Academia is a platform with over 40 million research papers and 92 million users.
They have 4 main goals—open access, distribution, peer review, and formats.
Their goal is to make sure that every paper is available on the internet for free.
Acadmia is one of the fastest and most relevant paper distribution systems.
In addition, it knows if papers or individual claims are trustworthy.
Lastly, the website allows you to share papers in multiple formats—video, short-form content, data-sets, and code.
Here is the free Academia downloader or unlocker that you can use to get PDF documents, full-text papers, and packs.
- Is Academia free?
- Academia pricing
- How to download Academia documents for free
- How to download Academia documents
Is Academia free?
Yes, Academia is free, but it has a premium version.
With the free version of Academia, you’ll have access to 40 million full-text papers.
You can also share your research with 93 million academics.
However, you won’t be able to track who mentions you, see who is reading your papers, or download documents.
Academia pricing
Academia’s annual plan costs $89 USD per year ($7.42 USD per month).
For graduate students, it costs $44.50 USD per year ($3.71 USD per month).
The monthly plan costs $18 USD per month.
It’s highly recommended that you select the annual plan instead of the monthly plan as you’ll save about $126 USD.
How to download Academia documents for free
To download Academia documents for free, you need to get a premium subscription.
After you’ve subscribed to Academia premium, cancel the subscription before 30 days.
Lastly, request a refund by submitting a request here: https://support.academia.edu/hc/en-us/requests/new.
Academia offers a 30 Day Money-Back Guarantee, so you can get your money back.
Step 1: Get a premium subscription

- Go to https://www.academia.edu/.
- Click on the “Sign Up” button and create an account.
- Follow the on-screen instructions and select “Premium”.
- Enter your credit card or PayPal details and pay for Academia Premium.
Step 2: Start downloading documents

- Search for a document that you want to download.
- Select “Download PDF” or “Download Full PDF Package”.
- Download as many documents as you want before 30 days.
Note: With Academia Premium, you can download unlimited documents—just make sure to cancel your subscription before 30 days to be eligible for a refund.
Step 3: Cancel your subscription before 30 days

- Before 30 days, click on your name and select “Account settings”.
- Select “Premium Subscription” and select “Cancel Auto-Renew”.
- Scroll to the bottom and select “Continue to Cancel”.
- Complete the survey about why you don’t want to be billed again.
Note: If you’ve cancelled your subscription before the end of your subscription duration, you’ll still have access to Academia Premium until it ends.
Step 4: Request for a refund

- Go to https://support.academia.edu/hc/en-us/requests/new.
- Select “Billing, Payment, or Subscription Assistance”.
- Provide your details (email address, subject, name, etc.).
- In the description field, state that you want a refund.
- Submit the form and wait for a reply.
Note: Academia offers a 30 Day Money-Back Guarantee, so you can get your money back if you cancel your subscription before 30 days.
How to download Academia documents
To download Academia documents, you need to get Academia Premium.
This is because the free version of Academia does not allow you to download documents.
After you’ve subscribed, navigate to the document that you want to download.
Lastly, select “Download PDF” or “Download Full PDF Package” to download it.