Head-to-head · AI Research Assistants
Elicit vs Consensus
Elicit leads on 4 checks, Consensus on 0, 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 scoreElicit · 9.0/10
- Free planboth
- Most featuresElicit · 4 of 4
Elicit scores higher on our rubric for ai research assistants: 9.0 against 4.0 out of 10; our editors rank them #1 and #2.
Elicit offers source citations; Consensus doesn't publish it. Elicit offers deep research mode; Consensus doesn't publish it. Elicit offers file uploads; Consensus doesn't publish it. Elicit offers team workspace; Consensus doesn't publish it.
Elicit is the better fit for academic literature reviews and evidence synthesis. Consensus is the better fit for researchers needing broad scholarly search and analysis.
- Elicit fits best
Academic literature reviews and evidence synthesis
- Consensus fits best
Researchers needing broad scholarly search and analysis
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Side by side
| Feature | Elicit 9.0/10 Visit ↗ | Consensus 4.0/10 Visit ↗ |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Editor score | 9.0 | 4.0 |
| Ranking | #1 in AI Research Assistants | #2 in AI Research Assistants |
| Best for | Academic literature reviews and evidence synthesis | Researchers needing broad scholarly search and analysis |
| Pricing model | Free plan + paid | Free plan + paid |
| Starting price | $11/user/mo | Not published |
| Free plan | ✓ | ✓ |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Deployment | Cloud | Cloud, Mobile |
| Platforms | Web | Web, iOS, Android |
| Support | Email, Docs | Email, Live chat, Docs |
| Integrations | 5 integrations | 6 integrations |
| Built for | Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise | Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise |
| Features Elicit 4/4 · Consensus 0/4 | ||
| Source citations | ✓ (best) | Not published |
| Deep research mode | ✓ (best) | Not published |
| File uploads | ✓ (best) | Not published |
| Team workspace | ✓ (best) | Not published |
| Specs | ||
| Source access | Web+files | Not published |
| Source limit | Not published | Not published |
| Our review | ||
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| Cons |
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| Our verdict | Elicit is a web-based AI research assistant for researchers, analysts, academics, and teams. It combines semantic and keyword search across academic papers and clinical trials with research-agent workflows, structured reports, source… Read the review → |
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 → |
Strengths and trade-offs
Elicit — where it wins
- Searches academic papers and clinical trials with semantic and keyword options
- Supports systematic-review screening, extraction, reports, and sentence-level citations
- Free plan plus API access, exports, alerts, and collaboration on higher tiers
Where it doesn't
- Advanced workflows and larger usage allowances require paid annual-billing tiers
- Clinical-trial search and exports are added with Plus rather than Basic
- Enterprise features such as SSO, SAML, and custom deployments need a custom plan
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
- Elicit9.0/10 · Free plan · paid from $11/user/mo
A focused research assistant for literature reviews, evidence synthesis, and clinical-trial analysis.
Visit ElicitFull verdict → - Consensus4.0/10 · Free plan
A broad scholarly search workspace with deep analysis, citations, and research integrations.
Visit ConsensusFull verdict →
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Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Sep 2026