Overview
Consensus is an AI academic search engine that searches and analyzes scientific papers to deliver evidence-based answers instead of generic web results. It retrieves relevant studies, synthesizes their findings, and shows citations, allowing users to see what the scientific literature actually says about a question.
Pricing
Free
- Free plan with unlimited searches and AI-powered filters, plus limited access to GPT‑4 summaries, Consensus Meter, Study Snapshots, and Copilot features.
- Suitable for students and individual researchers who need occasional literature checks and quick evidence-based answers.
Premium / Pro
- Premium plan is listed around 9 USD per month, unlocking unlimited GPT‑4 summaries, full Consensus Meter access, unlimited Study Snapshots, Copilot, bookmarks, and lists.
- Some reviews mention a Pro tier around 29 USD/month with higher limits and export capabilities for heavier academic users.
Teams
- Teams plan is advertised from about 10 USD per user per month with discounts for up to ~200 seats, centralized billing, and organization-wide management.
- API access and advanced controls for institutions are indicated as “coming soon” or custom, requiring direct contact.
Key Features
- AI semantic search – Uses language models to search 200M+ academic papers and return evidence-based answers to natural-language queries.
- Evidence synthesis with citations – Generates concise summaries and shows which papers support each claim, including direct quotes and links to the original studies.
- Consensus Meter & Study Snapshots – Consensus Meter visualizes the level of agreement across studies, while Study Snapshots highlight key details from each paper.
- Copilot & filters – Copilot helps refine questions, draft text with citations, and navigate results; filters narrow studies by year, methodology, field, and journal rank.
- Lists, bookmarks & exports – Save and organize studies into lists and export key information for citations and further analysis on paid plans.
Best Use Cases
- Students & educators – Quickly finding peer-reviewed evidence for essays, assignments, and classroom discussions.
- Researchers & grad students – Accelerating literature reviews and scoping reviews by surfacing relevant studies and summarizing findings.
- Clinicians & health professionals – Checking what current research says about treatments, interventions, and health claims.
- Analysts & content creators – Sourcing credible, citable evidence for reports, articles, and policy documents.
- Evidence-focused consumers – Evaluating claims about supplements, diets, or interventions using direct evidence from the scientific literature.
Pros
- ✅ Evidence-first answers – Every response is grounded in peer-reviewed research and includes citations to original papers.
- ✅ Fast literature synthesis – Summarizes scientific consensus on a topic in seconds, saving substantial time versus manual database searching.
- ✅ User-friendly for non-experts – Natural-language questions, clean UI, and visual Consensus Meter make complex research more accessible.
- ✅ Generous free tier – Free plan offers substantial functionality, with affordable upgrades for heavier users and teams.
Cons
- ❌ Limited to peer-reviewed literature – Does not cover gray literature, preprints, or non-academic sources as broadly as general search engines.
- ❌ Search depth capped on free tier – Free users have limits on Pro or deep searches and advanced features like unlimited summaries.
- ❌ Still requires critical appraisal – Consensus simplifies discovery, but users must evaluate study quality, methodology, and bias themselves.
Official Website
Consensus – Official AI search engine for scientific research: https://consensus.app
Release Date: Consensus launched publicly as a science answer app in 2022 and has since grown to serve millions of users worldwide as an ad‑free, subscription-supported research search engine.
Last Updated: December 2025