Consensus

Consensus is an AI search engine for science: instead of returning a list of links or a confident-sounding paragraph, it retrieves real peer-reviewed papers first and then summarises what the evidence actually says, with every claim linked back to its source. For yes/no questions it shows a Consensus Meter — the share of studies agreeing, disagreeing or mixed.

Key facts: Founded in 2021, Consensus indexes over 200 million peer-reviewed papers drawn from sources including Semantic Scholar and OpenAlex. Its workflow runs hybrid semantic and keyword search, refines results by quality signals such as recency and citations, and then synthesises a focused set of top papers. Deeper tools include Deep Reviews for multi-step literature synthesis, Study Snapshots that distil a single paper, a personal library and collections, chat with papers, and exports to reference managers such as Zotero.

Plans: Free costs $0 with unlimited Papers searches plus 10 Pro messages, 3 Deep Reviews and 10 Study Snapshots per month. Pro is $20/month or $144/year with unlimited Pro messages, 15 Deep Reviews and unlimited Study Snapshots, Deep is $65/month or $540/year with 200 Deep Reviews per month, and Teams and Enterprise are custom. Students and faculty can apply for a reported 40% discount.

Best for: students, researchers and clinicians who want a fast, cited answer to “what does the research say?” before committing to a full review. Watch out: it is a starting point for evidence, not a substitute for reading the papers or for a registered systematic-review protocol when a definitive answer matters. Who should skip it: anyone who wants a quick opinion rather than what the published research actually says.

Pros

• Searches real peer-reviewed papers first, instead of returning a confident-sounding paragraph
• Every claim is linked back to its source paper
• The Consensus Meter shows the share of studies agreeing, disagreeing or mixed on yes/no questions
• Deep Reviews, Study Snapshots, a personal library and exports to reference managers such as Zotero

Watch out for

• It is a starting point for evidence, not a substitute for reading the papers
• It does not replace a registered systematic-review protocol when a definitive answer matters

Pricing

Free costs $0 with unlimited Papers searches plus 10 Pro messages, 3 Deep Reviews and 10 Study Snapshots per month. Pro is $20/month or $144/year with unlimited Pro messages, 15 Deep Reviews and unlimited Study Snapshots; Deep is $65/month or $540/year with 200 Deep Reviews per month, and Teams and Enterprise are custom. Students and faculty can apply for a reported 40% discount.

FAQs

What makes Consensus different from a normal search engine? It retrieves peer-reviewed papers first and summarises what the evidence actually says, with every claim linked to its source.

What is the Consensus Meter? For yes/no questions it shows the share of studies agreeing, disagreeing or mixed.

Can I export results to a reference manager? Yes, exports to reference managers such as Zotero are supported, alongside a personal library and collections.

Is there a student discount? Students and faculty can apply for a reported 40% discount.