Consensus: pricing, features and alternatives
AI search engine for peer-reviewed research papers
What is Consensus?
Consensus is an AI-powered academic search engine covering more than 220 million peer-reviewed papers. Users ask a question and get an AI analysis drawn from published studies, and can run Deep reviews that produce longer literature reviews. It is used by students, researchers and clinicians, and paid plans include API and MCP access.
Good for
- Checking what published studies say about a question
- Starting a literature review for coursework or a report
- Finding peer-reviewed sources to cite
Key features
- Search across 220M+ peer-reviewed papers
- Cited AI analysis of research
- Deep reviews for longer literature reviews
- Citation graph and other research tools on paid plans
- API and MCP access on paid plans
Limitations to know about
- 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
Consensus pricing
Consensus has a free plan. Paid plans start at $12 a month billed annually (Pro).
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Basic paper search, 10 Pro messages and 3 Deep reviews per month |
| Pro | $12/month billed annually ($144/year) | Unlimited Pro messages, 15 Deep reviews per month, 500 API and MCP uses per month |
| Deep | $45/month billed annually ($540/year) | 200 Deep reviews per month, 2,000 API and MCP uses per month |
| Team and Enterprise | Not published | Listed on a separate tab; details not captured |
Free plan limits: Basic paper search, 10 Pro messages per month, up to 3 Deep reviews per month
Consensus alternatives
Elicit
AI research assistant that searches and summarises academic papers
scite
Research tool that shows how papers have been cited, with an AI assistant
Perplexity
AI answer engine that replies with cited sources from the web
Gemini Notebook
Google's source-grounded research notebook, renamed Gemini Notebook in 2026
Julius AI
AI workspace for analysing data and turning it into charts, reports and slides
Compare Consensus with these side by side
Head to head: Consensus vs Elicit
Frequently asked questions
Is Consensus free?
Consensus has a free plan. Basic paper search, 10 Pro messages per month, up to 3 Deep reviews per month. Paid plans start at $12/mo billed annually.
How much does Consensus cost?
Consensus's cheapest paid plan, Pro, costs $12 a month billed annually. $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. There is also an enterprise plan priced on request. Prices as published on Consensus's pricing page on 23 September 2026.
What is Consensus used for?
Consensus is an AI-powered academic search engine covering more than 220 million peer-reviewed papers. People use it for checking what published studies say about a question, starting a literature review for coursework or a report and finding peer-reviewed sources to cite.
What are the alternatives to Consensus?
Tools that do a similar job include Elicit, scite, Perplexity, Gemini Notebook and Julius AI. Each has its own page here with its plans, limits and prices.
Who makes Consensus?
Consensus is made by Consensus, based in San Francisco, California, US. The company was founded in 2021.
Sources
Every fact on this page comes from Consensus's own pages, read on the dates shown.
- consensus.app/pricing/ (plans, prices, limits) read 23 September 2026
- consensus.app/home/about-us/ (founding year and location) read 23 September 2026
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