Consensus Pricing 2026
Complete pricing guide with plans, hidden costs, and negotiation tips
Consensus pricing varies by team size and features, ranging from $0 to $45 per user/month in 2026. Your actual cost depends on the tier you choose, contract length, and negotiated discounts.
Use the interactive pricing calculator to estimate your exact cost based on team size and requirements.
- Free tier: Yes
- Billing: Monthly and annual (save 15-20%)
- Hidden costs: Add ~35% for implementation, support, and training
Consensus offers 3 pricing tiers: Free, Pro, Deep. Standard paid plans include Free at $0/month, Pro at $10/month, Deep at $45/month. The Pro plan is routine research.
Compared to other ai research tools software, Consensus is positioned at the budget-friendly price point.
Consensus is an AI-powered academic search engine that uses GPT-4 to analyze and synthesize findings from over 200 million research papers across all scientific disciplines. Unlike traditional academic databases that return lists of papers, Consensus extracts key findings, generates study snapshots, and provides AI-powered analysis to help researchers quickly answer research questions without manually reading hundreds of papers. It is designed for students, academics, and professionals needing faster literature reviews, evidence synthesis, and research gap identification.
Pricing ranges from free to $12.99/user/month depending on usage and features. The Free plan includes unlimited searches with 10 GPT-4 Pro Analyses, 10 Study Snapshots, and 10 Ask Paper messages per month -- sufficient for students and occasional researchers. Premium costs $11.99/month or $8.99/month annual ($107.88/year) and removes all limits. Team costs $12.99/user/month or $10/user/month annual with a 2-seat minimum for research teams. Enterprise requires a custom quote for large institutions (200+ users).
A critical consideration: Consensus offers one of the most generous free tiers among AI research tools, refreshing monthly limits (10 analyses/month) rather than providing one-time credits like Elicit (5,000 one-time credits). Students receive a 40% discount, bringing Premium annual to just $5.39/month -- the best student pricing among competitors. However, Consensus is optimized for quick evidence-based answers rather than formal systematic reviews, where Elicit's structured workflow and automated reporting excel.
In this 2026 pricing guide, we break down Consensus's four plans, calculate real-world costs for students and research teams, expose hidden fees like annual billing requirements and API access delays, and compare Consensus to alternatives like Elicit, Semantic Scholar, and Scite to help you determine if Consensus is the right AI research tool for your needs.
All Consensus Plans & Pricing
| Plan | Monthly | Annual | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | Free 0 | Basic research |
| Pro | $10 /month | $120 /month | Routine research |
| Deep | $45 /month | $540 /month | Frequent literature reviews |
View all features by plan
Free
- Basic Quick Search
- Abstract summaries
- 3 Deep Searches/month
Pro
- Unlimited Pro Search
- 15 Deep Searches/month
Deep
- 200 Deep Searches/month
- Unlimited paper snapshots
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Frequently Asked Questions
01 How much does Consensus cost?
Consensus costs $0-$12.99/user/month depending on the plan. The Free plan includes unlimited searches with 10 GPT-4 Pro Analyses per month. Premium costs $11.99/month or $8.99/month annual ($107.88/year). Team costs $12.99/user/month or $10/user/month annual with a 2-seat minimum. Enterprise requires a custom quote for 200+ users. Students receive a 40% discount with verified .edu email, bringing Premium to $5.39/month annual. Most individual researchers choose Premium annual ($8.99/month, $107.88/year) for unlimited AI-powered paper analysis and citation export.
02 Is Consensus free?
Yes, Consensus offers a permanent free plan with unlimited searches across 200M+ research papers. The free plan includes 10 GPT-4 powered Pro Analyses, 10 Study Snapshots, and 10 Ask Paper messages per month. This is sufficient for students and occasional researchers. However, serious researchers needing unlimited AI analysis, citation export, and unlimited bookmarks will need the Premium plan ($8.99/month annual). Unlike Elicit, which limits free usage to 5,000 one-time credits, Consensus refreshes free limits monthly.
03 What is Consensus?
Consensus is an AI-powered academic search engine that uses GPT-4 to analyze and synthesize findings from over 200 million research papers. It helps researchers quickly find evidence-based answers to research questions by extracting key findings, generating study snapshots, and providing AI-powered analysis of paper relevance and methodology. Consensus is designed for students, academics, and professionals needing faster literature reviews without manually reading hundreds of papers. It is particularly useful for systematic reviews, evidence synthesis, and identifying research gaps.
04 Consensus vs Elicit: which is better?
Consensus and Elicit have different strengths. Consensus costs $0-$8.99/month (Premium annual) and focuses on evidence-based answers across 200M+ papers with GPT-4 analysis. Elicit costs $0-$12/month (Plus annual) and excels at systematic reviews with automated reports and table extraction. Consensus offers a more generous free tier (10 analyses/month refreshed) vs Elicit's 5,000 one-time free credits. Choose Consensus if you need quick evidence-based answers and synthesis across broad topics. Choose Elicit if you need structured systematic reviews, data extraction tables, and automated reporting.
05 Consensus vs Semantic Scholar: which should I choose?
Consensus is a paid AI-powered search tool ($8.99/month Premium) with GPT-4 analysis, while Semantic Scholar is completely free with AI-assisted search and recommendations. Semantic Scholar offers 200M+ papers, citation graphs, and paper recommendations without cost or usage limits. Consensus adds GPT-4 Pro Analyses, Study Snapshots, and Ask Paper features for synthesizing findings. Choose Semantic Scholar if you need free academic search with citation analysis. Choose Consensus if you want AI-powered synthesis and are willing to pay $8.99/month for GPT-4 features.
06 What features are included in each Consensus plan?
Free includes unlimited searches, 10 GPT-4 Pro Analyses/month, 10 Study Snapshots/month, and 10 Ask Paper messages/month. Premium ($8.99/month annual) includes unlimited Pro Analyses, Study Snapshots, Ask Paper, bookmarks, custom lists, and citation export. Team ($10/user/month annual, 2-seat minimum) adds centralized billing, team collaboration, and API access (coming soon). Enterprise (custom pricing) adds management for thousands of users, complete data privacy, early feature access, and dedicated account managers.
07 Does Consensus have a student discount?
Yes, Consensus offers a 40% student discount with verified academic email (.edu or equivalent). The discount brings Premium pricing from $8.99/month annual to $5.39/month annual ($64.68/year). Students must verify their academic email during signup and maintain active student status. Losing student status or graduation reverts pricing to full Premium rates. The student discount is one of the most generous among AI research tools -- Elicit and Scite offer institutional discounts but not individual student pricing at this level.
08 Can I use Consensus for systematic reviews?
Yes, Consensus can be used for systematic reviews and evidence synthesis, though it is optimized for quick evidence-based answers rather than full systematic review workflows. Premium plan users can create unlimited custom lists, bookmark papers, export citations, and use GPT-4 Pro Analyses to synthesize findings across studies. However, Elicit is better suited for formal systematic reviews with its automated reports, PRISMA workflow support, and data extraction tables. Use Consensus for rapid evidence scans and initial literature reviews, then consider Elicit or Covidence for full systematic review protocols.
09 What are the alternatives to Consensus?
Alternatives to Consensus include Elicit ($0-$12/month for systematic review automation), Semantic Scholar (completely free with 200M+ papers and AI recommendations), Scite ($0-$20/month for citation context and Smart Citations), Google Scholar (free with basic search and citation tracking), and general-purpose AI tools like ChatGPT with web search ($0-$20/month) or Claude (free with limited usage). For free academic search, Semantic Scholar offers the best feature set. For systematic reviews, Elicit is stronger. For quick evidence-based answers with GPT-4, Consensus at $8.99/month offers the best value.