Connected Papers

Connected Papers

Connected Papers is a visual research tool that builds similarity-based graphs of academic papers, helping researchers and applied scientists discover and explore relevant literature.

Tags
educationai-research-toolliterature-reviewacademic-researchknowledge-graph
Last Updated Oct 21, 2026
Connected Papers screenshot

About

Connected Papers is a web-based tool that helps researchers and applied scientists find academic papers relevant to their field of work. Instead of relying on keyword searches alone, it presents a visual graph of papers connected by similarity, which makes it easier to spot influential prior works, related derivative research, and gaps in the literature.

Users start from a paper they already know — a seed paper — and Connected Papers generates a graph in which nodes represent related academic papers and the connections between them reflect how similar the papers are to each other, based on the underlying citation data. Exploring the graph lets a researcher trace the intellectual lineage of an idea, build a bibliography for a literature review, or surface papers that a conventional search might miss. Pricing is not publicly specified on the pages reviewed, so current plans should be checked on the official site.

Key Features

Visual similarity graph: Papers are displayed as connected nodes rather than a flat list, so relationships between related research are visible at a glance.
Seed-paper exploration: A user begins with one known paper and the tool builds a map of similar works around it.
Prior and derivative works: The graph helps distinguish earlier foundational research from later work that builds on a given paper.
Literature discovery: Researchers can find relevant academic papers in a field without depending solely on keyword queries.
Bibliography support: Papers identified in the graph can be collected and used as the basis for a literature review or reading list.
Built for applied scientists: The tool is aimed at both academic researchers and applied scientists who need to survey prior work in their domain.

Pricing & Fees

  • Pricing: Not publicly listed on the pages we reviewed; check the official site for current plans.
  • Access: Connected Papers is available as a web application at connectedpapers.com, usable from any modern browser.
  • Underlying data: The similarity relationships are derived from citation data across academic papers, rather than from keyword matching alone.

Who It's For

Connected Papers is designed for researchers and applied scientists who need to map the literature around a specific paper or topic. Typical users include graduate students starting a literature review, academic researchers surveying prior work before writing a paper, and scientists in industry who want to understand the research landscape behind a particular method or finding. It is also useful for anyone assembling a reading list or bibliography and wanting to discover related papers they did not already know about.

FAQ

What is Connected Papers?Connected Papers is a visual tool that helps researchers and applied scientists find and explore academic papers relevant to their field by displaying related papers as a similarity-based graph.

How does Connected Papers find related papers?It starts from a seed paper chosen by the user and builds a graph in which papers are connected according to similarity derived from citation data, rather than simple keyword matching.

Is Connected Papers free to use?Pricing details are not publicly listed on the pages reviewed; users should check the official website for current free and paid options.

What can you do with the graph besides discovery?The graph supports tracing prior foundational works and derivative works that build on a paper, and it can serve as a starting point for building a bibliography or literature review.