Petal
Walnut Creek, California, United States
What it is
Petal is a research assistant and reference manager for academic work, available on the web and as a browser extension. It helps users narrow literature reviews and compare studies, while its research library stores PDFs organized with collections, metadata, and tags. Shared workspaces support group projects, co-authored papers, and reviews. AI tools include translation, summarization, explanations, question and search-term suggestions, key-point extraction, and conversational AI. Its citation generator supports over 10,000 styles and can copy citations or export them as BibTeX or Word. References can be imported through DOI, PMID, ArXivID, ISBN, ISSN, and EAN lookup, or by capturing metadata from URLs. Petal lists browser add-ins for Chrome, Firefox, and Safari, plus a Word add-in for references and bibliographies. The free plan includes 1 GB of cloud storage, one seat, three guests, 400 AI credits, two collections, and three annotations per document; citation export is not included. Paid plans are listed from $4.99/user/mo (annual). Petal says its primary audience is academia and identifies research institutes, universities, and large organizations as enterprise-license prospects.
For and against
For
- Shared workspaces support group research projects.
- Imports references by multiple identifiers.
- Word add-in supports references and bibliographies.
- Free plan includes 400 AI credits.
Against
- Free plan has 1 GB cloud storage.
- Free plan does not include citation export.
- No mobile apps are listed.
- Free plan is limited to one seat.
The verdict
Petal brings PDF organization, AI research tools, collaboration, and citation management into one academic workflow. Review the free-plan limits and paid-plan pricing if you need citation export or more capacity.
Who it suits
Petal may suit academic researchers and groups collaborating on literature reviews, papers, or research projects. Its PDF library and citation tools may also help people organizing references for writing.
Plans and prices
Free
1 GB cloud storage · 1 seat · 3 guests · 400 AI credits
Read 2 Oct 2026 · petal.org
Plus
2 GB cloud storage · 1 seat · 3 guests · 400 AI credits/month
Read 2 Oct 2026 · petal.org
Advanced
10 GB cloud storage · 1 seat · 3 guests · 1,200 AI credits/month
Read 2 Oct 2026 · petal.org
Premium
25 GB cloud storage · 1 seat · 3 guests · 2,000 AI credits/month
Read 2 Oct 2026 · petal.org
On the record
- AI tools
- Petal lists translation, summarization, explanation, question and search-term suggestions, key-point extraction, and conversational AI.petal.org · read 2 Oct 2026
- Browser and Word add-ins
- The product page lists web importer add-ins for Chrome, Firefox, and Safari, plus a Word add-in for inserting references and generating bibliographies.petal.org · read 2 Oct 2026
- Citation styles
- The citation generator supports over 10,000 citation styles and can copy citations or export them as BibTeX or Word.petal.org · read 2 Oct 2026
- Collaboration
- Shared workspaces support collaboration on group projects, co-authored papers, and reviews.petal.org · read 2 Oct 2026
- Company
- Petal's site identifies the company as Paladin Max, Inc. and gives a Walnut Creek, California mailing address.petal.org · read 2 Oct 2026
- Free-plan limits
- The Free plan includes 1 GB cloud storage, one seat, three guests, 400 AI credits, two collections, and three annotations per document.petal.org · read 2 Oct 2026
- Intended users
- Petal says it was created to serve academia and names research institutes, universities, and large organizations as enterprise-license prospects.petal.org · read 2 Oct 2026
- Privacy and security
- Petal's privacy policy says user information is primarily stored on servers in Oregon, describes encryption and access controls, and says the company was in the process of seeking ISO 27001 certification when the policy took effect.petal.org · read 2 Oct 2026
- Reference imports
- Petal says it can import by DOI, PMID, ArXivID, ISBN, ISSN, and EAN lookup and capture metadata from URLs.petal.org · read 2 Oct 2026
- Research assistant
- Petal describes itself as an AI-powered research assistant for academia that helps narrow literature reviews and compare studies.petal.org · read 2 Oct 2026
- Research library
- Users can upload, store, and access PDF documents and organize them with collections, metadata, and tags.petal.org · read 2 Oct 2026
- Support
- The FAQ says Petal generally responds to customer support requests within 30 minutes.petal.org · read 2 Oct 2026
