Alternatives · 2026
Best Side Reader Alternatives in 2026
24 alternatives · 23 with a free plan · Updated
What are the best Side Reader alternatives?
The best Side Reader alternatives for AI Chatbot in 2026 are PDF GPT (AI PDF chat tool, free), PDFChat (AI PDF chat tool, paid) and PDF AI (AI PDF reader and chatbot, free). 23 of the 24 listed alternatives have a free or freemium plan.
Looking for something other than Side Reader? Below are 24 alternatives in AI Chatbot, AI PDF and AI PDF Summarizer, all closely matched, ranked by how much they overlap with Side Reader. Side Reader itself is free. Each entry shows what the tool does, what it shares with Side Reader, its key features and pricing.
What is Side Reader?
Split-screen reading is the core of Side Reader: a Chrome extension that opens a PDF next to ChatGPT, Claude or DeepSeek so you can read the document and ask the chatbot about it in the same window.
- Pricing
- Free
Side Reader alternatives compared
| Tool | Pricing | Shared with Side Reader | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Side Reader | Free | — | Original |
| PDF GPT | Free | AI Chatbot, AI PDF, AI PDF Summarizer, AI Reader, AI Translate | Strong match |
| PDFChat | Paid | AI Chatbot, AI PDF, AI PDF Summarizer, AI Reader, AI Translate | Strong match |
| PDF AI | Free | AI Chatbot, AI PDF, AI PDF Summarizer, AI Reader, AI Translate | Strong match |
| Sider | Free | AI Chatbot, AI PDF, AI Reader, AI Translate | Strong match |
| Gene AI Assistant | Free | AI Chatbot, AI PDF Summarizer, AI Reader, AI Translate | Strong match |
Top 24 alternatives to Side Reader
- #1
AI PDF chat tool that answers questions, summarizes, and searches PDF documents, with clickable page citations and support for over 90 languages.
In common with Side Reader: AI Chatbot, AI PDF, AI PDF Summarizer, AI Reader, AI Translate
- It supports over 90 languages and provides citations with clickable page references
Pricing: free, same as Side Reader
- #2
PDFChat is an AI PDF chat tool that answers questions about documents, extracts data, and runs tasks on uploaded files.
In common with Side Reader: AI Chatbot, AI PDF, AI PDF Summarizer, AI Reader, AI Translate
- AI tool to chat with PDFs
Pricing: paid, while Side Reader is free
- #3
AI PDF reader and chatbot that answers questions about any PDF, with instant summaries and simpler explanations of dense documents.
In common with Side Reader: AI Chatbot, AI PDF, AI PDF Summarizer, AI Reader, AI Translate
- Chat with PDFs for instant answers
Pricing: free, same as Side Reader
- #4
Sider is a browser extension AI assistant that helps you read, write, and chat with ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini on any webpage.
In common with Side Reader: AI Chatbot, AI PDF, AI Reader, AI Translate
- AI assistant integrating ChatGPT
Pricing: free, same as Side Reader
- #5
Gene is a free Chrome extension AI assistant for summarizing and translating text, powered by GPT-4 and opened with a Ctrl+Q shortcut.
In common with Side Reader: AI Chatbot, AI PDF Summarizer, AI Reader, AI Translate
- Completely free to use
- Powered by GPT-4
- Easy to use with a simple shortcut (Ctrl+Q)
Pricing: free, same as Side Reader
- #6P
Chat with and summarize PDF files online using an AI PDF summarizer that offers basic features free.
In common with Side Reader: AI Chatbot, AI PDF, AI PDF Summarizer, AI Reader
- User-friendly interface
- Supports multiple languages
- Secure file handling with HTTPS encryption
Pricing: free, same as Side Reader
- #7
FilePower AI is an AI document chat tool that summarizes, translates, and answers questions about PDF, PPT, and Word files.
In common with Side Reader: AI Chatbot, AI PDF, AI PDF Summarizer, AI Translate
- It helps users generate various types of work content
Pricing: free, same as Side Reader
- #8
Converse is an AI reading tool that summarizes web articles, PDFs, and YouTube videos and lets you chat with their content.
In common with Side Reader: AI Chatbot, AI PDF, AI PDF Summarizer, AI Reader
- This can be used for commercial purposes
Pricing: free, same as Side Reader
- #9
Free open-source Slack bot that summarizes webpages, documents and videos and supports voice chat for AI summarizer and assistant use.
In common with Side Reader: AI Chatbot, AI PDF Summarizer, AI Reader, AI Translate
- Summarizes various content types (webpages
- Offers voice communication
- Provides hot news summaries
Pricing: free, same as Side Reader
- #10
AI assistant that lets you chat with dense PDFs, videos and scanned documents, with page-cited answers and summaries.
In common with Side Reader: AI Chatbot, AI PDF, AI PDF Summarizer, AI Reader
- It supports scanned documents with OCR technology and can handle documents up to 400 pages
Pricing: free, same as Side Reader
- #11P
AI PDF chat tool that lets you search, organize, and summarize PDF documents in one place, with OCR for text and images.
In common with Side Reader: AI Chatbot, AI PDF, AI PDF Summarizer, AI Translate
- It supports over 85 languages and has processed over 20
- PDFs for 500+ users
Pricing: free, same as Side Reader
- #12
Ask questions about your PDF files and pull out key insights with this AI PDF chatbot and summarizer, which has a free plan.
In common with Side Reader: AI Chatbot, AI PDF, AI PDF Summarizer
- Use AI to chat with PDFs
Pricing: free, same as Side Reader
- #13
SmartaDoc AI is an AI PDF summarizer that lets you upload documents, ask questions, and analyze files like Word, PowerPoint, and EPUB.
In common with Side Reader: AI Chatbot, AI PDF Summarizer, AI Reader
Pricing: free, same as Side Reader
- #14
AI document summarizer and file analysis assistant that reads multiple files, translates text, solves math problems, and handles scanned PDFs with OCR.
In common with Side Reader: AI Chatbot, AI PDF Summarizer, AI Translate
- Pizi excels in processing complex data structures
- Say goodbye to AI "hallucinations." Pizi ensures coherent
- Perfect for AI-powered multi-file analysis
Pricing: free, same as Side Reader
- #15S
Solace is an AI document chat tool that summarizes PDFs, images, and text files, builds mind maps, and answers questions from uploaded content.
In common with Side Reader: AI Chatbot, AI PDF, AI PDF Summarizer
- AI-driven platform for document interaction
Pricing: free, same as Side Reader
- #16
Humata AI is an AI file understanding and data extraction tool for PDFs, with a free plan for small document sets.
In common with Side Reader: AI Chatbot, AI PDF, AI PDF Summarizer
- AI tool for fast file understanding and data extraction
Pricing: free, same as Side Reader
- #17
Chat with PDFs and websites using GPT-4, with a free tier offering 10 daily creations.
In common with Side Reader: AI Chatbot, AI PDF, AI PDF Summarizer
- AI creations daily
Pricing: free, same as Side Reader
- #18
Sider is an AI assistant browser extension that brings several AI models and writing, reading and translation tools into one place.
In common with Side Reader: AI Chatbot, AI PDF, AI Reader, AI Translate
- Integrates multiple AI models in one platform
- Offers a variety of AI tools for different tasks
- Available as a browser extension
Pricing: free, same as Side Reader
- #19
Chat with your PDF files using an AI PDF summarizer that stores documents and answers questions in multiple languages.
In common with Side Reader: AI Chatbot, AI PDF, AI PDF Summarizer
- An interactive PDF viewer enhances engagement
Pricing: free, same as Side Reader
- #20
Docalysis is an AI PDF chatbot that answers questions about uploaded documents and can chat across multiple files at once.
In common with Side Reader: AI Chatbot, AI PDF, AI Reader
- AI chatbot for PDF documents
Pricing: free, same as Side Reader
- #21
ChatPDF is an AI PDF summarizer and question answering tool that lets you ask questions about any PDF and get answers with cited sources.
In common with Side Reader: AI Chatbot, AI PDF, AI PDF Summarizer, AI Reader
- It can extract text from PDFs and feed it to GPT for analysis
- It summarizes and answers questions for free
Pricing: free, same as Side Reader
- #22T
Tooltips.ai is an AI reading extension that explains highlighted text and answers follow-up questions, powered by ChatGPT.
In common with Side Reader: AI Chatbot, AI PDF Summarizer, AI Reader
- Enhances reading comprehension
- Saves time by providing instant explanations
- Supports multiple languages
Pricing: free, same as Side Reader
- #23
Yatter AI is a chatbot assistant that runs on WhatsApp and Telegram, answering questions, reading PDFs, and handling voice or image input.
In common with Side Reader: AI Chatbot, AI PDF Summarizer, AI Translate
- Available 24/7 on WhatsApp and Telegram
- Powered by advanced AI models (ChatGPT-4o
- Google Gemini
Pricing: free, same as Side Reader
- #24D
DocGPT is a PDF summarizer and document question tool that uses ChatGPT to pull out key information from files.
In common with Side Reader: AI Chatbot, AI PDF, AI PDF Summarizer
- Quickly extracts information from PDFs
- Summarizes PDF content efficiently
- Allows for interactive querying of documents
Pricing: free, same as Side Reader
How we picked these Side Reader alternatives
We rank tools by how closely they match Side Reader: tools that share more of its categories rank first, then tools whose main category, tags and description overlap with it, then community votes and views. Pricing type and features come from each product's SoftwareVital listing. Admins can pin or remove tools from this list.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best alternatives to Side Reader in 2026?
The closest alternatives to Side Reader are PDF GPT, PDFChat, PDF AI, Sider and Gene AI Assistant. They are ranked by how many categories and tags they share with Side Reader and how similar their descriptions are, then by community votes and views on SoftwareVital.
What is the closest alternative to Side Reader?
PDF GPT is the closest match because it shares AI Chatbot, AI PDF and AI PDF Summarizer with Side Reader. It is free.
Are there free alternatives to Side Reader?
Yes. 23 of the 24 alternatives have a free or freemium plan, including PDF GPT (free), PDF AI (free), Sider (free), Gene AI Assistant (free) and PDFGuru (free). Side Reader is free.
Which Side Reader alternatives are paid or enterprise tools?
PDFChat (paid) uses paid or enterprise pricing, which usually means more support and admin options for teams.
How does Side Reader compare to PDF GPT?
PDF GPT overlaps with Side Reader in AI Chatbot, AI PDF and AI PDF Summarizer. Its listed features include it supports over 90 languages and provides citations with clickable page references. Pricing: free, same as Side Reader. Open the side-by-side compare page for a full breakdown.
What category is Side Reader in?
Side Reader is listed under AI Chatbot on SoftwareVital. Browse that category to see more tools in the same group.