Consensus vs Gemini Notebook
Consensus
consensus.app
Gemini Notebook
notebook.googleSide by side
| Figure | Consensus | Gemini Notebook |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $20/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 7 | 5 |
| Spec score · Ai Search Tools | 9.5 (#1) | 8.0 (#7) |
| Integrations | Consensus supports Zotero library import and exports CSV or RIS files compatible with reference managers including EndNote, Mendeley, and Zotero. | Notebooks can sync between Gemini Notebook and Gemini Apps, where users can manage notebooks and ask questions about them. |
| Privacy | Consensus says user content sent for AI processing is not used to train its models or third-party models, and it does not attach account identifiers to that content. | For individual users, data is not used to train Gemini Notebook unless they provide feedback, which may allow review of the full interaction context. |
| Product | Consensus is an AI workspace and academic search engine for scientific research. | Gemini Notebook is the renamed NotebookLM and remains a standalone research tool. |
| Who it serves | Consensus describes its users as researchers, students, and clinicians, and offers team plans for research groups, labs, and academic departments. | Google says the product is used by students and organizations, including for converting study notes into audio and video summaries and creating onboarding materials. |
Plans
Consensus
- ProPriced on request
- DeepPriced on request
- Free TierFree
- Pro$20 a month
- Deep$65 a month
- EnterprisePriced on request
- TeamsPriced on request
Gemini Notebook
- FreeFree
- Google AI PlusPrice not published
- Google AI ProPrice not published
- Google AI UltraPrice not published
- Gemini Notebook StandardFree
In their own words
Consensus
Consensus is an AI workspace and academic search engine for scientific research, available on web, Android, iOS, and as an extension. It searches more than 220 million peer-reviewed papers, with the database updated weekly, and offers filters for publication date, access, citations, journal rank, study design, population, sample size, and other paper details. Its Research Agent plans multi-step searches, uses tools such as citation crawling and DOI lookup, and returns citation-backed answers. Consensus says citations in its AI summaries correspond to exact paper quotes, with the relevant section identified and PDF text highlighted when available. Medical Mode searches a selected collection of about 8 million papers and 50,000 clinical guidelines from the top 1,000 medical journals. Users can import Zotero libraries and export CSV or RIS files for reference managers. Consensus also works in ChatGPT, Claude, and Microsoft 365 Copilot; API and MCP calls share a monthly allowance. The Free Tier costs nothing. Pro is $20 a month, or $144/year billed annually; Deep is $65 a month, or $540/year billed annually.
Gemini Notebook
Gemini Notebook, formerly NotebookLM, is a standalone research tool for organizing sources and answering questions grounded in those materials. It accepts PDFs, websites, YouTube videos, audio files, Google Docs, Google Slides, and other content. Answers include citations that point to exact source quotes. Audio Overview turns notebook material into a podcast-style discussion, while study notebooks can produce quizzes, interactive lessons, flashcards, and infographics from course materials. Notebooks can sync with Gemini Apps, where users can manage them and ask questions. A secure cloud computer can write and run code for source-grounded data analysis, with availability rolling out by plan. The Free plan costs nothing and includes 50 sources per notebook, 100 notebooks, 50 chat queries per day, and three audio generations per day. Named Google AI Plus, Pro, and Ultra plans list 2 TB, 5 TB, and 20 TB of storage, respectively, but no prices are listed. Individual data is not used to train the tool unless users provide feedback, which may permit review of the full interaction context. Workspace and Enterprise privacy terms differ, and some features require Keep Activity enabled.