Best Access Scholar Articles Apps

156+ iOS apps curated and reviewed

4.4 avg rating
20 free apps
Updated June 2026

Access Scholar Articles is the household name in access scholar articles, but it's far from the only option. We track 156+ alternatives and competitors on iOS โ€” many free, many higher-rated than you'd expect.

Top Picks for Access Scholar Articles

ResearchGate#2

ResearchGate by ResearchGate GmbH

Access research on the go
Strong Contender
๐ŸŒ Social Networking
4.8๐Ÿ˜Š(14K ratings)
FreeAds
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Access over 150 million scientific publications and connect with millions of researchers worldwide. Stay updated on new research in your field, track your academic stats, and download full-text articles for offline reading.

What We Love

  • ๐Ÿš€ Useful for research and collaboration
  • ๐Ÿ‘ Great for tracking citations and impact
  • ๐Ÿ” Helpful for discovering relevant research
  • ๐Ÿ’ก Valuable platform for sharing work

Room to Improve

  • ๐Ÿ› Crashes and stability issues
  • ๐Ÿ“ฑ Not optimized for iPad/tablet use
  • ๐Ÿ” Poor search functionality
Academia.edu#3

Academia.edu by Academia Inc

Accelerating research
Worth Considering
๐Ÿ“š Education
4.8๐Ÿ˜Š(16K ratings)
FreeIn-App Purchases
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Access a vast library of open-access research papers on your mobile device. Discover new studies, track mentions and readership of your work, and connect with fellow scholars. Explore millions of academic papers on diverse topics.

What We Love

  • ๐Ÿš€ Helpful for research and learning
  • ๐Ÿ“š Comprehensive academic resources
  • ๐Ÿ” Useful for finding relevant papers
  • ๐ŸŒ Connects researchers globally

Room to Improve

  • ๐Ÿ’ฐ Sudden price increase for Premium
  • ๐Ÿ” Unintuitive search and navigation
  • ๐Ÿ”’ Sign-in issues and frequent log-outs

More Access Scholar Articles apps to explore

4
R Discovery: Academic Research
R Discovery: Academic Research
R Discovery: Academic Research
Access 100M+ research papers
Free

Access over 250 million research papers, including open access and preprints, with personalized feeds and curated reading lists. This app simplifies literature searches and helps you stay updated on academic research.

Access 250M+ research articlesPersonalized AI-curated feedsOpen access article library
๐Ÿ“š Education
(904)
free with in-app purchases
5
BrowZine
BrowZine
BrowZine
Academic journals simplified
Free

Access and read scholarly journals from your institution or via Open Access. Organize your research by browsing subjects, creating a personal bookshelf, and saving articles to your preferred citation managers or cloud storage.

Browse journals by subjectView table of contentsPersonalize journal bookshelf
๐Ÿ“š Education
(62)
ad-supported
6
PaperShip - Mendeley & Zotero
PaperShip - Mendeley & Zotero
PaperShip - Mendeley & Zotero
by shazino
Free

Access and annotate your Mendeley or Zotero library on your mobile devices. This app offers a powerful PDF reader with extensive annotation tools, metadata editing, and seamless syncing with your desktop library. Share your findings and track article impact.

Access Mendeley/Zotero libraryPDF annotation toolsMetadata editing
๐Ÿ“Š Productivity
(921)
free with in-app purchases
7
Open Access Helper
Open Access Helper
Open Access Helper
skip the academic paywall
Free

Easily find legal, free versions of paywalled scientific articles using trusted APIs. Seamlessly connect to university library proxies like EZProxy and OpenAthens. This open-source tool respects your privacy and makes research more accessible.

Find legal, free scholarly articlesAccess paywalled researchIntegrates with unpaywall.org and core.ac.uk
๐Ÿ“š Education
(4)
free
8
PubMed Hub
PubMed Hub
PubMed Hub
Scientific articles search
Free

Access and search a vast database of scientific research articles. Discover new studies, view author information, and access full text or publisher links. Features include article sharing, impact factor information, and PDF downloads.

Comprehensive scientific article searchAuthor and abstract detailsFull-text availability and publisher redirection
๐Ÿฅ Medical
(337)
free with in-app purchases
9
Papers by ReadCube
Papers by ReadCube
Papers by ReadCube
by Digital Science & Research Solutions Inc.
Free

Manage, read, and discover research literature on your mobile devices. Annotate PDFs, organize your library with custom lists and tags, and receive personalized recommendations for new papers. Syncs seamlessly with desktop and web applications.

Read and manage research papersAnnotate PDFs with notes and highlightsOrganize library with custom lists and tags
๐Ÿ“Š Productivity
(551)
free
10
Zotero
Zotero
Zotero
Your research assistant
Free

This research tool helps you collect, organize, annotate, cite, and share your academic and professional work. Save articles, books, and webpages, add notes and highlights, and generate bibliographies in thousands of styles. Collaborate with others and sync your library across devices.

Collect research from various sourcesOrganize with collections and tagsAnnotate PDFs and webpages
๐Ÿ“Š Productivity
(420)
free
11
Sci-Hub
Sci-Hub
Sci-Hub
Removing Barriers in Science
Free

Access and download a vast collection of medical research papers. Save or print PDF versions of scientific articles to support your studies or work. This tool aims to make scientific literature readily available.

Search medical research papersDownload PDF articlesSave research papers
๐Ÿฅ Medical
(3)
free
12
EndNote
EndNote
EndNote
by Clarivate Analytics (US) LLC
Free

Manage your research from anywhere with this popular tool. Organize, search, and share academic papers and bibliographies seamlessly across devices. Sync your library and annotate PDFs on the go.

Sync research library across devicesSearch academic databasesAnnotate PDFs
๐Ÿ“Š Productivity
(162)
free with in-app purchases
13
Elsevier eBooks on VitalSource
Elsevier eBooks on VitalSource
Elsevier eBooks on VitalSource
by Elsevier Inc.
Free

Access and read Elsevier textbooks on your iOS device. Download books for offline study, search your entire library, and add notes and highlights. Sync your progress across devices for a seamless learning experience.

Download books for offline readingSearch entire libraryCreate notes and highlights
๐Ÿ“š Education
(8.8K)
free
14
Bookends
Bookends
Bookends
Reference management on the go
Free
$10.99 | 100% OFF

Manage your research references and PDFs on your mobile device. Search online databases, import metadata, annotate PDFs, and organize your library. Offers basic functionality for free with optional one-time purchase and yearly subscription for advanced features like cloud sync and unlimited imports.

Search online reference databasesImport metadata and PDFsPDF annotation and markup
๐Ÿ“Š Productivity
(392)
free with in-app purchases
15
Prime: PubMed Journals & Tools
Prime: PubMed Journals & Tools
Prime: PubMed Journals & Tools
Includes Grapherenceยฎ Access
Free

Access up-to-date journal citations and abstracts from the complete PubMed database. Perform powerful searches, link to full-text articles, and utilize exclusive tools for visual exploration of research relationships and personalized discovery.

PubMed database accessKeyword, author, journal searchLink to full-text articles
๐Ÿฅ Medical
(663)
free with in-app purchases
16
References On Tap
References On Tap
References On Tap
Reference management on the go
Free

This app helps you find, display, and import reference information and PDFs from various academic databases. Organize your references into groups, perform advanced searches, and sync your library across devices. It offers both a one-time purchase for core features and a subscription for cloud syncing.

Search academic databases (arXiv, Google Scholar, PubMed, etc.)Import reference information and PDFsOrganize references in static and smart groups
๐Ÿ“Š Productivity
(295)
free with in-app purchases
17
Paperpile
Paperpile
Paperpile
Manage research papers
Free

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.

Search millions of academic papersCollect PDFs with one tapOrganize with folders and labels
๐Ÿ“Š Productivity
(129)
free
18
Highlights: PDF Reader & Notes
Highlights: PDF Reader & Notes
Highlights: PDF Reader & Notes
Edit Research Documents/Books
Free

This app is a fast and lightweight PDF reader designed for research. It allows users to read, highlight, and annotate documents, and then extract this information into organized notes. Advanced features include table data extraction, text recognition, and smart copying of annotations into various formats.

Read and browse PDF documentsHighlight, underline, and strikethrough textAdd comments and sticky notes
๐Ÿ“Š Productivity
(1.6K)
freemium
19
Essayist: Academic Writing App
Essayist: Academic Writing App
Essayist: Academic Writing App
APA, MLA, Chicago & More
Free

This app simplifies academic writing by automatically formatting essays in various styles like APA, MLA, and Chicago. It includes a universal reference manager, citation tools, and equation support, allowing for distraction-free writing and easy export to PDF or Word.

Automatic essay formattingUniversal reference managerIn-text citation and footnote insertion
๐Ÿ“Š Productivity
(378)
subscription
20
Read by QxMD
Read by QxMD
Read by QxMD
Personalized Medical Journal
Free

Access and organize the latest medical research and topic reviews in a personalized digital journal. Stay updated with new scientific findings and easily retrieve full-text PDFs from PubMed and other sources.

Personalized digital medical journalAccess latest medical researchRead topic reviews
๐Ÿฅ Medical
(6K)
free with in-app purchases