Elicit vs Consensus
A researcher typing this wants AI help with academic literature and is deciding between a tool built for systematic reviews across many papers and one built for quick, evidence-backed answers.
The difference that matters
Elicit's free tier is unusually generous: unlimited search across 138M+ papers, unlimited summaries, unlimited chat with papers, with only its Research Agent and Research Reports features limited; its paid tier is $49/user/month billed annually ($588/yr), built for systematic reviews across many papers, and it's the wrong tool for any field without a real body of published literature. Consensus starts far cheaper at $9/month (unlimited basic search on the free tier, with roughly 10 Pro Analyses, 10 Study Snapshots, and up to 3 Deep Reviews/month capped), built for quick evidence-backed answers pulled from academic literature rather than full systematic review work, and it's the wrong tool for any non-academic question.
Side by side
| Elicit | Consensus | |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Unlimited search across 138M+ papers, unlimited summaries, unlimited chat with papers; limited Research Agent/Research Reports usage | Unlimited basic search; AI features capped, roughly 10 Pro Analyses/month, 10 Study Snapshots/month, up to 3 Deep Reviews/month |
| Entry paid plan | $49/user/mo (billed annually, $588/yr) | $9/mo, unlocks unlimited Pro Analyses and Study Snapshots, Copilot, and advanced filtering |
| Bills in | not stated | Per-user monthly subscription; AI-feature usage is metered, not raw search count |
Choose Elicit if
You're doing a systematic review across a large body of papers and need the deeper Research Agent workflow, and can justify the $49/month price.
Choose Consensus if
You want a quick, evidence-backed answer to a specific academic question, not a full systematic review, at a much lower price.
Our verdict
Elicit wins for deep, systematic literature review work, at a real cost. Consensus wins for quick evidence-backed answers to specific academic questions, at roughly a fifth of Elicit's price.
What to watch out for
Elicit's free tier (unlimited search/summaries/chat across 138M+ papers) and $49/user/mo (billed annually) paid tier are confirmed on its own pricing page. Consensus' $9/mo paid tier and free tier (unlimited basic search, ~10 Pro Analyses/month, ~10 Study Snapshots/month, up to 3 Deep Reviews/month) are confirmed on its own pricing page.
Compare against the rest
Both of these sit in the full Research directory, which covers 5 tools.
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