scite vs Consensus

Compared on	scite Free trial · from $12/mo VisitRemove	Consensus Free plan · from $12/mo VisitRemove
What it is	Research tool that shows how papers have been cited, with an AI assistant	AI search engine for peer-reviewed research papers
Free plan	No	Basic paper search, 10 Pro messages per month, up to 3 Deep reviews per month
Cheapest paid plan	$12/mo billed annually (Basic)scite pricing	$12/mo billed annually (Pro)Consensus pricing
What it covers	$144 billed yearly; the pricing page says yearly billing saves $96.	$144 billed annually; the monthly-billing price is behind a toggle and was not captured. Students, faculty and US clinicians can get up to 40% off.
Free trial	7-day free trial of Basic or Pro; you are enrolled in the plan chosen at the start unless you cancel before it ends	None stated
Platforms	Web, API	Web, API
Integrations (vendor's figure)	Not stated	Not stated
Open source	No	No
Good for	Checking how a paper has been cited before relying on it Finding research to support a report or grant application Tracking new citations of key papers	Checking what published studies say about a question Starting a literature review for coursework or a report Finding peer-reviewed sources to cite
Watch out for	No free plan on the pricing page, and since October 2026 free accounts get no MCP credits MCP access from ChatGPT, Claude and other tools needs a paid plan or the free trial API access requires the Pro plan	The free plan includes 10 Pro messages and 3 Deep reviews per month Pro includes 15 Deep reviews per month API and MCP use beyond the included amount costs $0.05 per use, with monthly caps
Made by	Research Solutions	Consensus

Entry prices are the cheapest paid plan, as each vendor publishes it; “What it covers” says what that price is per (a user, a channel, a brand, a number of contacts). The sources are listed on each tool's page.

Every tool in AI research tools is on its category page, with the written head-to-heads on Compare.