The Lens

The Lens is ranked #2 of 29 in academic research databases on The Geeks Club. It runs on API, Web. There is a free plan. A free trial is offered. Paid plans start at $83.33/mo.

The Lens plans and pricing

All plans

Anonymous access Free Browse without an account · anonymous use remains free about.lens.org · 29 Sept 2026

Academic Workspace Free For academic users doing non-commercial research · requires an academic institutional email about.lens.org · 29 Sept 2026

API Trial Free Requires approval · non-commercial or limited academic use · API access valid for 14 days support.lens.org · 29 Sept 2026

Individual Professional Workspace $1,000/yr US$1000/year Single-seat · non-transferable · for professional or commercial use · no API or bulk data access by default support.lens.org · 29 Sept 2026

API Member | Custom Access Not published Contact The Lens for access Paid · for higher or continued API access, automated downloads, integration or commercial use support.lens.org · 29 Sept 2026

Compared on academic research databases

Free plan: Yes
Full-text access: Yes
Advanced search: Yes
Subject coverage: multidisciplinary
Content types: journal articles, conference proceedings, books, book chapters, preprints
Theses and dissertations: Yes
Conference proceedings: Yes
Institutional access: Yes

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9.3 CORE Free plan 8.6 OpenAlex Free plan

8.5 JSTOR Free plan

8.0 ERIC Free plan

7.7 Europe PMC Free plan

7.6 PubMed Free plan

The Lens

Purpose: The Lens connects scholarly and technological knowledge, including patents and scholarly works, to support discovery, analysis, decision-making and partnering.
Patent and research search: Patent search includes Boolean, structured, biological and classification search, with filtering and sorting options.
Scholarly coverage: The Lens says it serves more than 200 million scholarly records and links scholarly works with patent records through citations.
Biological sequences: PatSeq tools let users search, analyze and share biological sequences disclosed in patents.
Analytics: Users can visualize search results with dashboards and charts, then save and share dashboards.
Saved work and alerts: Registered accounts can save collections and queries, add personal notes, and receive notifications when new indexed results match saved queries or collections.
Profiles and ORCID: Lens Profiles combine author and inventor records with aggregated data, and let users link and synchronize their ORCID records.
API and integrations: Patent and scholarly APIs provide programmatic search and retrieval; the API guide lists cURL and Postman as client examples and requires approved access and a token.
Privacy: The privacy policy says registered users may opt out of search-history recording and web analytics, and guest use does not require providing an email address.
Account security: The Lens supports two-factor authentication by authenticator app or email and recommends enabling it for accounts.
Commercial eligibility: Individual users using The Lens for commercial purposes must obtain commercial-use permissions through a subscription or their institution.
Support: The Lens lists [email protected] and [email protected] as contact emails and provides a support request form.
Organization: The Lens became a wholly owned subsidiary of SPIE in 2026, operating as The Lens Limited, a non-profit based in Australia.
Founded: 2001
Price from: $83.33/mo

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Where it ranks on The Geeks Club

Best Academic Research Databases in 2026#2 of 29
Best AI Patent Search Software in 2026#9 of 23

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Sources

about.lens.org/what/· checked 29 Sept 2026
about.lens.org· checked 29 Sept 2026
support.lens.org/knowledge-base/dashboards/· checked 29 Sept 2026
support.lens.org/knowledge-base/register-account/· checked 29 Sept 2026
about.lens.org/lens-profiles/· checked 29 Sept 2026
support.lens.org/knowledge-base/lens-patent-and-scholar-· checked 29 Sept 2026
about.lens.org/privacy/· checked 29 Sept 2026
support.lens.org/knowledge-base/two-factor-authenticatio· checked 29 Sept 2026
support.lens.org/knowledge-base/commercial-use-agreement· checked 29 Sept 2026
about.lens.org/contact-us/· checked 29 Sept 2026
about.lens.org/the-lens-relaunched-through-partnership· checked 29 Sept 2026
lens.org· checked 28 Sept 2026