Elicit

What is Elicit?

Elicit is an AI research assistant for finding, reading and synthesizing academic papers. Its Research Agent searches across more than 138 million papers, answers questions with sources you can open, and chats with full-text papers. Data extraction fills tables with custom columns drawn from papers you find or upload, and Reports pull from up to 135 data sources into a structured write-up. A dedicated systematic review workflow screens thousands of papers and extracts data with explanations for each AI answer. Routines, output templates, a Zotero import and an API round out the tools. Pharma, academic, medtech and consumer-goods teams use it to speed up literature reviews. Usage works as a single monthly pool that Research Agent, Reports and systematic reviews all draw from, and any usage left over does not roll over. The Basic plan is free with limited usage, Pro is $49 per user per month billed as $588 annually, and Scale is $229 per user per month billed as $2,748 annually. Enterprise is custom.

Use cases

• Search scientific papers by question
• Extract data from papers into tables
• Run a systematic literature review
• Draft a cited research report
• Chat with full-text papers
• Import a Zotero library for analysis
• Share reviews with a research team

Who it's for

• Academic researchers
• Pharma and medtech teams
• Graduate students
• Evidence synthesis teams

Why use Elicit

• Questions get answers tied to source papers, so claims can be checked before they go into a manuscript.
• Table extraction turns hours of manual data pulling into a set of columns across many papers.
• A structured systematic review workflow screens large paper sets with explanations for AI decisions.
• The free Basic plan lets you try unlimited search and summaries before paying.
• Scale adds shared sessions, pooled usage and an admin panel for research groups.

Elicit features

• Search across more than 138 million papers
• Research Agent with source links for answers
• Unlimited summaries and chat with papers on Basic
• Systematic review workflow that screens 5,000 papers on Pro
• Table extraction with 20 columns at a time on Pro, 30 on Scale
• Reports drawing on up to 135 data sources, 200 on Scale
• Routines for repeated research tasks
• Custom extractions from uploaded papers
• Zotero import
• API access on Pro and Scale
• Figure extraction and live team editing on Scale
• SSO, SAML and PRISMA-grade screening on Enterprise

Elicit integrations

• Zotero
• Stripe

How to get started with Elicit

1. Sign up for the free Basic plan, or pick a paid plan during sign-up.
2. Ask a question in Elicit's Research Agent or use Paper Search to find relevant papers.
3. Open sources, chat with full-text papers, and add columns to extract data into a table.
4. Run a Report or a systematic review, choosing screening depth and extraction columns.
5. Export or share results, and turn on extra usage on Pro or Scale if you reach your monthly pool.

Elicit limitations

• Basic includes only limited usage of Research Agent and Reports
• Monthly usage is one shared pool and unused usage does not roll over
• Figure extraction and premium PDF parsing raise usage, and figure extraction needs Scale or Enterprise
• Pro and Scale extra usage is billed in $100 increments

Elicit pricing

Yes, Elicit has a free plan. Paid plans start at $49 per month, according to the official pricing page on 24 Oct 2026.

Elicit plans

• Basic

  Free

  for casual exploration

  • Limited usage for Research Agent and Reports
  • Unlimited search across 138 million papers
  • Unlimited summaries
  • Chat with papers
  • Zotero import

• Pro

  $49/user/month

  billed as $588 annually

  • Standard usage for Research Agent and Reports
  • Systematic review workflow for 5,000 papers
  • 20 table columns at a time
  • Routines
  • API access

• Scale

  $229/user/month

  billed as $2,748 annually

  • 5x usage
  • Extract from figures
  • Live team editing
  • 30 table columns at a time
  • Admin panel with usage tracking

• Enterprise

  Custom

  • Custom usage
  • No training on your data by default
  • Screen 40,000 papers and extract 40 columns
  • SSO and SAML
  • Dedicated customer success team

Plans as listed on the official pricing page on 24 Oct 2026. Prices can change and may vary by country or exclude tax. Check the official pricing page.

Elicit alternatives

The main Elicit alternatives listed on Debuly are Consensus, Scite, Undermind, Semantic Scholar, Perplexity and AnswerThis. The table compares pricing and platforms; order is A–Z.

1. 

   AnswerThis

   AnswerThis is an AI research assistant that searches 250M+ papers, writes cited literature reviews and runs systematic reviews.

   Research and searchWriting
   FreemiumVisit AnswerThis (official site)
2. 

   Consensus

   AI search engine for research that answers questions from peer-reviewed papers, with every claim linked back to its source.

   Research and search
   FreemiumVisit Consensus (official site)
3. 

   Perplexity

   AI answer engine that searches the web, cites sources inline and offers deep research, multi-step tasks and a choice of top models on paid plans.

   Research and searchChat assistantsProductivity
   FreemiumVisit Perplexity (official site)
4. 

   Scite

   Research platform that shows whether papers support or contrast a study through Smart Citations, with an AI assistant, MCP access and an API.

   Research and searchProductivityDeveloper platforms
   FreemiumVisit Scite (official site)
5. 

   Semantic Scholar

   Free AI-powered academic search engine from Ai2 with paper TLDRs, citation insights, research feeds and a public API for developers.

   Research and searchProductivityDeveloper platforms
   FreeVisit Semantic Scholar (official site)
6. 

   Undermind

   AI research assistant that searches scientific papers, follows citations and builds sourced reports on your topic.

   Research and searchProductivity
   FreemiumVisit Undermind (official site)

Elicit FAQ

Sources & verification

Facts on this page come from the official sources below, each with the date we read it. Written by Debuly; the vendor did not review this page.

Image credits

• Logo: from framerusercontent.com · fetched 23 Oct 2026 · Vendor trademark, used only to identify the product; removed on request
• Cover: from framerusercontent.com · fetched 23 Oct 2026 · Vendor marketing image from the official site; removed on request

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