Petal
A document library with AI built in rather than a chat window you paste into, so your sources stay organised between sessions.
What Petal is best for
The categories Petal is listed in, and how strong a fit it is in each.
Search, Research & Academics
Web research, deep research, books, academic papers, citations, news, fact-checking.
Strong fit
Petal’s biggest strengths
Search, Research & AcademicsA document library with AI built in rather than a chat window you paste into, so your sources stay organised between sessions.
Where it may not be the best fit
Search, Research & AcademicsYou have to commit to keeping documents in it for the value to appear. The individual tiers are separated by storage rather than by features, and the two cheapest are priced for .edu addresses — without one they cost around two thirds more.
Petal pricing
Petal has a free plan. Free, with 1GB of cloud storage, one seat and three guests. Support is included rather than priority
FreeFree, with 1GB of cloud storage, one seat and three guests. Support is included rather than priority
$0Plus$2.99 and $4.99 respectively month to month. 2GB of storage
$4.25/mo · $2.55/mo yearlyAdvanced$9.99 and $13.99 month to month. 10GB of storage and priority support
$8.49/mo yearlyPremiumBilled annually, $29.99 month to month, with 25GB of storage. This tier carries no academic discount, so everyone pays the same
$29.99/mo · $25.49/mo yearlyTeams Starter5 seats, 10 guests and 50GB
$59.99/mo · $50.99/mo yearlyTeams Pro20 seats, 100 guests and 1TB
$119.99/mo · $101.99/mo yearlyTeams EnterpriseNo price published, sold through a sales conversation, with seats, guests and storage all custom
CustomPetal runs an academic discount rather than an academic tab: Plus and Advanced cost roughly 40% less with a .edu address, and the annual saving is a consistent 15% on every tier
Checked by hand on 4 September 2026 — Plans live at /resources/pricing, not /pricing, which 404s. Still drawn in JavaScript, so transcribed by hand; re-verify the same way. Prices change often, so confirm on the provider’s own page before spending.
Who makes Petal
A document library with the AI built into it, rather than a chat window you paste documents into.
CompanyPetal
Founded2018
Based inCambridge, US
SectorSearch & knowledge
ModelThird-party
StatusPrivate
Primary usersResearchers, Teams
Free planYes
ComputeThird-party
Public listingNone announced
Best alternatives to Petal
Tools that do comparable work, best fit first, drawn from the catalogue rather than hand-picked. Every one is listed whether or not there is money in it for us.
Connected Papers
Free
Builds a similarity graph from citation data rather than from a language model, so nothing in the output is generated and there is nothing to hallucinate.
View Connected Papers →Consensus
Free
Searches published papers and tells you how many of them support a claim, which turns a yes-or-no question into a count you can inspect.
View Consensus →Elicit
Free
Searches actual papers and extracts findings into a table you can check, one row per study, rather than answering in prose.
View Elicit →EvidenceHunt
Free
Scoped to clinical evidence and built with practising clinicians, so the filters match how medical literature is actually appraised.
View EvidenceHunt →Gemini Deep Research
Free
Runs a multi-step search across dozens of sources and returns a structured, referenced report. Strong first pass on an unfamiliar field.
View Gemini Deep Research →Gemini Notebook
Free
You upload the sources and it answers only from them, linking every sentence to the passage it came from. The strongest verification pattern here.
View Gemini Notebook →Petal by job
Where Petal sits in the wider category pages.
Best AI for Research
Strong fit — Web research, deep research, books, academic papers, citations, news, fact-checking.
Questions about Petal
Is Petal free?
Yes — Free, with 1GB of cloud storage, one seat and three guests. Support is included rather than priority. The cheapest paid tier is Plus, at $4.25/mo month to month or $2.55/mo billed yearly.
What is Petal best at?
A document library with AI built in rather than a chat window you paste into, so your sources stay organised between sessions. It is listed under Search, Research & Academics.
What should I watch out for with Petal?
You have to commit to keeping documents in it for the value to appear. The individual tiers are separated by storage rather than by features, and the two cheapest are priced for .edu addresses — without one they cost around two thirds more.
What are the alternatives to Petal?
6 tools do comparable work: Connected Papers, Consensus, Elicit, EvidenceHunt, Gemini Deep Research, Gemini Notebook. 6 of them have a free plan.
How current is this Petal pricing?
Checked by hand on 4 September 2026, because Petal cannot be read automatically: Plans live at /resources/pricing, not /pricing, which 404s. Still drawn in JavaScript, so transcribed by hand; re-verify the same way. Prices change often — confirm on the provider's own page before spending.