Consensus vs Scite
Consensus
consensus.app
Scite
scite.aiSide by side
| Figure | Consensus | Scite |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $20/mo | $14/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 7 | 4 |
| Spec score · Research Paper Discovery Tools | 9.3 (#1) | 7.8 (#11) |
| Spec score · AI Research Assistants | 9.4 (#1) | 7.8 (#22) |
| Spec score · AI Search Engines | 9.4 (#1) | 7.9 (#13) |
| Spec score · Ai Search Tools | 9.5 (#1) | 7.9 (#13) |
| Founded | 2021 | 2018 |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California, United States | Henderson, Nevada, USA |
| Integrations | Consensus supports Zotero library import and exports CSV or RIS files compatible with reference managers including EndNote, Mendeley, and Zotero. | Scite lists MCP connections for ChatGPT and Claude, an API, institutional holdings, a Zotero plugin, and a browser extension. |
| Support | The company offers support through in-product Support Chat and at [email protected]. | Scite lists [email protected] for subscription questions and assistance. |
Plans
Consensus
- ProPriced on request
- DeepPriced on request
- Free TierFree
- Pro$20 a month
- Deep$65 a month
- EnterprisePriced on request
- TeamsPriced on request
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.
Scite
Scite helps researchers discover and assess scientific literature through citation context. Its Smart Citations classify later citation statements as supporting, contrasting with, or mentioning a paper. Scite Search matches citation statements extracted from full text and supports citation chaining, filters, and alerts. Reference reports display citation text with filters for classification, section, year, or source type. Scite Assistant answers from peer-reviewed literature and links each answer to its source, while Reference Check examines manuscript references for citation context, retractions, editorial notices, and contrasting findings. Collections can import papers from Zotero, Mendeley, DOI CSV files, or search results and alert users to new citations and retractions. Integrations include an API, Zotero plugin, browser extension, institutional holdings, and MCP connections for ChatGPT and Claude. Scite reports indexing 317M+ articles and extracting 1.6B+ Smart Citations. It offers web, API, and extension access, with a free plan and paid plans from 20 /mo annually.