Comparison

Paperpile vs SqueakBase

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Paperpile

Organize and manage your research papers effortlessly. Collect, read, and annotate PDFs from millions of academic journals. Beat paper chaos with a tidy digital library.

Highlights
  • Search millions of academic papers
  • Collect PDFs with one tap
  • Organize with folders and labels
  • Read and annotate PDFs
  • Highlight and add notes
  • Browser integration for saving
Features
Read full description

Get a head start for you research and finally beat the paper chaos on your desk. With Paperpile you have all your research PDFs in one place — nice and tidy. Paperpile makes it easier than ever to collect, manage, read, and annotate your papers. FIND & COLLECT - Search millions of papers from 20,000+ academic journals right in the app. - Add new papers to your collection with one tap and the PDF will be downloaded automatically. - Save directly from your browser to your Paperpile library - User your university's off-campus proxy access to get restricted content behind paywalls. MANAGE & ORGANIZE - Bring structure to your library with folders and subfolders - Organize your library visually with colored labels - Mark important papers with stars. - Search your library to find the paper you need fast. READ & ANNOTATE - Read like on paper with a fast and slick PDF viewer experience - Highlight important sections in different colors - Add notes and never forget an important idea. - Add hand-drawn annotations - with your fingers or your Apple Pencil The Paperpile App requires a Paperpile account.

About

SqueakBase

Features
Read full description

SqueakBase is the fast, intuitive mouse colony management platform built specifically for research labs. Say goodbye to clunky spreadsheets and legacy software. SqueakBase gives your whole team a single source of truth, accessible from anywhere. MANAGE YOUR COLONY WITH EASE Track every mouse with auto-generated unique IDs, genotype data with visual color coding, physical tag assignments, and full parent-offspring relationships. Add custom notes and observations, filter by sex, age, or genotype, and find any animal in seconds with smart search. CAGE & BREEDING RECORDS Monitor live cage occupancy, designate breeding vs. stock cages, and manage locations and transfers in real time. For breeding cages, log litters directly, track pup counts, assign genotypes and tags, set weaning reminders, and wean animals into their new cages with a single tap. BUILT FOR TEAMS All lab members see updates instantly. No version conflicts, no emailing spreadsheets back and forth. Invite your team and everyone stays on the same page. POWERFUL FEATURES • Auto-generated unique mouse IDs • Genotype tracking with visual color indicators • Breeding pair and litter management • Weaning date reminders • Cage occupancy and location tracking • Smart search and filtering • One-click data export • Transnetyx genotyping integration • Custom email reminders based on colony conditions • Import records directly from other platforms You can upgrade your SqueakBase subscription in app as well as on the website. Subject to Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.squeakbase.com/privacy-policy.html

Screenshots

Paperpile3 screens
SqueakBase3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Paperpile at none against SqueakBase's 2. Paperpile also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. SqueakBase sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per month. Paperpile asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Paperpile ships an update every 2 months, SqueakBase every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Paperpile versus SqueakBase: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPaperpileSqueakBase
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (129 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews71.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings129 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size242 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPaperpile LLCSqueakBase LLC

Bugs and requests

Paperpile

Reported bugs

12 issues
  • App crashes frequently on iPad and iOS devices
  • Highlighting disappears when revisiting papers
  • Overlapping annotations delete together when removing one
  • Sync failures requiring logout/login cycles
  • Annotations not syncing between iPad and web versions
Show 7 more
  • PDF metadata recognition failures when adding papers
  • Settings reset when returning to previously edited files
  • App incompatible with older iOS versions (iOS 12)
  • Login authentication errors with university accounts
  • App crashes without reliable internet connection
  • Search functionality broken after updates
  • Annotations not saving/loading on iOS 14.4.2

Requested features

17 requests
  • Dark mode implementation
  • Edit citation metadata on mobile app
  • Change PDF file functionality
  • Save to downloads feature
  • Dictionary/lookup function for reading
Show 12 more
  • Cite while you write feature
  • BibTeX export capability
  • Ability to upload PDFs directly from mobile app
  • Support for Safari and other browsers
  • Desktop application version
  • Shared library access in mobile app
  • Advanced sorting options (by title, author, date)
  • Custom color options for annotations
  • Paste images into PDFs
  • Shape snapping for drawing tools
  • University email authentication
  • Paper rating system beyond stars

SqueakBase

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Paperpile

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

SqueakBase

Subscriptions2
  • Standard Monthly$12.991 Month
  • Lab Monthly$49.991 Month

Questions

Is Paperpile free?
Paperpile is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is SqueakBase free?
SqueakBase is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Paperpile or SqueakBase have ads?
Neither Paperpile nor SqueakBase shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Paperpile or SqueakBase?
Paperpile ships an update every 2 months, and SqueakBase every 6 weeks. Most recently, Paperpile was updated on October 19, 2026 and SqueakBase on October 17, 2026.

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