Scira

Scira is an open-source AI search engine that answers questions with citations drawn from the web, social platforms, video and academic sources, for researchers and developers who want an answer engine they can inspect or run themselves. Its code is public on GitHub under the AGPL-3.0 license, and the hosted version at scira.ai adds paid plans with premium models. What sets it apart from most answer engines is the range of dedicated search modes, including X, Reddit, YouTube, GitHub and prediction markets.

What is Scira used for?

Scira is used to research a question quickly and see exactly which sources the answer came from. You can let it pick a mode automatically or choose one yourself.

• Asking open questions and getting answers with inline citations you can click
• Searching X posts or Reddit threads to see what people are saying about a product or topic
• Pulling answers from YouTube videos, academic papers or GitHub repositories
• Running multi-agent research on longer questions that need several rounds of searching
• Uploading a PDF or pasting a URL to ask questions about a specific document
• Connecting tools through Scira Apps, which use MCP connectors, on paid plans

Who Scira is best for

Scira fits developers, analysts and students who want Perplexity-style answers with more control over sources, and teams that prefer software they can self-host and audit. It is especially handy for tracking discussion on X and Reddit. People who want a polished consumer app with a generous free tier, or who never plan to look at the sources, may be happier elsewhere.

Scira pricing

As of October 2026, Scira's hosted service has a Free plan with five searches a month, basic AI models, search history and the web, Reddit, X and YouTube modes. Pro costs $15 per month and removes the search limit, adds voice mode, Scira Apps, unlimited deep research and access to models such as Claude Sonnet and Opus and recent OpenAI models within published caps. Students with a verified school email pay $9 per month, and India has local pricing. Max costs $60 per month and adds every Claude model, Gemini and Qwen models, AI image generation and higher weekly caps. Self-hosting the open-source version is free, but you supply your own API keys and infrastructure.

Scira limitations

• Five free searches a month is only enough for a short trial
• Premium models are metered with weekly or monthly pools, so very heavy use can hit caps
• The AGPL-3.0 license requires you to share changes if you offer a modified version as a service
• Self-hosting means managing your own search and model API costs

Scira vs alternatives

Perplexity is the more mature answer engine, with a larger free allowance, mobile apps and a broader feature set for everyday users, so it is the safer default. You.com mixes search and chat with agent features aimed at teams. Genspark leans toward agents that build pages, slides and reports from research. Scira wins when you need dedicated modes for social media, video and code, or when open-source code and self-hosting are requirements.

Tips for getting started with Scira

Pick the search mode yourself for social questions, since the X and Reddit modes return far more relevant posts than general web search. Use the free searches on questions you already know the answer to, so you can judge how well the citations hold up. If you plan to self-host, read the repository setup guide first, because you will need keys for the model and search providers it uses.

Scira FAQ

Is Scira free?

Partly. The hosted Free plan includes five searches a month, and Pro costs $15 per month, or $9 per month for verified students.

Is Scira open source?

Yes. Scira's code is published on GitHub under the AGPL-3.0 license, so you can self-host it and bring your own models and tools.

What is Scira used for?

Scira is used for AI-powered research with cited answers, including dedicated searches of X, Reddit, YouTube, academic papers and GitHub.

Scira vs Perplexity: which is better?

Perplexity is better for most everyday users thanks to its larger free allowance and apps, while Scira is better if you want open-source code or specialized social and video search modes.