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Research · head to head

Mendeley vs Suzy

Mendeley logo

Mendeley

Research

The free all-in-one reference manager

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Suzy logo

Suzy

Research

Enterprise consumer insights on an owned US panel, resold elsewhere through Cint

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Mendeley has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Mendeley free tier limited to 5 Reading Assistant questions per month and 2GB storage; Suzy the proprietary Crowdtap panel is US only at around a million consumers with roughly 50,000 verified active monthly, and everything international is resold Cint supply, so the speed and verification argument that justifies the price applies to one market.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Mendeley and Suzy actually diverge.

Attributes where Mendeley and Suzy differ
AttributeMendeleySuzy
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreemiumquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebWeb, iOS, Android

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Research).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Mendeley

Nothing recorded that Suzy does not also cover.

Only in Suzy

  • Suzy Insights
  • Suzy Live
  • Suzy Audiences
  • Suzy Speaks
  • Video open ends
  • Advanced methods
  • Data Explorer
  • AI Decision Engine

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Mendeley

  • Storing and organizing large research librariesnot Suzy
  • Searching and querying PDFs in librarynot Suzy
  • Uncovering patterns and connections across referencesnot Suzy
  • Comparing experimental data across multiple studiesnot Suzy

Suzy

  • A US consumer packaged goods brand that needs concept testing back the same day because a packaging decision is due at the end of the week.not Mendeley
  • An insights department running an always-on brand tracker on a US audience without re-commissioning fieldwork every wave.not Mendeley
  • A team that wants quant screening followed immediately by moderated qual with the same respondents, rather than two vendors and two timelines.not Mendeley
  • A product team testing claims and price sensitivity with MaxDiff and conjoint on a panel they can go back to repeatedly.not Mendeley

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Mendeley

  • Free tier limited to 5 Reading Assistant questions per month and 2GB storage
  • Annual billing required to receive one free month equivalent discount
  • Storage limits restricted on Plus (5GB) and Pro (10GB) tiers

Suzy

  • The proprietary Crowdtap panel is US only at around a million consumers with roughly 50,000 verified active monthly, and everything international is resold Cint supply, so the speed and verification argument that justifies the price applies to one market.
  • Customers have asked Suzy to build proprietary panels with native speakers in Germany, France, Japan, India and Brazil, which confirms those do not exist today; multi-market brands need a second vendor and lose the single-source comparison.
  • Reviewers report the panel skews female and millennial and falls short on Gen Z, male and various ethnic segments, and that niche or B2B audiences are hard to reach, so quota fills can be slow or impossible.
  • Reviewers also raise data trust concerns about respondent sourcing and vetting, including one naming bot responses and acquiescence bias, which is the standing risk of any single owned opt-in panel with repeat respondents.
  • Pricing is a sales-led annual commitment reported to run around $88,000 a year at the median with onboarding fees and per-seat charges on top, with no trial, no self-serve and no pay-per-response option, so there is no cheap way to validate fit.
  • Credits are pre-committed monthly against forecast activity with no published overage rate, so under-use is wasted spend and a busy quarter triggers an unbudgeted purchase.
  • Integrations are genuinely thin: there is no public integrations page and no public API documentation, and the only confirmed external data relationship is Cint, so expect to move data by export.

Pricing, plan by plan

Mendeley

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 2GB storage
    • 5 Reading Assistant questions per month
  • Plus$4.99/month
    • Unlimited Reading Assistant
    • 5GB storage
    • $55/year annual billing
  • Pro$9.99/month
    • Unlimited Reading Assistant
    • Compare Experiments
    • Ask My Library
  • Max$14.99/month
    • Unlimited Reading Assistant
    • Compare Experiments
    • Ask My Library

Suzy

On request
  • Suzy$undefined/year
    • Annual subscription with pre-committed monthly research credits
    • Credit volume set against forecast study activity
    • Onboarding fees and per-seat charges quoted separately

Which should you pick?

Choose Mendeley if

  • You want to start without paying.
Mendeley review

Choose Suzy if

  • You need suzy insights.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want suzy live.
Suzy review

Questions people ask

Is Mendeley or Suzy better?
Neither clearly leads. Mendeley starts at Free and Suzy at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Mendeley or Suzy?
Mendeley has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Mendeley and On request for Suzy.
Does Mendeley or Suzy run on more platforms?
Mendeley runs on Web. Suzy runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Mendeley for free?
Yes. Mendeley has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Suzy starts at On request.
What is Mendeley best used for?
Mendeley is most often used for storing and organizing large research libraries, searching and querying pdfs in library, uncovering patterns and connections across references, comparing experimental data across multiple studies. Of those, storing and organizing large research libraries and searching and querying pdfs in library are not what Suzy is typically brought in for.
What can Mendeley do that Suzy cannot?
Suzy covers Suzy Insights, Suzy Live, Suzy Audiences, Suzy Speaks.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Mendeley: How much does Mendeley Premium cost?

Mendeley Plus costs $4.99 per month or $55 per year. Pro tier costs $9.99 per month or $110 per year. Max tier costs $14.99 per month or $165 per year. All annual plans include one free month of service.

Source
Suzy: Is the panel global?

No. Crowdtap, the owned panel, is US only. International studies run on Cint supply, which you could contract for directly.

Mendeley: Is there a free version of Mendeley?

Yes, Mendeley offers a free tier with 2GB of storage and 5 Reading Assistant questions per month. No credit card is required for the free plan.

Source
Suzy: What does it cost?

Nothing is published. Third-party analysis puts the median contract around $88,000 a year with a range roughly $34,000 to $187,500, plus onboarding and per-seat fees.

Mendeley: What storage do different Mendeley plans include?

The free tier includes 2GB storage. Plus tier provides 5GB storage. Pro tier includes 10GB storage. Max tier offers unlimited storage across all your research libraries.

Source
Suzy: Is there an API?

Nothing public. Suzy publishes no API documentation and no named connectors beyond Cint. Verify any integration requirement in the sales call before committing.

Suzy: What changed in April 2026?

Suzy repositioned as an AI Decision Engine with Intelligence and Impact modules, while headcount fell from about 230 to 186. Ask how the roadmap is now split between that and the classic survey and qual products.

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