldValue
Editorial fit86 out of 100
Dossier statusFlagship
SetAI search
Role in a workflowAgentic research front door and flagship VerdictPal dossier template
PricingHosted Free Free · Hosted Pro $15/mo · Hosted Max $60/mo · API Free Free · API Pro $20/mo
Training on your dataNot recorded as a plan-wide guarantee. Check the dossier's privacy notes and sources.
Last verified2026-06-09

Editor's note

Desk hands-on 2026-06: Scira beats Perplexity on cited research for this atlas — more modes, AGPL transparency, and the workflow the desk actually reaches for. Score reflects trial use, not vendor claims.

Public facts · vendor & repo

List prices and pay-as-you-go entry points we can cite without running our own bench. Each tile links to a source when possible.

$15/moProscira.ai/about ↗
$60/moMaxscira.ai/about ↗
$20/moAPI Proapi.scira.ai/pricing ↗

Limits & product surface

Non-price vendor claims — multipliers, caps, and API scope. Detailed matrices live in subscription and SDK sections below.

Searches (vendor)
5M+scira.ai/about ↗
Users (vendor)
100K+scira.ai/about ↗
Search modes
18 (13 Free · 4 Pro · 1 Max)scira.ai/about ↗
Models (hosted)
115 switchablescira.ai/about ↗
Open-source tools
28 (GitHub monorepo)GitHub README ↗
MCP apps
100+scira.ai/about ↗
Hosted Free tier
3 runs / dayscira.ai/about ↗
API Free quota
20 requests / dayapi.scira.ai/docs ↗
API agents
4 agents · key authapi.scira.ai/docs ↗
API quota reset
00:00 UTC dailyapi.scira.ai/docs ↗
License
AGPL-3.0GitHub ↗

How it works · agent loop

The public positioning for this product — the loop we score against on VerdictPal.

Plan before fetch

Complex questions split into sub-tasks; each gets a model and tool, often in parallel.

Cite everything

Claims ship with inline links. If the source disagrees with the synthesis, you see it fast.

Stay open

AGPL-3.0 source, BYOK, self-host, custom tools — the agent bends to your workflow.

Run on schedule

Lookouts monitor topics and email what changed — daily, weekly, or custom.

Who it fits, where it fails

Best for

  • Multi-step questions that need sources, not vibes
  • Users who want a cited search UI with mode selection rather than one generic answer box
  • Developers wiring Scira’s API or MCP search tools into workflows
  • Teams that may self-host or inspect the AGPL-3.0 codebase
  • VerdictPal tool authors who need a flagship dossier template

Avoid if

  • You cite the summary without opening linked sources
  • You need guaranteed peer-reviewed full text or database-grade systematic review coverage
  • You cannot tolerate daily run caps on the free hosted tier
  • You need an enterprise DPA/security package before sending sensitive material

Strengths

  • Hosted cited search
  • Free 3 searches/day
  • Pro unlimited searches/PDF/voice/MCP
  • Max broader model pools/images/Agent preview
  • 18 specialized modes
  • MCP into 100+ apps
  • API platform with Search/People/X/Reddit agents
  • Scira MCP server
  • AGPL-3.0 repo
  • 5M+ searches and 100K+ users claimed

Weaknesses

  • Social and fast-moving modes can overweight recency/chatter
  • Free caps block serious research weeks
  • Premium model caps require plan literacy
  • MCP actions expand permission boundary
  • Hosted Scira is cloud-processed unless self-hosted
  • No enterprise DPA found in desk notes
  • Academic mode is not a systematic-review tool

How it could improve

  • Institutional policy friction could be reduced with a local/on-prem deployment option, or at minimum with clear data-handling documentation that compliance teams can review without an NDA.

Search modes · 18 lenses

One input box, many retrieval postures. Filter by tier.

01Free

Web

General web synthesis with AI analysis

02Free

Chat

Direct model conversation without search

03Free

X

Posts, trends, conversations on X

04Free

Stocks

Markets, charts, financial analysis

05Free

Code

Languages, frameworks, dev docs

06Free

Academic

Papers and scholarly sources

07Free

Extreme

Deep multi-source research agent

08Free

Reddit

Community threads and sentiment

09Free

GitHub

Repos, issues, developer chatter

10Free

Crypto

CoinGecko-backed crypto research

11Free

Prediction

Polymarket and Kalshi markets

12Free

YouTube

Video summaries and transcripts

13Free

Spotify

Tracks, artists, albums search

14Pro

Connectors

Drive, Notion, OneDrive via MCP

15Pro

Memory

Personal memory companion

16Pro

Voice

Real-time voice conversations

17Pro

XQL

X query language mode

18Max

Images

Generate or edit images (xAI or Replicate)

Competitive lens

Where Scira AI wins for cited research — and where a rival still belongs in the stack.

Perplexity is the default cited search UI students already know. Scira wins on mode breadth, MCP handoffs, and self-host — Perplexity wins on polish and brand trust.

Scira AI

  • 18 modes vs one general answer box
  • MCP actions into Notion, Slack, GitHub
  • AGPL fork for campus privacy reviews
  • Separate API agents for X and Reddit

Perplexity

  • Cleaner consumer onboarding
  • Stronger default for quick factual Q&A
  • Enterprise procurement story is further along
  • Fewer quota dimensions to explain to students

Scores and evidence

Metric lab · 16 dimensions

Click a tile for the editorial note. Color follows score: coral, yellow, mint.

Shape

Avg 78 · 58–90

86Editorial fit

Fits VerdictPal research stacks; not a reference manager or writing surface.

By group

Fit84
  • Editorial fit86
  • Search mode depth90
  • Academic mode82
  • Model breadth85
  • Extreme search depth79
Cost65
  • Value for money74
  • Free tier utility58
  • Limit clarity64
Trust82
  • Citation honesty86
  • Source quality82
  • Privacy & open source78
  • Self-host portability82
Workflow76
  • API developer fit82
  • Response speed78
  • MCP actions69
  • Agent planning75

Benchmark ledger

Public rows are vendor or third-party claims we logged with a date. Desk rows are reserved for VerdictPal self-run results.

MeasureResultSource
Hosted free tierVendor-published cap on hosted Free.3 runs / dayscira.ai/about
API Free quota20 requests / dayapi.scira.ai/pricing
API Pro quota1,000 requests / dayapi.scira.ai/pricing
API uptime (vendor)Marketing claim; not independently verified by VerdictPal.99.9 %api.scira.ai
Pro subscription15 USD / moscira.ai/about
Max subscription60 USD / moscira.ai/about
API Pro20 USD / moapi.scira.ai/pricing
Specialized search modes18 modesscira.ai/about
Claude Sonnet 4.6 (Pro)150 msgs / moscira.ai/about
Claude Opus 4.7 (Pro)30 msgs / moscira.ai/about
Claude pool (Max)120 msgs / wkscira.ai/about
Gemini 3.1 Pro (Max)80 msgs / moscira.ai/about

Editorial evidence · 0 entries

No editorial benchmark yet. The tool stays at status Flagship until evidence lands.

This tool is in the VerdictPal Citation Fidelity protocol — frozen question bank, dual-reviewer grading, results still pending. Citation Fidelity v0.1 →

Test scenarios · hands-on lab

How we exercised the product. Step through each run before you trust the scores.

Test run

Step 1 of 5

Pick Academic mode with a narrow question and require five unique domains in the answer.

Research log · desk notes

What we learned while building this dossier — not vendor copy.

scira.ai/about ↗

About page is the pricing source of truth

Hosted tiers, model caps, and the 13/4/1 mode split all live on scira.ai/about — not buried in checkout. Pro OpenAI weekly cap is GPT 5.4 only; GPT 5.5 is Max-only on the same weekly counter.

api.scira.ai/docs ↗

X agent endpoint is /api/xsearch

Docs describe POST /api/xsearch with query plus optional username (without @). Older copy sometimes said /api/x — treat the docs as canonical when wiring integrations.

GitHub README ↗

28 tools in the open repo

README lists web, extreme, academic, Reddit, X, YouTube, GitHub, Spotify, URL ingestion, and more — backed by Exa, Firecrawl, Tavily, Parallel, xAI Grok, etc. Self-hosters inherit the same tool surface.

scira.ai/about ↗

Lookouts change the plagiarism conversation

Scheduled agents that email diffs blur the line between research assistant and surveillance. Syllabus should say whether recurring monitors are allowed on course topics.

What it costs, what it keeps

Hosted subscription · checked 2026-06-09

Plan matrix

Hosted browser plans from scira.ai/about May 2026. API pricing is a separate product.

CapabilityFreeProMax
Research runs3 / dayUnlimitedUnlimited
Search modes13All 18All 18
Claude Haiku 4.5—UnlimitedIn 120/wk pool
Claude Sonnet 4.6—150 / mo120 / wk pool
Claude Opus 4.7—30 / mo120 / wk pool
OpenAI GPT weekly—40/wk (5.4 only)40/wk (+ 5.5)
Gemini 3.1 Pro——80 / mo
PDF analysis—YesYes
Voice · Lookouts · Memory—YesYes
AI image generation——Yes
Scira Agent preview——Yes

scira.ai plans for browser research: models, PDF, voice, and Lookouts. This block is only subscription pricing, API is separate below.

Desk pick

Pro

$15/mo

Monthly subscription

  • Unlimited research runs
  • PDF upload · voice · Lookouts
  • Claude Haiku unlimited
  • Claude Sonnet 4.6 (150 msgs/mo)
  • Claude Opus 4.7 (30 msgs/mo)

Max

$60/mo

Monthly subscription

  • Full Claude pool (120 msgs/wk)
  • Gemini 3.1 Pro (80 msgs/mo)
  • AI image gen (xAI or Replicate in Settings)
  • Scira Agent preview

Model message caps are from scira.ai/about June 2026. Max is for long-form work; Pro is the default desk pick for students.

API platform · checked 2026-06-09

api.scira.ai is a separate product surface: four agents, API-key auth, JSON in/out. Budget it apart from hosted Pro/Max seats.

Desk pick

API Pro

$20/mo

API · monthly

  • 1,000 requests per day
  • Advanced analytics
  • Priority support
  • Same four agents at higher quota

Endpoints · 4 routes

POST/api/search

Web search + summary + source URLs

POST/api/people

People lookup agent

POST/api/xsearch

X / Twitter search; optional username scope

POST/api/reddit

Reddit discussions agent

Enterprise / custom quota: contact via api.scira.ai. Rate limits reset daily at 00:00 UTC per API docs. Desk has not validated SLA in production.

Atlas bundle string · checked 2026-06-09

  • Hosted Free USD 0/mo: 3 searches/day
  • Hosted Pro USD 15/mo: unlimited searches, Extreme, PDF, voice, MCP apps, model caps
  • Hosted Max USD 60/mo: larger Claude/Gemini/OpenAI pools, image generation, Agent preview
  • API Free 20 req/day
  • API Pro USD 20/mo, 1,000 req/day.

Privacy deep-dive · checked 2026-06-09

Hosted Scira is cloud-processed; AGPL-3.0 source provides an inspect/self-host escape hatch. MCP/app connections expand permissions. Treat sensitive PDFs, private documents, and connected-app actions as cloud/integration workflows unless self-hosting and data paths are verified.

Training on your dataNot recorded as a plan-wide guarantee. Check the dossier's privacy notes and sources.
EU data residencyNot recorded as a plan-wide guarantee. Check the dossier's privacy notes and sources.
SOC 2 attestationNot recorded as a plan-wide guarantee. Check the dossier's privacy notes and sources.
Local-first by defaultNot recorded as a plan-wide guarantee. Check the dossier's privacy notes and sources.

Under the hood

Vendors named on the product about page — useful for procurement and privacy reviews.

Inference
Vercel AI SDK
Search
Exa
Voice
ElevenLabs
Hosting
Vercel
Payments
Polar · DodoPayments
License
AGPL-3.0

Alternatives and context

Workflow roles

How this tool fits into a composed research stack:

web discoverycited synthesisAPI retrievalMCP handoff

Deep panes · 9 lenses

Editorial lenses only. Subscription and API pricing live in their own sections above.

Lens 01

Search modes

Scira is not one search box. Each mode changes retrieval posture and what counts as a good answer.

Modes shipped
18 (web, academic, X, code, extreme, …)
Desk rule
Name the mode in your methods section
  • Web: general internet synthesis
  • Academic: papers and scholarly sources
  • Extreme: multi-step deep research
  • X / Reddit: social signal, not literature review

Sources and provenance

Quality gate · Flagship

Evidence ready
Benchmark pending

Verdict history

  • Scira remains the VerdictPal flagship template because it combines a cited search UI, open-source AGPL codebase, hosted Free/Pro/Max plans, an API platform, MCP surface, and a deep dossier structure. This pass replaces stale/malformed page content with a cleaner benchmarkable dossier while preserving the core stance: strong public recommendation, but benchmark-ready still false until the pending desk rows are actually run.
  • Refreshed pricing evidence from scira.ai/about and api.scira.ai/pricing, added machine-readable pricing tiers, and marked benchmark evidence ready for the public dossier while keeping individual desk benchmark rows explicit about what still needs live runs.
Editorial · hands-onFlagship
Visit Scira AIdirect link

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Browse the atlas

Questions this dossier answers

Every answer below is assembled from the dated fields on this page. Nothing is written separately for search.

Is Scira AI worth using?

Scira AI scores 86 out of 100 on editorial fit and carries Flagship dossier status. Its job in a research workflow is: Agentic research front door and flagship VerdictPal dossier template.

Who is Scira AI best for?

Scira AI earns its place when you need:

  • Multi-step questions that need sources, not vibes
  • Users who want a cited search UI with mode selection rather than one generic answer box
  • Developers wiring Scira’s API or MCP search tools into workflows
  • Teams that may self-host or inspect the AGPL-3.0 codebase
  • VerdictPal tool authors who need a flagship dossier template

When should you not use Scira AI?

Skip Scira AI in these cases:

  • You cite the summary without opening linked sources
  • You need guaranteed peer-reviewed full text or database-grade systematic review coverage
  • You cannot tolerate daily run caps on the free hosted tier
  • You need an enterprise DPA/security package before sending sensitive material

What does Scira AI cost?

Hosted Free Free · Hosted Pro $15/mo · Hosted Max $60/mo · API Free Free · API Pro $20/mo. Pricing last checked 2026-06-09.

Does Scira AI train on your data?

Not recorded as a plan-wide guarantee. Check the dossier's privacy notes and sources.. Privacy terms last checked 2026-06-09.

What goes wrong with Scira AI?

The dossier publishes 7 failure modes for Scira AI, and they stay published whether or not the vendor likes them:

  • Social and fast-moving modes can overweight recency/chatter
  • Free caps block serious research weeks
  • Premium model caps require plan literacy
  • MCP actions expand permission boundary
  • Hosted Scira is cloud-processed unless self-hosted
  • No enterprise DPA found in desk notes
  • Academic mode is not a systematic-review tool

What are the alternatives to Scira AI?

The closest options to Scira AI are Perplexity, Exa, You.com, Brave Search. Each one that has a tool in the atlas is linked from this dossier, with a head-to-head comparison.

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