CORE
6.9#5 in research paper discovery toolsFree planFree planWebAPIExtensionSelf-hosted
VisitCORE vs OpenAlex
What both publish
| Fact | CORE | OpenAlex |
|---|---|---|
| Company size | LinkedIn lists CORE as a nonprofit education organisation with 11–50 employees and headquarters in Milton Keynes. | LinkedIn lists OpenAlex as a nonprofit research-services organization with 2–10 employees. |
| Founded | The Open University records the CORE project period as February–July 2011, and contemporary OU news says the service launched in 2011. | OpenAlex's transparency page says Impactstory incorporated in North Carolina in 2012. |
| Integrations | CORE says its Discovery tool can integrate with repositories, and its API documentation includes examples and wrappers for common programming languages. | Website exports support CSV, RIS for EndNote or Zotero, and TXT, while VOSviewer connects directly through the API. |
| Support | Starting members receive general support, while Supporting and Sustaining members receive increasing levels of technical support. | Member includes community support, Member+ includes ticket-based help for critical API bugs, and Partner includes full ticket-based support for API and data issues. |
CORE plans
- StartingPriced on request
- SupportingPriced on request
- SustainingPriced on request
- Starting membershipFree
- CORE APIFree
- CORE API — free access without registrationFree
OpenAlex plans
- FreeFree
- Pay as you go$1, paid once
- Member$5,000 a year
- Member+$10,000 a year
- Partner$20,000 a year
Pick CORE if…
CORE suits researchers and general readers searching for scholarly literature, as well as developers building research discovery tools. Dataset access is aimed at users representing eligible organisations; individuals can use the API.
Pick OpenAlex if…
OpenAlex suits researchers and developers who need a broad research catalog, API access, or bulk data downloads. Teams using its unsanitized external text fields should follow its guidance to escape output and apply OWASP XSS-prevention practices.