Review · AI tools
Elicit review
An AI research assistant that searches academic papers, summarizes them and extracts data into tables for literature reviews.
By the KeenVerdict research desk · Updated November 10, 2026
- Features (40%)
- 9.3
- Ease of use (30%)
- 8.6
- Value (30%)
- 8.8
Elicit is built around the literature review rather than around chat. The free Basic plan searches more than 138 million papers and offers unlimited summaries and chat with full-text papers, with sources shown for each answer and Zotero import. Its signature feature is the table: you add columns such as sample size or outcome, and Elicit fills them in for each paper. Plus, at $11 per user per month on annual billing, adds export to RIS, BIB, CSV, PDF and DOCX, five columns at a time and search across more than 500 thousand clinical trials. Pro, at $39 per user per month billed annually, adds a systematic review workflow that screens up to 5,000 papers, 20 columns, Routines and API access. The weak spots are the limited agent and report usage on Free and the jump in price for team collaboration on Scale. For anyone whose work ends in a review, a thesis chapter or an evidence table, it is the most complete option here.
Who it is for
Graduate students and researchers who run structured literature reviews and need data pulled from many papers.
Price
Free Basic plan; Plus $11 per user per month billed annually ($132 a year); Pro $39 per user per month billed annually.
Plus For deeper research $11 Save 42% Per user/month, billed as $132 annually
Quoted from the vendor pricing page on November 10, 2026.
Key features
- Search across more than 138 million papers on the free plan
- Unlimited paper summaries and chat with full-text papers
- Tables with extraction columns: 5 at a time on Plus, 20 on Pro
- Systematic Review Workflow on Pro that can screen 5,000 papers
- Export to RIS, CSV, BIB, PDF and DOCX, plus Zotero import
Strengths and weaknesses
- Strength: Free plan already includes unlimited search, summaries and chat with papers
- Strength: Extraction tables turn a stack of papers into comparable data
- Strength: Pro adds a dedicated systematic review workflow
- Weakness: Research Agent and Research Reports are limited on the free plan
- Weakness: Citation export formats start on the paid Plus plan
- Weakness: Team collaboration needs Scale at $89 per user per month billed annually
Key facts
- Free plan: Yes, Basic
- Paper index: More than 138 million papers
- Paid tiers: Plus, Pro, Scale, Enterprise
Where it ranks
Elicit is No. 2 in our Best AI Research Assistants verdict.
Alternatives we scored
Visit elicit.com · Questions or corrections: editorial@keenverdict.com