What Consensus does
Consensus is an AI search engine for scientific research. Instead of searching the open web, it searches more than 400 million academic papers and answers your question with a summary that cites the studies it used. For yes-or-no questions, the Consensus Meter shows how much the research agrees. You can open short snapshots of each study's findings and methods, chat with a single paper, map citations, and run deeper literature reviews. It is used by students, researchers and clinicians.
Best for
- Students finding peer-reviewed sources for essays
- Researchers starting a literature review
- Clinicians checking what studies say about a treatment
- Anyone fact-checking a health or science claim
Key features
Academic paper search
Searches over 400 million scientific papers and returns answers with citations to the studies.
Consensus Meter
For yes-or-no questions, shows how far the research agrees or disagrees.
Study Snapshots
Short summaries of each paper's key findings and study design.
Deep reviews
Longer, more thorough literature reviews that pull together many studies; capped per month by plan.
Ask Paper and Citation Graph
Chat with an individual paper or explore how papers cite each other.
Collections and export
Save papers into libraries and export citations in RIS, BibTeX or CSV.
Consensus pricing
Consensus has a free plan. Basic paper search for free, plus 10 Pro messages and up to 3 Deep reviews per month. Paid plans start at $20/month. Annual billing lowers Pro to $12/month ($144/year) and Deep to $45/month ($540/year). Students, faculty and US healthcare providers can get up to 40% off. Team and Enterprise plans are also offered. Prices checked on the official site on Nov 9, 2026.
| Free | $0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Pro | $20/month | Unlimited Pro messages, 15 Deep reviews per month, every research tool |
| Deep | $65/month | 200 Deep reviews per month, 20x API and MCP usage |
Source: Consensus pricing page
Pros and cons
What it does well
- Answers come only from peer-reviewed papers, with citations you can check.
- The Consensus Meter quickly shows whether studies agree on a question.
- Academic discount of up to 40% for students and faculty.
Know before you sign up
- The free plan allows only 10 Pro messages and 3 Deep reviews a month.
- Deep reviews are capped at 15 a month on Pro; heavy literature review work needs the $65 Deep plan.
- It covers academic literature only, not general web sources or news.
Alternatives to Consensus
ElicitFind papers and assemble cited research briefs.
PerplexityAsk questions and follow cited sources into deeper research.
SciSpaceSearch papers and work with research PDFs.
HumataAsk questions across an internal knowledge base.
ResearchRabbitExplore connections between academic papers.
SemrushResearch search and AI-answer visibility.
Questions about Consensus
What is Consensus?
Consensus is an AI search engine for scientific research. Instead of searching the open web, it searches more than 400 million academic papers and answers your question with a summary that cites the studies it used. For yes-or-no questions, the Consensus Meter shows how much the research agrees. You can open short snapshots of each study's findings and methods, chat with a single paper, map citations, and run deeper literature reviews. It is used by students, researchers and clinicians.
Is Consensus free?
Consensus has a free plan. Basic paper search for free, plus 10 Pro messages and up to 3 Deep reviews per month. Paid plans start at $20/month. Annual billing lowers Pro to $12/month ($144/year) and Deep to $45/month ($540/year). Students, faculty and US healthcare providers can get up to 40% off. Team and Enterprise plans are also offered. Prices checked on the official site on Nov 9, 2026.
How much does Consensus cost?
Paid plans start at $20/month; plans listed on the official pricing page: Free ($0), Pro ($20/month), Deep ($65/month). Annual billing lowers Pro to $12/month ($144/year) and Deep to $45/month ($540/year). Students, faculty and US healthcare providers can get up to 40% off. Team and Enterprise plans are also offered.
Who is Consensus best for?
Students finding peer-reviewed sources for essays, Researchers starting a literature review, Clinicians checking what studies say about a treatment and Anyone fact-checking a health or science claim.
Where can I use Consensus?
Consensus is available on Web and API, according to its official site.
What are some alternatives to Consensus?
Similar research tools include Elicit, Perplexity, SciSpace and Humata. Compare them on the Research page.