Comparison
paper-qa vs google-research
Verdict
Pick paper-qa if paperQA2 version 5 is a retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) system optimized for extracting information from scientific documents, enhancing user queries with citations; pick google-research if popular for its research-grade projects hosted by Google Research, this repository offers diverse machine-learning datasets and source files under specific licenses.
Markdown twin · paper-qa alternatives · google-research alternatives
GraphCanon updated 1w
vs
Trust & integrity
| Signal | paper-qa | google-research |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance | Very active (5d since push) As of 1w · github_public_v1 | Very active (6d since push) As of 2w · github_public_v1 |
| Provenance | Not a fork · Organization account As of 1w · github_public_v1 | Not a fork · Organization account As of 2w · github_public_v1 |
| OSV dependency advisories | No lockfile (source not queried) As of 1mo · osv@v1 | No lockfile (source not queried) As of 1mo · osv@v1 |
| deps.dev advisories | Not queried deps.dev@v1 | Not queried deps.dev@v1 |
| OpenSSF Scorecard | Not queried openssf-scorecard@v1 | Not queried openssf-scorecard@v1 |
Tagline
- paper-qa
- High accuracy RAG for answering questions from scientific documents with citations
- google-research
- Google Research Repository
Stars
- paper-qa
- 9.0k
- google-research
- 38k
Forks
- paper-qa
- 907
- google-research
- 8.5k
Open issues
- paper-qa
- 141
- google-research
- 2.0k
Language
- paper-qa
- Python
- google-research
- Jupyter Notebook
Adopt for
- paper-qa
- PaperQA2 version 5 is a retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) system optimized for extracting information from scientific documents, enhancing user queries with citations.
- google-research
- Popular for its research-grade projects hosted by Google Research, this repository offers diverse machine-learning datasets and source files under specific licenses.
Persona
- paper-qa
- -
- google-research
- -
Runtime
- paper-qa
- -
- google-research
- -
License
- paper-qa
- 'Apache-2.0' - Permissive free software license that allows for both non-commercial use and commercial exploitation of the package.
- google-research
- Code is under Apache-2.0 license while datasets are released under CC BY 4.0 International license.
Last pushed
- paper-qa
- Aug 12, 2026
- google-research
- Jul 30, 2026
Categories
- paper-qa
- Data & Retrieval, Model Training
- google-research
- Data & Retrieval, Model Training
Trust and health
Days since push
- paper-qa
- 5d
- google-research
- 6d
Open issues (now)
- paper-qa
- 141
- google-research
- 2.0k
Stars delta
- paper-qa
- +154 (30d)
- google-research
- Unknown
Open issues delta
- paper-qa
- 0 (30d)
- google-research
- Unknown
Full report
- paper-qa
- Trust report
- google-research
- Trust report
Choose paper-qa if…
- paper-qa is primarily Python; google-research is Jupyter Notebook.
- Requirements: Min 4 GB RAM.
- Tags unique to paper-qa: rag, science, search.
- Your project specifically requires processing and querying scientific documents, as PaperQA2 offers specialized capabilities tuned for this domain.
When NOT to use paper-qa
- If your use case does not involve scientific document processing, another RAG system better suited to your specific type of documents (e.g., legal, medical) might be more fitting.
- In scenarios where real-time performance is critical and extensive indexing or access to external APIs for large-scale paper handling becomes a bottleneck.
Choose google-research if…
- google-research is primarily Jupyter Notebook; paper-qa is Python.
- Requirements: Requires a working understanding of how to navigate large repositories and selectively clone desired subdirectories..
- Tags unique to google-research: machine-learning, research.
- When you need access to high-quality machine learning datasets released under the CC BY 4.0 International license alongside Apache-2.0 licensed code from Google researchers.
When NOT to use google-research
- When the need is for simpler or more streamlined datasets that match different licensing needs apart from CC BY 4.0 International and Apache-2.0.
- If you require a repository with an official product-level support guarantee from Google, as this resource has explicitly declared itself as non-official.
Explore
Sources
Every stat on this page traces to a dated GitHub sync, license file, enrichment field, or trust scan.
- GitHub stars (Future-House/paper-qa) · observed Aug 18, 2026
- GitHub forks (Future-House/paper-qa) · observed Aug 18, 2026
- Last push (Future-House/paper-qa) · observed Aug 12, 2026
- License file (Apache-2.0) · observed Aug 18, 2026
- Decision facts (enrichment) · observed Jul 12, 2026
- Trust scan (lockfile / OSV) · observed Jul 11, 2026
- GitHub stars (google-research/google-research) · observed Aug 5, 2026
- GitHub forks (google-research/google-research) · observed Aug 5, 2026
- Last push (google-research/google-research) · observed Jul 30, 2026
- License file (Apache-2.0) · observed Aug 5, 2026
- Decision facts (enrichment) · observed Jul 15, 2026
- Trust scan (lockfile / OSV) · observed Jul 11, 2026
GitHub stars on cards: paper-qa 9.0k · google-research 38k (synced Aug 18, 2026).
Common questions
- What is the difference between paper-qa and google-research?
- paper-qa: High accuracy RAG for answering questions from scientific documents with citations. google-research: Google Research Repository. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories.
- When should I choose paper-qa over google-research?
- Choose paper-qa over google-research when paper-qa is primarily Python; google-research is Jupyter Notebook; Requirements: Min 4 GB RAM; Tags unique to paper-qa: rag, science, search; Your project specifically requires processing and querying scientific documents, as PaperQA2 offers specialized capabilities tuned for this domain.
- When should I choose google-research over paper-qa?
- Choose google-research over paper-qa when google-research is primarily Jupyter Notebook; paper-qa is Python; Requirements: Requires a working understanding of how to navigate large repositories and selectively clone desired subdirectories.; Tags unique to google-research: machine-learning, research; When you need access to high-quality machine learning datasets released under the CC BY 4.0 International license alongside Apache-2.0 licensed code from Google researchers.
- When should I avoid paper-qa?
- If your use case does not involve scientific document processing, another RAG system better suited to your specific type of documents (e.g., legal, medical) might be more fitting. In scenarios where real-time performance is critical and extensive indexing or access to external APIs for large-scale paper handling becomes a bottleneck.
- When should I avoid google-research?
- When the need is for simpler or more streamlined datasets that match different licensing needs apart from CC BY 4.0 International and Apache-2.0. If you require a repository with an official product-level support guarantee from Google, as this resource has explicitly declared itself as non-official.
- Is paper-qa or google-research more popular on GitHub?
- google-research has more GitHub stars (38,480 vs 9,048). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints.
- Are paper-qa and google-research open source?
- Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (paper-qa: Apache-2.0, google-research: Apache-2.0).
- Where can I find alternatives to paper-qa or google-research?
- GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at paper-qa alternatives and google-research alternatives (paper-qa markdown twin, google-research markdown twin), ranked by typed relationship edges rather than popularity votes.
- Is there a machine-readable version of this comparison?
- Yes. The markdown twin at this comparison mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers.
- Which is better maintained, paper-qa or google-research?
- paper-qa: Very active. google-research: Very active. Compare maintenance labels, days since push, and release cadence in the trust section below - stars alone do not measure maintenance.
- Where are the full trust reports for paper-qa and google-research?
- GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: paper-qa trust report; google-research trust report.