What each tool does
Consensus is an AI search engine for scientific literature. It helps you find peer-reviewed papers, organise results and analyse research faster than manual searching. It offers filters and deeper search options, runs in the browser and has a free plan.
Elicit is an AI research assistant focused on evidence and decisions. It helps you gather and synthesise findings, understand the landscape of a field, plan experiments or programmes, draft proposals and weigh tradeoffs. It is used by researchers in academia and industry, and there is a free plan with upgrades for heavier use.
Key differences
- Main strength: Consensus excels at finding papers; Elicit excels at synthesising evidence across them.
- Output: Consensus gives search results and analysis; Elicit supports literature overviews and proposal drafts.
- Planning support: Elicit helps plan experiments and compare tradeoffs.
- Audience: Consensus suits students, researchers and academics; Elicit also targets evidence-driven professionals in industry.
- Pricing: both are freemium.
Which should you choose?
Choose Consensus if you are a student who needs to find credible, peer-reviewed sources quickly for assignments or a thesis. The free plan and browser access make it easy to start.
Choose Elicit if you are writing a literature review, research proposal or evidence-based recommendation and need help pulling findings together into a clear picture.
Can you use both?
Yes. Consensus can help you locate the key papers, and Elicit can help you synthesise the evidence and draft your proposal. Students and researchers in Pakistan can start both on free plans and check the pricing pages for current plans, usually billed in USD by card.
