Search+ vs ChatPDF
ChatPDF is a fast way to chat with a PDF: you drop in a file, ask questions, and answers cite the PDF. Folders let you chat with several PDFs at once, it works in any language, and it adds study tools such as summaries, flashcards and slides, with desktop and mobile apps. Search+ is built for ongoing projects: workspaces that keep your documents, standing instructions and conversations together, with citations you open to read the excerpt. Pick ChatPDF for quick questions and study help; pick Search+ for a body of documents you keep returning to.
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At a glance
| Search+ | ChatPDF | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A web app for asking questions across document workspaces, with cited answers | Chat with PDFs and other files, with study and writing tools |
| Several files | Ask across every document in a workspace or narrow to one | Folders let you chat with multiple PDFs in one conversation |
| Citations | Inline citations; open one to read the supporting excerpt | Built-in citations anchor responses to PDF references |
| Languages | English interface | PDFs and chat in any language |
| Apps | Browser only | Web, desktop app and mobile app |
How Search+ and ChatPDF differ
ChatPDF is broader for study work
Alongside chat, ChatPDF offers summaries, an AI writer, an AI detector, flashcards and slides, and it can chat with videos and websites as well as files. Search+ does one thing: cited answers from the documents in your workspace.
Search+ is organized around projects
Search+ workspaces hold a project's PDFs, its standing instructions (Workspace Context) and its conversations, all saved for your next session. ChatPDF organizes files in folders for multi-file chats; Search+ adds rules that shape every answer in the workspace.
ChatPDF works in any language and on more devices
ChatPDF accepts PDFs in any language and chats in any language, with desktop and mobile apps. The Search+ interface is in English, and it runs in the browser only.
Both cite the PDF
ChatPDF anchors responses to PDF references. Search+ cites inline and opens each citation to the supporting excerpt, with page or section references when the document provides them. Test both on a document you know well.
Search+ vs ChatPDF, feature by feature
Checked against public pages on October 11, 2026. "Not covered here" means the pages we checked do not say; it is not a claim that the feature is missing.
| Topic | Search+ | ChatPDF |
|---|---|---|
| Files | PDF, Word and Excel files; OCR for scanned pages; up to 5 GB per file | PDFs, other files, videos, websites |
| Citations | Inline citations; open one to read the supporting excerpt | Built-in citations |
| Question scope | Whole workspace or one document | One PDF or a folder of PDFs |
| Standing instructions | Workspace Context, applied to every question | Not covered here |
| Saved work | Workspaces and conversation history are saved | Chat history when signed in |
| Sharing and teams | Team plan available | Not covered here |
| Export and outputs | No export | Summaries, flashcards, slides |
| Where it runs | Browser only | Web, desktop and mobile |
| Price | See current plans on searchplus.ai | Free sign-up; paid Plus upgrade |
As of 2026-10-11
Sources: ChatPDF homepage
Pricing
ChatPDF offers a free sign-up and a paid Plus upgrade; its pricing page was not reachable when we checked, so see chatpdf.com. For Search+ plans, see the pricing section on the Search+ homepage.
| Product | Plan | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatPDF | Free and Plus | See chatpdf.com | A paid Plus upgrade exists |
Prices as of 2026-10
About each product
Search+
Search+ is a web app for working with documents. You create a workspace for each project, upload PDF, Word and Excel files, and ask questions across every document or narrow a question to one. Answers come with inline citations; open one to read the excerpt behind it. Workspace Context holds standing instructions that apply to every question, and workspaces and conversations are saved so you can pick up where you left off.
ChatPDF
ChatPDF lets you chat with PDFs and other files, videos and websites. Built-in citations anchor its answers to the PDF, folders allow multi-file chats, and it works in any language. It also offers summaries, an AI writer, an AI detector, flashcards and slides, with desktop and mobile apps. ChatPDF says it is loved by more than 10 million users.
Which one fits your work
Choose Search+ when
- You work on the same PDFs over weeks and want them kept in one workspace
- You want standing instructions to shape every answer
- You need to open each citation and read the excerpt
- You keep separate conversations for separate questions in one project
Choose ChatPDF when
- You want a quick answer from one PDF
- You study and want flashcards, slides or summaries
- Your PDFs are in languages other than English
- You want desktop or mobile apps
How to try both on the same documents
- Take a PDF set for a real project, not a single file.
- Upload it to a ChatPDF folder and a Search+ workspace.
- Set your reading rules in Search+ Workspace Context.
- Ask both a question that needs three of the documents.
- Come back the next day and continue the conversation in each.
Questions about Search+ and ChatPDF
Can ChatPDF chat with several PDFs?
Does Search+ have flashcards or slides like ChatPDF?
Does Search+ work with PDFs in other languages?
Is there a ChatPDF app?
Which is better for long projects?
Sources
Recheck public pages before making a buying decision. Spotted an error? Tell us through the Search+ app and we will correct it.
Checked 2026-10-11
Keep the whole project, not just one chat
Put your documents in a Search+ workspace and pick up where you left off.
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