Citely
Citely · Writing · Leaning
Citely is a web-based AI citation checker and source finder built for students, researchers and journal editors who need to trust the references in their work. Paste a claim or a full reference list. Citely cross-checks every entry against CrossRef's 160M+ records plus PubMed, arXiv and OpenAlex, then flags citations that look fake, mismatched or unverifiable. It works as a fake citation checker and an AI source finder in one place. Got a claim but no source? Start there instead and it hands you real papers to cite.
About Citely
What Is Citely
Citely is an online citation verification tool that tracks references back to their original sources. Its main job is catching fabricated literature, the kind of plausible-looking citation that AI chatbots invent, and helping you confirm that a real paper actually says what your text claims.
The problem it solves is specific. Since ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini became everyday writing aids, fake references have slipped into essays, dissertations and journal submissions at a scale that manual checking can't keep up with. A single reference list can hold dozens of entries, and verifying each one by hand means opening the DOI, checking the title, the authors, the year and the venue against a database. Citely automates that sweep.
The biggest limitation is the billing model. Citely sells credits rather than offering a free tier, so you pay before you can test it on a real reference list. Verification also runs on text you paste in, which means it doesn't sit inside your word processor the way a reference manager might.
Getting Started
- Sign up for a Citely account through the official site.
- Pick a plan or start with the one-time Trial to run an initial check.
- Paste the text you want to verify, or paste a claim if you need to find sources for it.
- Run the check and read the flags on each reference.
- Export verified citations in APA, MLA or Chicago format where your plan allows it.
Product Information
A quick look at Citely's pricing, supported platforms, and performance.
Best for
The users, tasks, and scenarios where this tool fits best.
Users
- Students
- Journal editors and peer reviewers
- Research librarians
Tasks
- Verifying a reference list
- Finding sources for a claim
- Spotting chatbot hallucinations
Scenarios
- Final proofread before submission
- Literature review prep
- Teaching citation integrity
Key features
AI Citation Checker
This is the core check. Paste your text and Citely compares each citation against CrossRef, PubMed, arXiv and OpenAlex, then marks the ones that don't hold up. It focuses on AI-generated references from tools like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini, which tend to invent plausible titles and fake DOIs.
AI Source Finder
The reverse of checking. Paste a claim or a paragraph and Citely returns real academic sources with verified metadata, so you have something legitimate to cite. It searches the same databases and pulls up matches for your topic. No source yet? This is where you start.
Reference Checker and Citation Finder
Two related tools run alongside the main checker. The Reference Checker sweeps a whole reference list, while the Citation Finder turns a claim into ready-to-cite references. Both aim at the same goal: every entry in your work points to a paper that exists.
ChatGPT Citation Checker
This mode targets the specific failure patterns of language models, chimera citations that blend two real papers, fabricated DOIs and temporal drift where a source is dated to a time it couldn't have been written. If you use AI to draft, this is the fastest way to see what it got wrong.
Citation Export and Reference Manager Integration
Verified citations can be exported in APA, MLA and Chicago formats, and Citely connects with common reference management tools, so what you verify can move into the workflow you already use.
Credit-Based Checking That Scales
Every check is metered by credits, and the character limits scale with your plan. The Monthly plan covers up to 4,000 characters per reference check, which is enough for a full reference list rather than a single entry.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Checks references against multiple large databases, including CrossRef and PubMed, not just one.
- Targets AI-specific hallucination patterns that a generic plagiarism tool would miss.
- Exports citations in APA, MLA and Chicago, matching what most academic writers need.
- Covers both directions, finding sources for a claim and verifying sources you already have.
- Enterprise plans and API access exist for institutions with larger needs.
Cons
- No free plan, so you pay $9 for the Trial before you can test it on your own reference list.
- Credits are consumed by character count, which can feel unpredictable on long documents.
- It works on text you paste in, so it doesn't integrate directly into a word processor as you type.
Frequently asked questions
Citely compares each reference against CrossRef, PubMed, arXiv and OpenAlex and flags entries that don't match. Accuracy depends on the databases covering the source, so very recent or non-indexed papers may need a manual check.
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