# PaperQA2 RAG over PDFs with in-text citations grounded in passages. PaperQA2 is free, with no paid plan attached, at github.com. ## Facts - **Pricing tier:** Free - **Works on:** Self-hosted, API - **Works in browser:** No ## Capabilities - RAG over PDFs with in-text citations grounded in passages - Agentic search that iteratively refines evidence - Integrates academic metadata for citation tracking - Apache 2.0; calendar-versioned release Dec 2025 ## FAQ ### What is PaperQA2? PaperQA2 is listed under Academic Research, in the Research & Learning category on Flocci AI Tools. RAG over PDFs with in-text citations grounded in passages. It is free, with no paid plan attached, and it lives at github.com. ### Is PaperQA2 free? PaperQA2 is listed as fully free — there is no paid tier attached to it in the catalog. That makes it one of the 397 entries on Flocci AI Tools with no upgrade path built in. ### Can I use PaperQA2 in a browser, or is there an app? PaperQA2 needs to be installed or self-hosted — it doesn't run in a browser tab. It is available on self-hosting and an API. ### What can PaperQA2 do? PaperQA2 does 4 things the catalog singles out: Rag over pdfs with in-text citations grounded in passages; agentic search that iteratively refines evidence; integrates academic metadata for citation tracking; apache 2.0; calendar-versioned release dec 2025. ### What is the best free alternative to PaperQA2? Ai2 Paper Finder (Asta) is the closest free alternative: it sits in the same Academic Research sub-category and is free. alphaXiv, ResearchRabbit and Semantic Scholar also start free. The full list is on the alternatives page. ## Related - [PaperQA2 alternatives](https://aitools.flocci.in/alternatives/paperqa2) - [Academic Research](https://aitools.flocci.in/category/research-learning/academic-research) - [Best free AI tools for academic research](https://aitools.flocci.in/best/best-academic-research) --- Source: Flocci AI Tools — https://aitools.flocci.in/tool/paperqa2 Facts last verified: October 2026