ResearchRabbit

ResearchRabbit builds visual maps of connected literature from seed papers, showing citation networks and co-authorship links so you can follow how a field developed rather than guessing keywords. It syncs with Zotero, supports collaborative collections, and sends alerts when new papers relevant to a collection appear, which turns a one-off search into ongoing monitoring across a long project. Its pricing is the unusual part: it is free, with unlimited collections and no paid tier gating features, funded rather than monetised through subscriptions. That makes it an easy first tool to try, though it also means the usual caution about long-term sustainability applies to any free service without a revenue model. As with all citation mapping, the map reflects your seed choices, so start from papers you already know are central to the field.