🚀 2400+ AI tools in the Mega Directory — catalogue updated November 2026.

Lens

Free search platform for patents and scholarly works worldwide.

Research ToolsFree planFree

Lens is a free search platform for patents and scholarly works worldwide. It combines over 200 million patent records with 200 million scholarly works, so you can search both at once — seeing not just what has been published, but what has been patented, and how the two connect.

Key Features

  • Free search across 200M+ patents and scholarly works
  • Patent family and legal status views
  • Citation analysis for patents and papers
  • Filters by jurisdiction, date, and applicant
  • Export results for reports
  • No account needed for basic search

Pricing

PlanPriceDetails
Free$0Full search across patents and scholarly works — no payment required.

Prices as listed in 2026 research. Always check the official site for the latest price — plans change. Free plan: Yes — it has a free plan.

Best for: researchers and inventors who search patents and scholarly works together, for free.
Popular with: Students, Teachers, Developers

How it works

The platform is free for everyone, with no account needed for basic search. It includes citation analysis, patent family views, and legal status information, making it useful for researchers, inventors, and patent professionals who need to understand the prior art before they start.

Lens is the best free tool for patent research. It will not replace a paid patent database for professional searches, but for a free, comprehensive look at patents and papers together, it is hard to beat.

Pros and Cons

✓ Pros

  • Completely free with no account needed
  • Combines patents and papers in one search
  • Patent family and legal status included
  • Huge index of 200M+ records

✗ Cons

  • Interface is dense and takes time to learn
  • No AI summaries or citation tools
  • Patent data can be overwhelming for casual users

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Lens free?

Yes — Lens has a free plan. Free

What is Lens best for?

researchers and inventors who search patents and scholarly works together, for free.

What kind of tool is Lens?

Lens is a Research Tools tool on VerlumoAI.

Related Tools

Perplexity

Research ToolsFree plan

AI search assistant that answers questions with cited sources.

Free plan; Pro $20/mo; Education $10/mo
View details

Elicit

Research ToolsFree plan

AI research assistant that answers questions from 138M+ academic papers.

Free Basic plan; Plus $11/user/mo billed annually
View details

NotebookLM

Research ToolsFree plan

Google's source-grounded research assistant — ask your documents, get cited answers.

Free with Google account; AI Plus from $4.99/mo
View details

Last reviewed: November 2026

← Back to Research Tools (45 tools)

VerlumoAI Assistant
Hi! I can help you find the right AI tool. Try one of these: