Best AI research tools
9 AI research tools compared with prices from official pricing pages (each tool shows its own checked date). Best value: Elicit. Free options: Consensus, Elicit, ResearchRabbit.
BEST VALUEElicit — Entry tier is $11/mo billed yearly, built specifically for academic literature.
FREE PLANS IN THIS CATEGORYConsensus (paper search),
Elicit (research assistant),
ResearchRabbit (literature mapping) · No free alternative to Elicit that does the same main job (research assistant) in our list
Price table
Entry paid plan. Monthly = billed monthly; Annual = per-month cost when billed yearly. "—" = not shown/verified on the official page.
| Tool | Monthly | Annual (per mo) | Cost per output | All plans | Free tier | Checked |
|---|
| Elicit | $75 | $49 | — | Industry: Pro $75/mo ($49/mo yearly, $588/yr); Scale $279/mo ($169 yearly, $2,028/yr). Academic: Plus from $11/mo yearly ($19 monthly); Pro $69 ($39); Scale $149 ($89) | Basic: free | 2026-10-19 |
| Scite | $12 | — | — | Basic $12/mo; Pro $40/mo | 7-day free trial | 2026-10-19 |
| Consensus | $20 | $12 | — | Pro $20/mo ($12/mo annually); higher plan $65/mo ($45 annually) | Free plan available | 2026-10-19 |
| SciSpace | — | $12 | — | Premium from $12/mo billed yearly (monthly price: check site) | No free plan shown | 2026-10-19 |
| Humata | $9.99 | — | Extra pages $0.01-$0.02/page | Expert $9.99/mo; Team $49/user/mo | Free: 60 pages/mo | 2026-10-19 |
| You.com API | — | — | $5 per 1,000 search calls | API only: Search $5 per 1,000 calls | $100 free API credit | 2026-10-19 |
| Perplexity | — | $17 | — | Pro $17/mo billed annually; Max $167/mo billed annually; monthly prices not shown | Free tier available | 2026-10-19 |
| ResearchRabbit | $12.5 | $10 | — | ResearchRabbit+ $10/mo (annual plan) or $12.50/mo (monthly plan) | Free: $0, forever | 2026-10-19 |
| Scholarcy | $9.99 | — | — | $9.99/month (1-week trial) | Free Article Summarizer (limited, 1 summary/day) | 2026-10-19 |
All tools
AI research assistant for papers and systematic reviews.
Industry: Pro $75/mo ($49/mo yearly, $588/yr); Scale $279/mo ($169 yearly, $2,028/yr). Academic: Plus from $11/mo yearly ($19 monthly); Pro $69 ($39); Scale $149 ($89)
Basic: free
Official site · Pricing page · checked 2026-10-15
Price checked 2026-10-15We earn $0Not paid placement
Why trust this pick?
- How we picked
- Picked from the tool's official pricing page and stated features, compared with other tools that do the same main job. Not hands-on tested by ToolPick.
- Price on 2026-10-15
- Industry: Pro $75/mo ($49/mo yearly, $588/yr); Scale $279/mo ($169 yearly, $2,028/yr). Academic: Plus from $11/mo yearly ($19 monthly); Pro $69 ($39); Scale $149 ($89) (from the official pricing page)
- Price history
- Same listed price in every check since 2026-10-14 (14 checks).
- Money
- We earn nothing from this pick: no affiliate link, no sponsorship, no payment from the vendor.
- One real limitation
- We haven't recorded a specific usage limit for this tool yet; check the limits on the official pricing page before paying.
How we pick
Shows whether papers support or contrast a claim.
Basic $12/mo; Pro $40/mo
7-day free trial
Official site · Pricing page · checked 2026-10-19
Price checked 2026-10-19We earn $0Not paid placement
Why trust this pick?
- How we picked
- Picked from the tool's official pricing page and stated features, compared with other tools that do the same main job. Not hands-on tested by ToolPick.
- Price on 2026-10-19
- Basic $12/mo; Pro $40/mo (from the official pricing page)
- Price history
- Same listed price in every check since 2026-10-14 (14 checks).
- Money
- We earn nothing from this pick: no affiliate link, no sponsorship, no payment from the vendor.
- One real limitation
- No permanent free plan, only a trial (7-day free trial).
How we pick
Search engine that answers from peer-reviewed research.
Pro $20/mo ($12/mo annually); higher plan $65/mo ($45 annually)
Free plan available
Official site · Pricing page · checked 2026-10-15
Price checked 2026-10-15We earn $0Not paid placement
Why trust this pick?
- How we picked
- Picked from the tool's official pricing page and stated features, compared with other tools that do the same main job. Not hands-on tested by ToolPick.
- Price on 2026-10-15
- Pro $20/mo ($12/mo annually); higher plan $65/mo ($45 annually) (from the official pricing page)
- Price history
- Same listed price in every check since 2026-10-14 (14 checks).
- Money
- We earn nothing from this pick: no affiliate link, no sponsorship, no payment from the vendor.
- One real limitation
- We haven't recorded a specific usage limit for this tool yet; check the limits on the official pricing page before paying.
How we pick
Read, explain and search research papers.
Premium from $12/mo billed yearly (monthly price: check site)
No free plan shown
Official site · Pricing page · checked 2026-10-19
Price checked 2026-10-19We earn $0Not paid placement
Why trust this pick?
- How we picked
- Picked from the tool's official pricing page and stated features, compared with other tools that do the same main job. Not hands-on tested by ToolPick.
- Price on 2026-10-19
- Premium from $12/mo billed yearly (monthly price: check site) (from the official pricing page)
- Price history
- Same listed price in every check since 2026-10-14 (14 checks).
- Money
- We earn nothing from this pick: no affiliate link, no sponsorship, no payment from the vendor.
- One real limitation
- No free plan on the pricing page we checked.
How we pick
Chat with your PDFs and documents.
Expert $9.99/mo; Team $49/user/mo
Free: 60 pages/mo
Official site · Pricing page · checked 2026-10-19
Price checked 2026-10-19We earn $0Not paid placement
Why trust this pick?
- How we picked
- Picked from the tool's official pricing page and stated features, compared with other tools that do the same main job. Not hands-on tested by ToolPick.
- Price on 2026-10-19
- Expert $9.99/mo; Team $49/user/mo (from the official pricing page)
- Price history
- Same listed price in every check since 2026-10-14 (14 checks).
- Money
- We earn nothing from this pick: no affiliate link, no sponsorship, no payment from the vendor.
- One real limitation
- Usage costs can add up beyond the plan: Extra pages $0.01-$0.02/page.
How we pick
Search and research APIs for building AI apps (consumer plan pricing not listed).
API only: Search $5 per 1,000 calls
$100 free API credit
Official site · Pricing page · checked 2026-10-19
Price checked 2026-10-19We earn $0Not paid placement
Why trust this pick?
- How we picked
- Picked from the tool's official pricing page and stated features, compared with other tools that do the same main job. Not hands-on tested by ToolPick.
- Price on 2026-10-19
- API only: Search $5 per 1,000 calls (from the official pricing page)
- Price history
- Same listed price in every check since 2026-10-14 (14 checks).
- Money
- We earn nothing from this pick: no affiliate link, no sponsorship, no payment from the vendor.
- One real limitation
- The free option is one-time credits, not an ongoing free plan ($100 free API credit).
How we pick
Answer engine that cites web sources.
Pro $17/mo billed annually; Max $167/mo billed annually; monthly prices not shown
Free tier available
Official site · Pricing page · checked 2026-10-24
Price checked 2026-10-24We earn $0Not paid placement
Why trust this pick?
- How we picked
- Picked from the tool's official pricing page and stated features, compared with other tools that do the same main job. Not hands-on tested by ToolPick.
- Price on 2026-10-24
- Pro $17/mo billed annually; Max $167/mo billed annually; monthly prices not shown (from the official pricing page)
- Price history
- Tracked since 2026-10-14; listed price changed on 2026-10-24; current price text confirmed on 2026-10-24.
- Money
- We earn nothing from this pick: no affiliate link, no sponsorship, no payment from the vendor.
- One real limitation
- The price we checked is billed yearly; we could not confirm a monthly price, so expect to pay a year upfront.
How we pick
Discover and map related papers and authors.
ResearchRabbit+ $10/mo (annual plan) or $12.50/mo (monthly plan)
Free: $0, forever
Official site · Pricing page · checked 2026-10-19
Price checked 2026-10-19We earn $0Not paid placement
Why trust this pick?
- How we picked
- Picked from the tool's official pricing page and stated features, compared with other tools that do the same main job. Not hands-on tested by ToolPick.
- Price on 2026-10-19
- ResearchRabbit+ $10/mo (annual plan) or $12.50/mo (monthly plan) (from the official pricing page)
- Price history
- Same listed price in every check since 2026-10-14 (14 checks).
- Money
- We earn nothing from this pick: no affiliate link, no sponsorship, no payment from the vendor.
- One real limitation
- We haven't recorded a specific usage limit for this tool yet; check the limits on the official pricing page before paying.
How we pick
Summarizes research articles into flashcards.
$9.99/month (1-week trial)
Free Article Summarizer (limited, 1 summary/day)
Official site · Pricing page · checked 2026-10-15
Price checked 2026-10-15We earn $0Not paid placement
Why trust this pick?
- How we picked
- Picked from the tool's official pricing page and stated features, compared with other tools that do the same main job. Not hands-on tested by ToolPick.
- Price on 2026-10-15
- $9.99/month (1-week trial) (from the official pricing page)
- Price history
- Same listed price in every check since 2026-10-14 (14 checks).
- Money
- We earn nothing from this pick: no affiliate link, no sponsorship, no payment from the vendor.
- One real limitation
- The free plan has limits: Free Article Summarizer (limited, 1 summary/day).
How we pick
Comparisons
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Starter stack for students → Free, Under $30 and Pro stacks that include research tools.
Starter stack for researchers → Free, Under $30 and Pro stacks that include research tools.
Can I do this for free? → Every research tool with a real free plan, and the cheapest upgrade.
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