Premium
$8.99
/month
- + Unlimited AI searches
- + GPT-4 level summaries
- + Enhanced Consensus Meter
- + Advanced filters
Consensus
Search 200M+ academic papers with AI to find evidence-based answers to research questions.
ai-toolsEditor's Pick
Our Score
4.5
Starting at $8.99 /month
Free Plan Available
Search Academic Papers Free →
Affiliate link
4.5
Excellent ChoiceConsensus Score
Ease of Use
4.6
Features
4.4
Value
4.6
Support
4.2
Based on our editorial review across usability, features, value, support, and integrations.
Best For
Academic researchers synthesizing literature across multiple studiesStudents writing evidence-based papers and thesesHealthcare professionals looking for clinical evidence quicklyJournalists and writers fact-checking scientific claimsPolicy analysts needing research-backed data for decision-making
Best For
Academic researchers synthesizing literature across multiple studies
Free Trial
Yes
Standout Feature
AI-powered search across 200M+ peer-reviewed scientific papers
Track Record
Since 2021
What Problem It Solves
The academic research process is notoriously time-consuming. Finding relevant papers, reading abstracts, evaluating study quality, and synthesizing findings across dozens of sources can take days or weeks. General AI chatbots like ChatGPT can answer research questions quickly but often hallucinate citations and present plausible-sounding but unsupported claims. Consensus solves both problems: it provides the speed of AI search with the reliability of peer-reviewed evidence. Every answer links directly to source papers, and the Consensus Meter aggregates study results to show whether evidence supports or contradicts a claim. For evidence-based professionals — researchers, clinicians, policy makers, science journalists — this means hours saved per research question without sacrificing citation reliability.
Key Features
- AI-powered search across 200M+ peer-reviewed scientific papers
- Consensus Meter showing evidence balance (Yes/No/Possibly)
- Study Snapshot with AI-generated summaries of individual papers
- GPT-4 powered synthesis across multiple research findings
- Citation export in APA, MLA, Chicago, and BibTeX formats
- Filters by study type, sample size, and publication date
- Copilot feature for deeper research exploration and follow-up questions
Pros
- + Synthesizes findings across hundreds of papers in seconds
- + Consensus Meter provides clear visual evidence assessment
- + Every claim is backed by direct citations to peer-reviewed papers
- + Far more reliable than asking ChatGPT about scientific topics
- + Affordable pricing makes it accessible to individual researchers
Cons
- - Limited to indexed academic papers — very recent publications may be delayed
- - Works best for questions with established research; emerging topics have thinner coverage
- - Free plan's 20 searches/month is restrictive for active researchers
- - Cannot replace deep domain expertise or critical methodology evaluation
Pricing
Teams
$12.99
/month
- + Shared research projects
- + Centralized account management
- + Consensus Search API access
- + Priority support
Enterprise
Custom
Contact sales
- + Custom integrations
- + SSO and admin controls
- + Dedicated account manager
- + Complete data privacy
Starting at $8.99 /month
Free Plan Available
Search Academic Papers Free →
Affiliate link
Our Verdict
Consensus — Highly Recommended
Consensus represents one of the most practical applications of AI in research. The traditional academic research workflow involves searching for papers, reading abstracts, evaluating methodology, and synthesizing findings across dozens of sources — a process that can take days. Consensus compresses this into minutes by providing synthesized answers drawn from peer-reviewed literature, complete with citations and a visual Consensus Meter showing the balance of evidence.
The platform excels at answerable research questions: "Does intermittent fasting improve insulin sensitivity?" or "What is the relationship between remote work and productivity?" For these types of questions, Consensus provides genuinely useful summaries that would take hours to compile manually. The citation linking is reliable, and the ability to filter by study type, sample size, and publication date adds meaningful research rigor.
The free plan allows 20 AI-powered searches per month, which is enough to evaluate the platform. The Plus plan at $8.99/month provides unlimited searches and access to GPT-4-level summaries, making it a no-brainer for active researchers. The Teams plan at $149/month adds collaboration features for research teams. The main limitation is scope: Consensus works with indexed academic papers, so very recent publications may have a delay, and topics with limited research coverage yield thinner results. For academic research, evidence-based writing, or fact-checking claims, Consensus saves enormous time and produces more reliable outputs than general-purpose AI chatbots.
Related Tools
What does Consensus cost and is there a free plan?
Consensus offers a Free plan with 20 AI-powered searches per month and basic features. The Plus plan costs $8.99/month (or $6.99/month billed annually) and provides unlimited AI searches, GPT-4-level summaries, enhanced Consensus Meter, and advanced filters. The Teams plan at $149/month adds collaboration features, shared research projects, and team analytics. Students and academics may have access to discounted pricing. The free tier is sufficient for occasional research, but active researchers will quickly need the Plus plan.
How is Consensus different from Google Scholar or ChatGPT?
Google Scholar returns a list of papers ranked by relevance, but you still need to read each paper and synthesize findings yourself. ChatGPT can answer research questions instantly but frequently hallucates citations and may present unsupported claims. Consensus combines the strengths of both: it provides AI-synthesized answers like ChatGPT but backs every claim with real, verifiable citations from peer-reviewed papers. The Consensus Meter adds an evidence aggregation layer that neither Google Scholar nor ChatGPT offers, showing at a glance whether scientific evidence supports or contradicts a given claim.
How many papers does Consensus have access to?
Consensus indexes over 200 million peer-reviewed academic papers sourced from Semantic Scholar's database, which covers major publishers and journals across medicine, biology, psychology, economics, computer science, and other fields. The index is updated regularly to include new publications, though there may be a short delay between a paper's publication and its availability in Consensus. Coverage is strongest in biomedical sciences, psychology, and social sciences, with growing coverage in humanities and engineering fields.
Starting at $8.99 /month
Free Plan Available
Search Academic Papers Free →
Affiliate link
Search Academic Papers Free →
Affiliate link