Consensus
#4 Researchby Consensus · Best for evidence-based academic search
Consensus is an AI academic search engine over 250M+ peer-reviewed papers, with a Consensus Meter that shows how the body of evidence leans on a yes/no question and a Deep Search mode that autonomously runs an extended search and synthesis. It is free to use, with Pro at $20/month (or $144/year) for unlimited core features and a monthly allotment of Deep searches; students and faculty get 40% off.
Pricing
$20/mo
Free tier; Pro $20/mo or $144/yr (unlimited core features + monthly Deep searches); 40% student/faculty discount; Enterprise custom for 200+ users
Free tier: Yes · Open source: No
Strengths
- + Searches 250M+ peer-reviewed papers — far broader than most academic tools
- + The Consensus Meter shows how the evidence leans, not just one paper's claim
- + Genuinely useful free tier, plus a 40% student and faculty discount
Limitations
- − Deep searches are capped by a monthly allotment even on Pro
- − Built for peer-reviewed literature, not general web or market research
Best for
How Consensus works
Consensus is an academic search engine built around a simple, unusually useful idea: for a question like "does intermittent fasting improve insulin sensitivity?", it doesn't just hand you papers — its Consensus Meter aggregates what the body of evidence actually says, showing how studies lean yes, no, or mixed. That reframes the job from "find a paper" to "find out what the literature concludes," which is what most people actually wanted.
It searches over 250 million peer-reviewed papers, and its Deep Search mode adds the agentic layer: rather than a single query, it autonomously runs an extended search and synthesis pass across the literature. Because every result traces back to a real indexed paper, the failure mode of a general chatbot — a confidently invented citation — is designed out.
Pricing is friendly for its audience. The free tier is genuinely usable, Pro is $20/month or $144/year for unlimited core features plus a monthly allotment of Deep searches, and students and academic faculty get 40% off; institutions over 200 users are quoted custom. The trade-offs are real but narrow: Deep searches are capped by allotment even on Pro, and it is built for peer-reviewed literature rather than web or market research.
What people use Consensus for
Answer an evidence question
Ask a yes/no research question and see how the weight of published studies actually leans, not just one paper.
Sanity-check a claim
Verify a claim against 250M+ peer-reviewed papers before citing or repeating it.
Student and faculty research
Search the literature on a usable free tier, with 40% off Pro for students and academic staff.
Consensus pricing in context
At $20/mo, Consensus starts close to the $20/month median entry price for research agents in this index. See the full AI agent pricing data for category medians and the verified pricing-change log.
Alternatives to Consensus
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Consensus FAQ
How much does Consensus cost?
Consensus is free to use, with Pro at $20/month or $144/year for unlimited core features and a monthly allotment of Deep searches. Students, academic faculty, and clinicians can apply for a 40% discount, and institutions over 200 users are quoted custom.
What is the Consensus Meter?
It aggregates what the body of published evidence says on a yes/no question — showing how studies lean yes, no, or mixed — rather than surfacing a single paper. It answers "what does the literature conclude?" instead of just "which papers exist?"
Can Consensus hallucinate citations?
Its results trace back to real indexed papers from a corpus of 250M+ peer-reviewed publications, so the invented-citation failure mode of a general chatbot is designed out. As always, read the underlying paper before relying on a claim.
Is Consensus better than Elicit?
They overlap but differ in shape. Consensus is strongest at answering an evidence question across a huge corpus with its Consensus Meter. Elicit is built for systematic review — screening papers against your criteria and extracting findings into auditable tables. Choose Consensus to ask, Elicit to review.