Consensus
#4 Researchby Consensus · Best for evidence-based academic search
Also known as Consensus AI
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
Other research agents in the index, ranked.
Consensus FAQ
What is Consensus AI?
Consensus AI is the common name for Consensus, an AI academic search engine over 250M+ peer-reviewed papers. Its Consensus Meter shows how the body of evidence leans on a yes/no question rather than surfacing a single paper, and Deep Search runs an extended autonomous search. It's free to use, with Pro at $20/month or $144/year.
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.