Elicit vs Consensus: research tools compared
Both tools search academic literature and have a free plan. They differ in what the paid plans add. This comparison uses the two pricing pages only; we have not run searches with either.
By Give AI Tool · Research methodology
Researched comparison, not hands-on tested · Reviewed 21 Oct 2026 · Open in the comparison tool
The decision this helps with: Do you need to extract data from many papers, or get quick cited answers from peer-reviewed research?
Side by side
| Elicit | Consensus | |
|---|---|---|
| Good for | Research academic papers | Research academic papers |
| Entry price | From $49/user/mo (currency not named), billed annually | From $12/mo (currency not named), billed annually |
| Billing commitment | Only an annual-billing price is shown. A month-to-month price is not stated. | Only an annual-billing price is shown. A month-to-month price is not stated. |
| Currency | Shown as "$"; currency not named | Shown as "$"; currency not named |
| Pricing model | Per seat or user | Usage-based |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free-plan limits | Limited Research Agent and Reports usage; unlimited search across 138 million papers, summaries and chat with full-text papers; Zotero import | Basic paper search; 10 Pro messages a month; up to 3 Deep reviews a month |
| What it does |
|
|
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Main tradeoff | Research Agent and Reports usage is limited on Basic, and the paid plans cost $49 and $169 per user a month. | Only annual-billing prices are shown, and free AI analysis is capped at 10 Pro messages a month. |
| Choose it if | Consider it for literature reviews where you need to screen many papers and pull structured data from them. | Consider it if you want quick, cited answers from peer-reviewed papers and a free plan to start. |
| Research status | Researched overview, last checked 21 Oct 2026 | Researched overview, last checked 21 Oct 2026 |
Prices marked "billed annually" are shown per month but are paid once a year. They are not month-to-month prices.
2 rows are hidden because no tool in this comparison has a verified value for them.
What actually differs
Free plan
Elicit's Basic plan lists unlimited search across 138 million papers, unlimited summaries and chat with full-text papers, with limited Research Agent and Reports usage. Consensus's Free plan lists basic paper search, 10 Pro messages a month and up to 3 Deep reviews.
Paid plans
Elicit Pro is $49 per user a month on annual billing, and Scale $169. Consensus Pro is $12 a month on annual billing and Deep is $45. Both pages show annual-billing prices only, and neither names the currency.
What paid plans add
Elicit Pro adds a systematic literature review workflow that screens 5,000 papers and extracts 20 columns at a time. Consensus Pro adds unlimited Pro messages and 15 Deep reviews a month, and Deep gives 200 Deep reviews.
API
Elicit lists API access on Pro and unlimited API access on Enterprise. Consensus includes 500 API and MCP uses a month on Pro and 2,000 on Deep, with $0.05 per extra use.
Which one to choose
Choose Elicit if…
You need to screen many papers and extract structured data into columns for a literature review.
Choose Consensus if…
You want quick cited answers from peer-reviewed research and a lower-priced paid plan.
Not yet verified
Gaps in our research, not claims about either product.
- Elicit: The currency (the page shows "$" only); Numeric free-plan report and extraction limits; Whether a free trial exists; Whether Scale includes API access.
- Consensus: Month-to-month prices; Team and Enterprise pricing; The currency code; Platforms.
Try them
Goes to the official site. Not an affiliate link.
Goes to the official site. Not an affiliate link.
Full pages: Elicit · Consensus · Affiliate disclosure