AI Credits
Understand how AI credits work in Paperguide, how many credits you receive each month by plan, and how to estimate usage for key AI features.
How AI credits work
Paperguide agents and AI features consume credits whenever they run tasks such as literature reviews, deep research reports, or data extraction. Each request uses a certain number of credits based on how much AI processing is required.
Credits are tied to your Paperguide plan and refresh every month on your billing date.
Features that consume AI credits
The following features use AI credits each time they run:
- Systematic Review
- Deep Research Report
- Extract Data
- Research Agent Chats (Research agent, Literature Review Agent, AI Chats in Writer and Reference Manager)
- AI Writer - Generate Document
- AI Writer – AI Edit
- MCP Server — Search papers (10 credits) and fetch paper details (2 credits) directly in your AI assistant
The MCP server uses the same AI credit pool as all other Paperguide features. Search costs 10 credits and Fetch costs 2 credits. Failed calls are not charged. See Connect & Manage for full details on credit usage and managing connections.
Estimating AI credit usage
Use the examples below to understand what you typically get each month from your AI credits on each plan.
Here's a quick summary of estimated monthly usage by plan:
| Feature | Scenario | Plus (12,500 credits) | Pro (50,000 credits) | Max (150,000 credits) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Systematic Review | 1,000 papers screened | Up to 2 reviews | Up to 10 reviews | Up to 30 reviews |
| Systematic Review | 5,000 papers screened | Not feasible | Up to 2 reviews | Up to 6–7 reviews |
| Literature Review | Per month | ~15–17 reviews | ~60–70 reviews | ~180–200 reviews |
| Extract Data | 10 fields per paper | 300–400 papers | 1,200–1,600 papers | 3,600–4,800 papers |
The numbers below are approximations. Actual usage may vary depending on task complexity, content length, references included and the specific AI features you use.
Systematic review
A systematic review starting with 1,000 papers screened:
With 12,500 credits/month (Plus), you can run up to 2 systematic reviews of this scale each month.
With 50,000 credits/month (Pro), you can run up to 10 systematic reviews of this scale each month.
With 150,000 credits/month (Max), you can run up to 30 systematic reviews of this scale each month.
Systematic review
A systematic review starting with 5,000 papers screened:
With 12,500 credits/month (Plis), a full 5,000-paper systematic review is not feasible.
With 50,000 credits/month (Pro), you can run up to 2 systematic reviews of this scale each month.
With 150,000 credits/month (Max), you can run up to 6-7 systematic reviews of this scale each month.
Literature review
With 12,500 credits/month (Plus), you can get around 15-17 literature reviews spread across your projects each month.
With 50,000 credits/month (Pro), you can get around 60-70 literature reviews for larger or more frequent research workflows.
With 150,000 credits/month (Max), you can get around 180-200 literature reviews for larger or more frequent research workflows.
Extract data
A extract data table with approximately 10 fields/columns per paper extracted:
With 12,500 credits/month (Plus), you can get around extract 300 - 400 paperswith 10 fields per paper across your workbooks each month.
With 50,000 credits/month (Pro), you can get around extract 1,200 - 1,600 paperswith 10 fields per paper across your workbooks each month.
With 150,000 credits/month (Max), you can get around extract 3,600 - 4,800 papers with 10 fields per paper across your workbooks each month.