What is alphaXiv?
alphaXiv is a website for reading, discussing and discovering research papers from arXiv. Any arXiv link works on it: swap "arxiv" for "alphaxiv" in the address and you land on the same paper, with a space for comments and questions alongside it. Researchers can leave public notes, tag authors and follow people whose work they care about.
On top of the discussion layer, alphaXiv adds AI help. An assistant answers questions about a paper and grounds its replies in the underlying work, and papers get AI overviews so you can judge quickly whether to read further. The Explore feed shows trending papers with view counts, there are conference pages, a grounded literature review tool, a Chrome extension and an MCP server for connecting AI agents. You can browse without an account and sign up to comment or use more features.
Main Features
- Open any arXiv paper by changing the URL to alphaxiv
- AI assistant grounded in the paper's content
- Public comments and author tagging on each paper
- Trending feed and researcher profiles to follow
- Chrome extension and MCP server
How to Get Started with alphaXiv
- Go to alphaxiv.org or replace arxiv with alphaxiv in a paper's URL.
- Read the paper and its AI overview side by side.
- Ask the assistant a question about a section you find hard.
- Sign up to comment, follow researchers and save papers.
alphaXiv Pricing
alphaXiv is free to use. The site does not list any paid plan or pricing page.
Who Should Use It?
- AI and machine learning researchers
- Students reading their first arXiv papers
- Engineers tracking new research
- Authors who want feedback on preprints
- Reading groups discussing papers together
alphaXiv Alternatives
- Semantic Scholar: Free AI-powered search engine for scientific papers.
- Scholarcy: AI summariser that turns research papers into flashcards.
- OpenRead Academy: AI reading platform for research papers with summaries and chat.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is alphaXiv free?
Yes. alphaXiv is free to use and does not list any paid plan.
How do I open an arXiv paper on alphaXiv?
Change arxiv to alphaxiv in the paper's web address, or search for the paper on alphaxiv.org.
Do I need an account?
You can browse and read without one. An account lets you comment, follow researchers and use more of the AI features.