Head-to-head · AI Research Assistants
Elicit vs Scholarly
Elicit leads on 1 check, Scholarly on 0, and 5 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 6 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.
Our verdict
- Lowest starting priceElicit · $11/user/mo
- Free planboth
Elicit and Scholarly score identically on our rubric (9.0 out of 10) for ai research assistants; Elicit sits at #1 and Scholarly at #3 in our editorial ranking, so the choice comes down to fit.
Elicit is cheaper to start at $11/user/mo against $12/user/mo. On source access, Scholarly gives you Web+files+connectors where Elicit offers Web+files.
Elicit is the better fit for academic literature reviews and evidence synthesis. Scholarly is the better fit for multi-source research with files and team workflows.
- Elicit fits best
Academic literature reviews and evidence synthesis
- Scholarly fits best
Multi-source research with files and team workflows
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Side by side
| Feature | Elicit 9.0/10 Visit ↗ | Scholarly 9.0/10 Visit ↗ |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Editor score | 9.0 | 9.0 |
| Ranking | #1 in AI Research Assistants | #3 in AI Research Assistants |
| Best for | Academic literature reviews and evidence synthesis | Multi-source research with files and team workflows |
| Pricing model | Free plan + paid | Free plan + paid |
| Starting price | $11/user/mo (best) | $12/user/mo |
| Free plan | ✓ | ✓ |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Deployment | Cloud | Cloud |
| Platforms | Web | Web |
| Support | Email, Docs | Email, Docs |
| Integrations | 5 integrations | 1 integrations |
| Built for | Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise | Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise |
| Features Elicit 4/4 · Scholarly 4/4 | ||
| Source citations | ✓ | ✓ |
| Deep research mode | ✓ | ✓ |
| File uploads | ✓ | ✓ |
| Team workspace | ✓ | ✓ |
| Specs | ||
| Source access | Web+files | Web+files+connectors |
| Source limit | Not published | 10 sources |
| Our review | ||
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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 → |
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
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
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
- 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 → - 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