Head-to-head · AI Research Assistants
Consensus vs Scholarly
Consensus leads on 0 checks, Scholarly on 4, and 1 is even. Who comes out ahead on the 5 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.
Our verdict
- Highest scoreScholarly · 9.0/10
- Free planboth
- Most featuresScholarly · 4 of 4
Scholarly scores higher on our rubric for ai research assistants: 9.0 against 4.0 out of 10; our editors rank them #3 and #2.
Scholarly offers source citations; Consensus doesn't publish it. Scholarly offers deep research mode; Consensus doesn't publish it. Scholarly offers file uploads; Consensus doesn't publish it. Scholarly offers team workspace; Consensus doesn't publish it.
Consensus is the better fit for researchers needing broad scholarly search and analysis. Scholarly is the better fit for multi-source research with files and team workflows.
- Consensus fits best
Researchers needing broad scholarly search and analysis
- Scholarly fits best
Multi-source research with files and team workflows
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Side by side
| Feature | Consensus 4.0/10 Visit ↗ | Scholarly 9.0/10 Visit ↗ |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Editor score | 4.0 | 9.0 |
| Ranking | #2 in AI Research Assistants | #3 in AI Research Assistants |
| Best for | Researchers needing broad scholarly search and analysis | Multi-source research with files and team workflows |
| Pricing model | Free plan + paid | Free plan + paid |
| Starting price | Not published | $12/user/mo |
| Free plan | ✓ | ✓ |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Deployment | Cloud, Mobile | Cloud |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android | Web |
| Support | Email, Live chat, Docs | Email, Docs |
| Integrations | 6 integrations | 1 integrations |
| Built for | Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise | Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise |
| Features Consensus 0/4 · Scholarly 4/4 | ||
| Source citations | Not published | ✓ (best) |
| Deep research mode | Not published | ✓ (best) |
| File uploads | Not published | ✓ (best) |
| Team workspace | Not published | ✓ (best) |
| Specs | ||
| Source access | Not published | Web+files+connectors |
| Source limit | Not published | 10 sources |
| Our review | ||
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| Our verdict | Consensus is an AI search engine and workspace for scientific research. It is designed for researchers, clinicians, students, and research teams that need to find academic papers, synthesize findings, and connect claims with supporting… Read the review → |
Scholarly is an AI workspace for researchers, professionals, teams, and students who need to investigate questions across web sources and uploaded files. Its Deep Research mode supports multi-step investigation with cited reports, while… Read the review → |
Strengths and trade-offs
Consensus — where it wins
- Broad search across papers, authors, DOIs, topics, and study details
- Deep reviews, Study Snapshots, citation graphs, and inline citations
- Web, iOS, Android, API, Zotero, ChatGPT, Claude, and MCP support
Where it doesn't
- The Free plan limits Pro messages, Deep reviews, snapshots, and API/MCP calls
- Full-text analysis depends on paper availability
- Enterprise access uses custom pricing and targets organizations over 200 users
Scholarly — where it wins
- Deep Research produces cited reports with source verification
- Analyzes web sources, PDFs, Word, PowerPoint, and text files
- Team plans include shared libraries, roles, and centralized billing
Where it doesn't
- Web-only platform coverage
- Free plan includes one lifetime AI creation credit
- Google Drive is the listed source connection
- Consensus4.0/10 · Free plan
A broad scholarly search workspace with deep analysis, citations, and research integrations.
Visit ConsensusFull verdict → - Scholarly9.0/10 · Free plan · paid from $12/user/mo (annual)
A cited research workspace for web, file, and team-based investigation.
Visit ScholarlyFull verdict →
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Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Sep 2026