# Side Reader vs Sider Side Reader records 355 monthly visits with -36.5% month-over-month growth and Freemium pricing. Sider records 2,644,740 monthly visits with -10.6% growth and Freemium pricing. | Metric | [Side Reader](https://openaitools.app/tool/side-reader) | [Sider](https://openaitools.app/tool/sider) | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Website URL | https://www.side-reader.com | https://sider.ai | | Categories | AI PDF, AI Reader, AI Chatbot, AI PDF Summarizer | AI Assistant, AI Chatbot, AI Writing Assistants, AI Reader | | Pricing Model | Freemium | Freemium | | Monthly Visits | 355 | 2,644,740 | | MoM Growth Rate | -36.5% | -10.6% | | Primary Market | Vietnam | United States | | Direct Visits | 149 | 1,699,535 | | Review Score | 2.4 | 4.5 | | Saved Count | 0 | 31 | | Supported Platforms | Website | Website | ## Side Reader Side Reader exists to remove the friction of working with documents and AI chatbots at the same time. Normally you either paste chunks of a PDF into a chat window or juggle two tabs and lose your place. Side Reader is a Chrome extension that renders the PDF in the sidebar of ChatGPT, Claude or DeepSeek, so the document and the conversation sit side by side. Once a PDF is open you use built-in action buttons to summarize, translate or explain content, and you can customize those button prompts so the AI answers in your preferred format. For content that cannot be selected — charts, infographics, scanned images — a screenshot question lets you ask about a region of the page directly. The reader itself supports zoom, page navigation and width adjustment, so it behaves like a normal PDF viewer rather than a stripped-down preview. Privacy is handled simply: PDFs are stored locally in your browser and Side Reader does not keep your files. Because the AI work happens inside the ChatGPT, Claude or DeepSeek session you are already using, Side Reader adds document handling rather than a separate subscription to yet another model. **Pricing & Plans:** Freemium. The core Chrome extension is available to install, with a paid upgrade for extended usage; check the extension listing for current limits. - **Read PDFs beside the chat:** PDFs render directly in the sidebar next to the chat, so your document and the AI conversation are visible at the same time. - **Summarize, translate and explain:** Summarize a whole document, translate it, or have passages explained in simpler terms using the AI you are already signed into. - **Custom action button prompts:** Built-in buttons cover the common actions, and you can edit their prompts to make the AI respond in the format and tone you need. - **Screenshot questions for non-selectable content:** Ask about charts, scans or regions that cannot be selected by taking a screenshot question instead. - **Local storage and a proper reader:** Files stay local in your browser and are not stored by Side Reader, and PDFs keep zoom, page navigation and width controls. **Strengths:** Keeps the PDF and the AI conversation visible in the same window; Works with ChatGPT, Claude and DeepSeek rather than locking you into one model; Local-only file storage — documents are not kept on Side Reader servers; Customizable action prompts for repeatable workflows **Limitations:** Requires an active ChatGPT, Claude or DeepSeek session to do the AI work; Chrome only — no Firefox, Safari or Edge-specific edition; Very new/small product, so the feature set is still evolving [Profile (Markdown)](https://openaitools.app/tool/side-reader.md) ## Sider Sider's premise is that you should not have to leave the page you are reading to use an AI assistant. Its sidebar overlays the browser, detects the content in view, and responds with chat, summaries, translations or explanations using frontier models from multiple providers. The result is a lightweight research and reading workflow: highlight a paragraph, ask for a simpler explanation, translate a PDF and keep the original in sight. Recent versions push Sider beyond chat. Sider Hand is a browser agent that works across real websites and uses your logged-in sessions to carry out multi-step jobs such as comparing prices while shopping, filling forms, doing cross-site research or triaging a Gmail inbox. Sider Code goes the other way, letting you instruct changes to a website's appearance or behaviour in plain language and preserving the customisation for next time. A Create module generates images, videos, slides and documents from the same panel. Pricing moves from a limited free tier to credit-based paid plans aimed at heavier users. Lower plans suit occasional chat, summarisation and translation, while higher tiers add a dedicated cloud computer that keeps the browser agent running around the clock and a larger monthly credit allowance. Sider ships as browser extensions for Chrome and Edge plus desktop and mobile apps for macOS, Windows, iOS and Android, and is used by a very large installed base. **Pricing & Plans:** Freemium. Free tier available with limited credits; paid plans advertised at roughly US$10/month for occasional use up to around US$100/month at the top tier, with higher credit allowances and a dedicated cloud computer on the upper plans. - **AI sidebar on any page:** A persistent panel that reads the page you are on and answers follow-ups with GPT, Claude or Gemini without copying content into another tab. - **Summarise and chat with documents:** Summarise long articles, PDFs and YouTube videos, extract key points, and ask detailed questions about the source material. - **Translation and read-aloud:** Translate webpages, PDFs and images, compare bilingual output side by side, and have content read aloud for review on the move. - **Sider Hand browser agent:** Delegate multi-step tasks across real websites — price comparison, form filling, research and inbox triage — using your existing logged-in sessions. - **Sider Code page customisation:** Describe a change in plain words and have Sider restyle or simplify any website, remembering the modification for future visits. **Strengths:** Works inside the browser you already use, with no context switching; Access to multiple frontier models from one subscription; Strong reading toolkit: PDF chat, YouTube summaries, translation and read-aloud; Increasingly capable agent features for multi-step browser tasks **Limitations:** Useful credits run out quickly on the free and lower tiers; Model availability and quota rules change over time, so expectations must be checked per plan; Some agent and code features depend on a cloud machine and heavier plans [Profile (Markdown)](https://openaitools.app/tool/sider.md) ## Frequently Asked Questions ### How do Side Reader and Sider compare in monthly traffic? Side Reader has 355 monthly visits, while Sider has 2,644,740. Traffic estimates describe audience size, not product quality. ### How do their growth rates compare? Side Reader has a month-over-month growth rate of -36.5%; Sider has -10.6%. ### How does pricing compare? Side Reader: Freemium. Freemium. The core Chrome extension is available to install, with a paid upgrade for extended usage; check the extension listing for current limits. Sider: Freemium. Freemium. Free tier available with limited credits; paid plans advertised at roughly US$10/month for occasional use up to around US$100/month at the top tier, with higher credit allowances and a dedicated cloud computer on the upper plans. ## Alternatives | # | Tool Name | Monthly Visits | MoM Growth Rate | Pricing Model | Summary | Profile (Markdown) | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | 1 | [ChatGPT](https://openaitools.app/tool/chatgpt-4) | 6,048,022,723 | +2.2% | Freemium | OpenAI's flagship multimodal assistant powered by GPT-6 and GPT-5.6 for reasoning, coding, and deep research. | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/chatgpt-4.md) | | 2 | [Claude](https://openaitools.app/tool/claude-2) | 1,253,439,413 | +23.8% | Freemium | Anthropic's frontier AI workspace powered by Claude 5.5 for agentic coding, analysis, and nuanced writing. | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/claude-2.md) | | 3 | [Monica](https://openaitools.app/tool/monica-ai) | 4,512,775 | -11.3% | Freemium | Offers a very similar browser sidebar experience with multiple AI models, but features slightly different pricing and workspace tools. | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/monica-ai.md) | | 4 | [SciSpace](https://openaitools.app/tool/scispace) | 4,464,111 | +8.6% | Freemium | AI research platform for reading, understanding and writing scientific papers | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/scispace.md) | | 5 | [PDFgear](https://openaitools.app/tool/pdfgear) | 2,845,280 | -3.4% | Free | A free, AI-powered PDF editor for every device | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/pdfgear.md) | | 6 | [Immersive Translate](https://openaitools.app/tool/immersive-translate) | 2,392,414 | -9.4% | Freemium, Free Trial | Bilingual AI translation for websites, documents, video and images | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/immersive-translate.md) | | 7 | [LightPDF](https://openaitools.app/tool/lightpdf-com) | 1,742,568 | -15.3% | Freemium | Free AI-powered PDF editor, converter and reader for every device | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/lightpdf-com.md) | | 8 | [Merlin AI](https://openaitools.app/tool/merlin-ai-plugins) | 1,382,634 | +13.1% | Freemium | One AI assistant that plugs ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini into every tab | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/merlin-ai-plugins.md) | | 9 | [Merlin AI](https://openaitools.app/tool/merlin-ai) | 1,382,634 | +13.1% | Freemium | Provides robust browser-based summarization and prompt assistance, but lacks some of Sider's deeply integrated multi-model chat UI features. | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/merlin-ai.md) | | 10 | [UPDF AI](https://openaitools.app/tool/updf-ai) | 1,050,387 | -7.2% | Freemium, Free Trial, Paid | Cross-platform PDF editing with GPT-powered AI for reading, translating, and signing documents | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/updf-ai.md) | --- Source: https://openaitools.app/compare/side-reader-vs-sider More Markdown: [Categories](https://openaitools.app/categories.md) · [Traffic rankings](https://openaitools.app/rankings.md) · [llms.txt](https://openaitools.app/llms.txt)