ChatGPT now lets you upload PDFs to answer questions directly from the document. This helps you find information quickly, saving time on long or complex documents.
Whether you’re working with reports, research papers, or manuals, ChatGPT’s PDF analysis can quickly provide answers, summaries, and relevant details without having to manually search through the entire document.
To upload a PDF to ChatGPT, follow these steps:
- Go to ChatGPT.com and Log in to your ChatGPT account.
- Click the Upload button or the paperclip icon in the chat interface.
- Select the PDF you want to upload from your computer, Google Drive, or Microsoft OneDrive.
- ChatGPT will process the document.
- Ask your query or question using the chat box.
- Review the insights, summaries, or content that ChatGPT provides.
What are Other Tools to Chat with PDF than ChatGPT?
Sometimes, I prefer other tools to ChatGPT for PDFs because ChatGPT does not provide clear references, handle multiple PDFs, offer a split-screen feature, suggest related research papers, explain selected images, or manage complex legal documents effectively.
It also sometimes formats things poorly and doesn’t let you easily search for specific info. Specialized PDF Chat tools for research or legal work, often give better, more precise results for these kinds of tasks.
I tried 10 PDF chat tools, and here are 6 of the best alternatives to ChatGPT for chatting with PDFs.
1. PDF.AI
I tried PDF.ai, and it’s a great upgrade from ChatGPT’s PDF upload. You can view the document on one side of the screen and ask your PDF on the other. This setup makes it easy to ask questions and get answers with cited references, like page numbers.
It supports multiple languages (I even tried French) and the results were excellent. PDF.ai also offers great customer support and prioritizes keeping your data secure. You can capture screenshots and ask questions directly within the document.
Overall, PDF.ai is a fantastic tool to chat with PDF. You can use it through Chrome extension, browser, and API.
PDF.ai Pricing
You can start with a free plan that allows you to upload 1 PDF and Pro, at $10, lets you upload 100 PDFs.
2. AskYourPDF
I tried AskYourPDF, and it’s split-screen setup with the PDF on one side and the chat assistant on the other makes it easy to ask questions while reading. It supports different AI models like GPT, Mistral, and Claude, making it highly adaptable. I used it for a research paper and got clear answers with cited references.
It also supports chatting in multiple languages, which was great when I worked on a bilingual report. You can upload multiple documents and work on them simultaneously, and the option to customize the output fits perfectly into my workflow.
With SSL encryption for security and support for many document formats, it’s a reliable tool. Another useful feature is the podcast option. I used it to get an overview of a research paper, and the results are outstanding.
AskYourPDF Pricing
You can start with a Free plan that supports 1 document per day, while Premium, at $11.99/month, lets you upload 50 documents daily with advanced features.
3. Adobe PDF Chat
I used Adobe PDF Chat, and I really like how it lets me edit PDFs and get AI suggestions at the same time. While working on a research paper, I could add text comments and highlight sections, which helped me take notes. The AI assistant also lets you focus on specific parts, just select the text and ask your question.
It supports multiple languages, and I even asked it to summarize in Japanese, and it worked great. I also like how I can see, edit, and use the PDF chat altogether. However, I wish I could work with multiple docs at the same time or take screenshots or diagrams to ask about them, but that feature isn’t available.
Overall, it’s still a great tool for editing and working with PDFs.
Adobe PDF Chat Pricing
You can get the Premium plan for $11.99 per month, which lets you access advanced features like AI chat and PDF editing.
4. ChatPDF
I tried ChatPDF, and I really liked their “drag over anything to explain” feature. It’s super useful for understanding diagrams or graphs in the document. The split-screen setup with the PDF on one side and the chat assistant on the other makes it easy to ask questions while reading.
ChatPDF also provides responses with cited sources or page numbers, which is really helpful. It supports up to five languages, making it flexible. However, I wish I could work with multiple PDFs at the same time.
Overall, Chatpdf is a simple and useful tool for chatting with pdfs.
ChatPDF Pricing
You can start with the free plan, which lets you chat with two PDFs per day, or upgrade to ChatPDF Plus for $5/month, offering unlimited PDFs and up to 2,000 pages.
5. SciSpace
I tried SciSpace, and it’s a great tool for research papers. You can use it as a Chrome plugin or within ChatGPT. They have an ‘Explain text’ feature, and I found it helpful for selecting specific text to understand its context. You can highlight text and save it to your notebook, it helped me find similar research papers. I also used the ‘Math’ feature to understand different equations from the research paper, and it was really useful.
You can create your own library to store research and notes, and it supports over 75 languages, making it easy to understand papers in different languages. I also tried their new podcast feature, and it’s good. Both male and female voices sound natural.
Overall, it’s a great tool for students and professionals working with research papers.
SciSpace Pricing
You can start with the Basic Free Plan for limited previews and downloads, or upgrade to the Researcher Plan at $8.20/month for unlimited access and priority support.
6. ChatDoc
I used ChatDoc for a research paper. The split-screen feature helped me read the document and ask questions at the same time. I uploaded multiple PDFs to ChatDoc, which helped me compare different sources easily.
The “select and ask” feature was really useful. You can highlight text and ask for more details right away. The formula explanation helped me understand complex equations from the pdf.
ChatDoc also provides related pages and citations, which help you keep everything in context. It supports multiple languages too, so it was great for documents in multiple languages. You can choose from different AI models to chat with PDFs.
Overall, ChatDoc is perfect for students, researchers, and professionals who need to understand multiple PDFs efficiently.
ChatDoc Pricing
You can start with the free plan, which allows 2 PDFs per day and 10 in total, or upgrade to the Pro plan for $89.90/year, offering 300 PDFs per month and unlimited access to all features.
