SciScore
SciScore is a SaaS tool that uses machine learning and natural language processing to analyze scientific manuscript methods sections, generating automated rigor reports and a 1–10 reproducibility score for researchers, scientific journal editors, and research funders.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersSan Diego, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What SciScore does
SciScore is a SaaS tool developed and operated by SciCrunch, Inc. that uses machine learning and natural language processing to analyze the methods sections of scientific manuscripts and generate automated rigor and reproducibility reports. The platform produces three report types — a Core Report (combining NIH-supported principles such as ARRIVE, CONSORT, and MDAR), an MDAR Report, and a STAR Report (implementing Cell Press's Structured Transparent Accessible Reporting framework) — along with a numerical rigor score between 1 and 10. It also detects and validates Research Resource Identifiers (RRIDs) for key biological reagents such as antibodies, cell lines, plasmids, transgenic organisms, oligonucleotides, and software projects. A separate analytical product, the Rigor and Transparency Index (RTI), contains aggregated data on over 1.5 million research articles and provides journal-level benchmarking of transparency practices.
SciScore serves two primary customer segments. Individual researchers use the self-serve web platform (accessible via ORCID authentication) to assess and improve their manuscripts before submission; new users receive 10 free credits and can purchase additional credits at $19 for four reports. Scientific journal editors — including Science, eLife, PNAS, AACR, American Heart Association Journals, the American Physical Society, FASEB Journal, Microbiology Society, Rockefeller University Press, and others — use SciScore to screen submissions for rigor compliance, often through integrations with Editorial Manager (Elsevier) and eJournalPress. A secondary segment comprises funders and institutions that use SciScore reports and RTI data to evaluate grant applications and institutional research quality.
The business operates a hybrid go-to-market model. A product-led growth motion serves individual researchers through the sciscore.com website and the AsedaSciences commercial platform, generating usage-based revenue through credit purchases. An enterprise motion serves journals and institutions via annual subscriptions (25 credits for $99, 100 credits for $399) and quote-based unlimited licensing arrangements. The company has received grant funding from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and NC3Rs, holds an ALPSP industry award, and was named a Top 10 Startup to Watch by the San Diego Business Journal in 2020. Anita Bandrowski serves as CEO.
SciScore firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- SciScore
- Legal name
- SciCrunch, Inc.
- Website
- https://sciscore.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- SciScore is a SaaS tool that uses machine learning and natural language processing to analyze scientific manuscript methods sections, generating automated rigor reports and a 1–10 reproducibility score for researchers, scientific journal editors, and research funders.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
SciScore industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Scientific manuscript review software
- NAICS
- Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (5192), Information (51)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation (7374), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Knowledge Management & Scientific Collaboration / Literature Intelligence (HLAGAJAN)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Conference Proceedings & Research Reports Publishing (EDAGAFAL)
Keywords
Where SciScore is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Diego
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
SciScore business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Credit-based Pay-per-Use: SciScore uses a credit system where one credit is charged for each report generated. Reports are sold in packages ranging from individual credits to bulk quantities for journal editors and organizations.
- Annual Subscriptions: Journal editors can purchase subscription plans with automatic renewal, providing a set number of credits per year at discounted rates.
- Enterprise Unlimited Licenses: Custom pricing available for organizations requiring unlimited usage of SciScore services, including journal integration options.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Annual | Scientist Author - 10 free credits/year for ORCID users, additional reports at $19 for 4 credits |
| Subscription | Annual | Small Journal Editor - 25 credits for $99 |
| Subscription | Annual | Large Journal Editor - 100 credits for $399 |
| Subscription | Annual | Unlimited Plan - Custom pricing |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
SciScore product offering
Product offeringCore offering
SciScore is a SaaS methods review tool that uses machine learning and natural language processing to analyze methods sections of scientific manuscripts and generate three automated reports (Core Report, MDAR Report, STAR Report) plus a 1-10 rigor score. It detects research resource identifiers (RRIDs) for antibodies, cell lines, plasmids, transgenic organisms, oligonucleotides, and software, and powers the Rigor and Transparency Index (RTI) covering over 1.5 million articles. Reports are generated in as little as one minute and are sold to researchers via credits and to journals via subscriptions and enterprise licenses.
Product overview
SciScore is a single unified SaaS product—a methods review tool for scientific research that generates three automated reports and a numerical score to assess rigor and reproducibility in research manuscripts. The product consists of the core SciScore platform plus four integrated report modules: the Core Report (combining NIH principles and guidelines), the MDAR Report (Materials Design Analysis Reporting checklist), the STAR Report (Cell Press structured table format), and the Rigor and Transparency Index (journal-level analytical dashboard). Users submit methods sections and receive comprehensive automated analysis covering rigor criteria, key research resources (antibodies, cell lines, organisms, plasmids, oligonucleotides, software), and statistical methods.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Rigor and Transparency Index (RTI): A journal-level transparency and rigor metric based on analysis of research articles, containing data from over 1.5 million research articles.
Products and services
- SciScore The primary SaaS methods review tool for scientific research that generates three automated rigor and reproducibility reports (Core Report, MDAR Report, STAR Report) and a numerical 1-10 score for research manuscripts. Sold to individual researchers via credits and to journals via subscriptions and enterprise unlimited licenses.
- Core Report Automated assessment combining NIH-supported principles and guidelines (ARRIVE, CONSORT, MDAR) to evaluate research methodology rigor. Produces three tables (Rigor Table, Key Resources Table, Statistics Table) and a 1-10 reporting score covering rigor adherence and key resource identification. Used by researchers and journal editors to evaluate manuscript methodology.
- MDAR Report Materials Design Analysis Reporting checklist report that automatically detects and validates MDAR criteria including antibodies, cell lines, laboratory animals, human participants, study protocols, ethics statements, statistics, and data/code availability in life science manuscripts. Used by researchers preparing submissions and journals such as Science that require MDAR reports.
- STAR Report Structured Transparent Accessible Reporting (STAR) table generated in CSV format that identifies key resources including antibodies, cell lines, transgenic organisms, plasmids, oligonucleotides, and software projects with source and identifier information, following the Cell Press STAR methodology framework. Used by researchers targeting Cell Press and other STAR-adopting journals.
- Rigor and Transparency Index (RTI) Journal-level analytical dashboard providing Rigor and Transparency Index scores based on aggregated SciScore data from research articles. Covers over 1.5 million research articles and enables comparison of journal transparency practices across publishers, fields, and years. Used by journal editors, funders, and institutions to benchmark rigor and transparency.
Quantifiable outcome
- Reports generated in as little as 1 minute
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use SciScore
Customer profileNamed customers11 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
SciScore technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
AI capability3 records
Feature5 records
SciScore partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- AsedaSciencescoreAsedaSciences serves as the commercial platform for SciScore, providing the infrastructure for purchasing additional report credits and accessing premium features. Reports can be accessed through sciscore-app.asedasciences.com.
- ORCIDcoreORCID provides persistent unique identifier integration for researcher authentication. SciScore requires ORCID for free trial accounts and uses it to verify researcher identity.
- Editorial ManagercoreIntegration with Editorial Manager (Elsevier's manuscript submission system) allows journals to automatically require SciScore reports as part of the manuscript submission process.
- Cell PresscoreCell Press created the STAR (Structured Transparent Accessible Reporting) framework that SciScore implements. SciScore generates STAR-compliant tables for submitted manuscripts.
- NIHcoreSciScore's criteria are based on NIH rigor and reproducibility principles and guidelines for preclinical research reporting.
- MDAR ConsortiumcoreSciScore implements the Materials, Design, Analysis, and Reporting (MDAR) checklist framework developed by the MDAR consortium for improving reporting transparency.
- ARRIVE GuidelinesminorSciScore incorporates criteria from ARRIVE (Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments) guidelines for rigor in animal research reporting.
- RRIDs.orgcoreSciScore detects and validates Research Resource Identifiers (RRIDs) which are persistent unique identifiers for research resources managed by scicrunch.org/RRIDs.
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
SciScore competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- DataSeer: DataSeer applies NLP to scientific manuscripts to assess data and code availability compliance. It is a direct, narrower competitor to SciScore's MDAR-style reporting, targeting the same journal-editor reproducibility workflow.
- Scite: Scite uses AI to analyze how scientific articles are cited, providing automated assessments of supporting/contrasting evidence. It is comparable to SciScore as an AI-driven literature intelligence tool serving researchers and publishers, though focused on citation context rather than methods rigor.
- Consensus: Consensus is an AI-powered scientific search engine that extracts and synthesizes findings from peer-reviewed research. It overlaps with SciScore in serving researchers with AI-backed scientific literature analysis and is listed as a SciScore website partner.
- Scholastica: Scholastica offers an open-access publishing and peer-review platform with built-in submission workflows for journals. It is comparable to SciScore as an adjacent journal-publishing technology provider that could integrate or compete with automated rigor checks.
Broad incumbents
- Clarivate (ScholarOne / EndNote): Clarivate operates ScholarOne Manuscripts — a major submission platform alongside Editorial Manager — and EndNote, a researcher-facing reference tool. It is comparable to SciScore as a research-publication workflow incumbent that could expand into automated rigor assessment.
- Aries Systems (Editorial Manager): Aries Systems, an Elsevier company, operates Editorial Manager, the dominant manuscript submission platform with which SciScore is integrated. It is the closest channel partner and a potential in-house competitor if Aries builds automated rigor checks.
- Digital Science (Dimensions / ReadCube): Digital Science provides research analytics, manuscript, and discovery tools used by publishers and institutions. Its portfolio breadth and data assets make it comparable to SciScore's analytics ambitions around the Rigor and Transparency Index.
- Publons (now part of Web of Science): Publons/Clarivate tracks peer review and researcher contributions for journals and publishers. It is comparable to SciScore as a publisher-facing analytics tool that monitors research quality and reviewer activity across the scientific publishing workflow.
Others
- ORCID: ORCID provides persistent researcher identifiers that SciScore uses for authentication. While not a competitor, it is a core infrastructure partner and comparable in operating as a researcher-identity layer in the publishing ecosystem.
- RRIDs / SciCrunch: SciCrunch operates the RRID registry and is the parent company of SciScore. The RRID ecosystem is foundational to SciScore's resource-detection capabilities and makes it both a parent and an enabling infrastructure peer.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
SciScore social profiles
Digital presenceSciScore financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
SciScore leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
SciScore funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
SciScore M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about SciScore
What does SciScore do?
SciScore is a SaaS methods review tool that uses machine learning and natural language processing to analyze methods sections of scientific manuscripts and generate three automated reports (Core Report, MDAR Report, STAR Report) plus a 1-10 rigor score. It detects research resource identifiers (RRIDs) for antibodies, cell lines, plasmids, transgenic organisms, oligonucleotides, and software, and powers the Rigor and Transparency Index (RTI) covering over 1.5 million articles. Reports are generated in as little as one minute and are sold to researchers via credits and to journals via subscriptions and enterprise licenses.
Is SciScore a public or private company?
SciScore is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was SciScore founded?
SciScore was founded in 2018. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is SciScore based?
SciScore is headquartered in San Diego, United States, in the North America region.
How does SciScore make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Credit-based Pay-per-Use is the primary driver. The others are annual Subscriptions and enterprise Unlimited Licenses.
Who are SciScore's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are DataSeer, Scite, Consensus and Scholastica. Broad incumbents are Clarivate (ScholarOne / EndNote), Aries Systems (Editorial Manager), Digital Science (Dimensions / ReadCube) and Publons (now part of Web of Science). Others are ORCID and RRIDs / SciCrunch.
Does SciScore have an API?
No public API is recorded for SciScore.
What industry is SciScore in?
SciScore's product category is Scientific manuscript review software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAGAJAN, Knowledge Management & Scientific Collaboration / Literature Intelligence, with a secondary code of EDAGAFAL, Conference Proceedings & Research Reports Publishing. Its NAICS code is 54171 and its SIC code is 7374.