AI answer engine with real-time web search and cited sources.
Consensus vs Elicit
Features, pricing, strengths and trade-offs — and which one fits your situation.
The verdict
Editor’s verdict
Consensus is built for quick, evidence-based answers to research questions, while Elicit is built for deeper literature review work such as screening papers and extracting data into tables. Choose Consensus if you want a fast summary of what studies say, a Consensus Meter for yes/no questions, filters for study type and quality, and easy citation export. Choose Elicit if you are conducting a literature or systematic review, need to pull specific data points (sample sizes, outcomes, methods) from many papers into a table, or want structured reports with PRISMA diagrams and sentence-level citations. Both let you upload your own PDFs and both focus only on academic sources. Consensus has the gentler learning curve, while Elicit rewards users with more structured research needs. If you want to check whether later research supports or contradicts a specific paper, neither is focused on that and Scite is the better fit.
Both Consensus and Elicit offer a free plan, so you can try each before paying.
Which should you choose?
Choose Consensus if…
- You need getting evidence-based answers to research questions from peer-reviewed papers
- You're one of: graduate students and academics, healthcare professionals checking evidence, science journalists
- You want something quicker to learn
- Every claim ties back to a specific paper
Choose Elicit if…
- You need literature reviews and extracting data from many academic papers
- You're one of: academic researchers, systematic reviewers and evidence synthesis teams, pharma and life-science analysts
- Table-based extraction saves time on large literature reviews
At a glance
| Consensus | Elicit | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Getting evidence-based answers to research questions from peer-reviewed papers | Literature reviews and extracting data from many academic papers |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Starting price | From $20/mo | From $12/mo |
| Learning curve | Low | Medium |
| Platforms | Web | Web |
| Ideal for | Graduate students and academics, Healthcare professionals checking evidence, Science journalists, Students writing literature reviews | Academic researchers, Systematic reviewers and evidence synthesis teams, Pharma and life-science analysts, Graduate students |
Feature comparison
| Consensus | Elicit | |
|---|---|---|
| Answers with citations | Yes | Yes |
| Searches academic papers | Yes | Yes |
| Upload & chat with PDFs | Yes | Yes |
| AI content detection | No | No |
| Rewrites / humanizes text | No | No |
| Citation formatting | Yes | Limited |
| Browser extension | — | No |
| Writing editor | No | No |
IncludedLimited / higher plansNot available— Not confirmed
Security & enterprise
| Consensus | Elicit | |
|---|---|---|
| Business / enterprise plan | Yes | Yes |
| SSO (SAML / OIDC) | Enterprise plan | Enterprise plan |
| SCIM user provisioning | — | — |
| SOC 2 | — | Type II |
| ISO 27001 | — | — |
| HIPAA (BAA available) | — | — |
| GDPR DPA | — | — |
| Data residency options | — | — |
| No training on your data | — | Yes |
| Audit logs | — | — |
| Admin controls | Yes | Yes |
| Deployment | Cloud | Cloud, single-tenant |
From each vendor's security documentation. "—" = not confirmed. What to ask vendors · Compare all tools
What each tool does
Consensus
Consensus is an AI search engine that answers questions using a database of peer-reviewed academic papers rather than the open web. It summarizes findings across studies, shows a Consensus Meter for yes/no questions and offers Quick, Pro and Deep search modes. Students, researchers, clinicians and science writers use it for fast literature scans.
Key features- Answers drawn only from academic papers, each linked to its source
- Consensus Meter showing how studies lean on yes/no questions
- Deep Search that reviews dozens of papers in a multi-step report
- Study filters such as study type, sample size and journal quality
- My Library for uploading PDFs, importing Zotero and chatting with papers
- Bibliography export in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard and BibTeX, plus RIS/CSV
Elicit
Elicit is an AI research assistant for finding, screening and extracting data from academic papers. It searches a large scholarly database, lets users upload their own PDFs, extracts findings into tables and generates research reports with sentence-level citations. It also supports a structured systematic review workflow with screening and PRISMA diagrams.
Key features- Semantic search across a large database of academic papers
- Data extraction into tables, including from tables and figures
- Research reports synthesizing many papers with sentence-level citations
- Systematic review workflow with AI-assisted screening and PRISMA diagrams
- Upload your own PDFs for extraction and analysis
- Export results to CSV, RIS and BibTeX
Pricing
Consensus
Free plan; Pro ~$20/mo, ~33% off annual
Elicit
Free plan: yes (Basic). Paid from ~$12/mo billed annually (Plus)
Prices last checked September 2026. Plans change often — confirm on each vendor's site.
Pros and cons
Consensus
Strengths- Every claim ties back to a specific paper
- Consensus Meter gives a quick read on where research points
- Free plan includes unlimited basic paper searches
- Works with reference managers such as Zotero, EndNote and Mendeley
- Limited to academic literature, so not useful for news or general web questions
- Deep searches are capped on free and Pro plans
- Summaries can oversimplify study nuance and still need reading of the full papers
- No built-in editor for drafting papers
Not ideal for: People who need general web answers or help drafting essays should use Perplexity or a writing assistant instead.
Elicit
Strengths- Table-based extraction saves time on large literature reviews
- Supports structured systematic review methods
- Citations link to specific sentences in source papers
- Free Basic plan for searching and small extractions
- Limited to academic literature, not general web search
- Advanced features such as large reports and premium PDF parsing need higher plans
- Extraction results still require human verification for publication-grade reviews
- No writing editor, AI detection or humanizer tools
Not ideal for: People who need quick answers from the general web or help drafting essays should use Perplexity or a writing tool instead.
Integrations
Consensus
Elicit
FAQ
What is the main difference between Consensus and Elicit?
Consensus is built for getting evidence-based answers to research questions from peer-reviewed papers; Elicit is built for literature reviews and extracting data from many academic papers.
Is Consensus or Elicit cheaper?
Consensus starts from $20/mo and Elicit starts from $12/mo (as of September 2026). On entry price, Elicit is cheaper — but compare what each plan includes, since limits differ. Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site.
Do Consensus and Elicit have free plans?
Both Consensus and Elicit offer a free plan, so you can try each before paying.
Which is easier to use, Consensus or Elicit?
Consensus is generally quicker to learn (Consensus: low, Elicit: medium learning curve).
What are good alternatives to Consensus and Elicit?
Other research & study tools worth comparing include Perplexity, Monica and Merlin AI.
