PDF.chat vs Sharly AI

PDF.chat8.8Visit Sharly AI9.0Visit

PDF.chat #5 in AI PDF Assistants 8.8/10 Free plan · paid from $5/mo Free plan✓ 3 of 3 features Visit PDF.chat

vs

Higher score Sharly AI #6 in AI PDF Assistants 9.0/10 Free plan · paid from $12.50/user/mo (annual) Free plan✓ 3 of 3 features Visit Sharly AI

• PDF.chat fits best

  Affordable cited PDF chat with API access

• Sharly AI fits best

  Collaborative document research teams

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Side by side

Feature	PDF.chat 8.8/10 Visit ↗	Sharly AI 9.0/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.8	9.0
Ranking	#5 in AI PDF Assistants	#6 in AI PDF Assistants
Best for	Affordable cited PDF chat with API access	Collaborative document research teams
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Free plan + paid
Starting price	$5/mo	Not published
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud, Browser extension	Cloud
Platforms	Web	Web
Support	Email, Docs	Email, Docs
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features PDF.chat 3/3 · Sharly AI 3/3
Multiple PDFs per chat	✓	✓
Source citations	✓	✓
Scanned PDF support	✓	✓
Specs
Maximum file size	Not published	Not published
Maximum PDF pages	Not published	Not published
Export formats	TXT, MD, DOCX, PDF, CSV, JSON	APA, MLA, Chicago
Access platforms	web, api	web
Our review
Pros	Page-cited answers link responses to supporting passages. OCR handles scanned or photographed PDFs. REST API, model comparison, memory, and exports support varied workflows.	Chat across multiple PDFs and documents with linked inline citations Detect contradictions and compare information in natural language Shared workspaces, annotations, permissions, and activity logs
Cons	Access is centered on web and API rather than a broader platform range. API access starts with the $19-per-month Pro plan. Priority queue and support are limited to the $49-per-month Business plan.	Free plan is limited to 5 documents per day Advanced collaboration and admin controls require paid tiers Access is provided through the web platform
Our verdict	PDF.chat is a browser-based AI assistant for asking questions about PDFs and other documents. It suits researchers, students, analysts, legal and operations teams, and anyone working through contracts, manuals, reports, textbooks, or other… Read the review →	Sharly AI is a web-based research assistant for individuals, analysts, compliance groups, academics, and research teams. It accepts PDFs, DOCX, PPTX, spreadsheets, URLs, Google Docs, and Notion uploads, then provides summaries, answers,… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• PDF.chat — where it wins

  • Page-cited answers link responses to supporting passages.
  • OCR handles scanned or photographed PDFs.
  • REST API, model comparison, memory, and exports support varied workflows.

  Where it doesn't

  • Access is centered on web and API rather than a broader platform range.
  • API access starts with the $19-per-month Pro plan.
  • Priority queue and support are limited to the $49-per-month Business plan.

• Sharly AI — where it wins

  • Chat across multiple PDFs and documents with linked inline citations
  • Detect contradictions and compare information in natural language
  • Shared workspaces, annotations, permissions, and activity logs

  Where it doesn't

  • Free plan is limited to 5 documents per day
  • Advanced collaboration and admin controls require paid tiers
  • Access is provided through the web platform

• PDF.chat8.8/10 · Free plan · paid from $5/mo

  Affordable PDF chat with citations, OCR, model comparison, and API access.

  Visit PDF.chatFull verdict →
• Sharly AI9.0/10 · Free plan · paid from $12.50/user/mo (annual)

  A collaborative web workspace for multi-document research, citations, and document comparison.

  Visit Sharly AIFull verdict →