Pick Consensus if
students and clinicians who want a paper-backed answer with a Pro/Deep meter.
Read the Consensus pageConsensus vs Explainpaper
Our take
Pick Consensus if students and clinicians who want a paper-backed answer with a Pro/Deep meter. Pick Explainpaper if students and researchers who already have a PDF and want a sentence-level explainer beside it. Skip Consensus if people who need a systematic-review screening table (Elicit) or a general cited web search (Perplexity).
Best for
Consensus A question over peer-reviewed papers
Explainpaper An in-context explanation next to the PDF
Free plan
Consensus $0 · /mo. Basic paper search; 10 Pro messages/month; up to 3 Deep reviews/month
Explainpaper $0 · / month. Unlimited highlight explanations; follow-up questions; Zotero import; basic AI models
Lowest paid
Consensus Pro (annual display) $12/mo
Explainpaper Not published by the vendor
Next step up
Consensus Deep (annual display) $45/mo
Explainpaper
Runs where
Consensus Hosted
Explainpaper
Watch out
Consensus Free Pro messages and Deep reviews are capped
Explainpaper Pro is the figure and outline card
Last checked
Consensus 2026-10-19 · consensus.app/pricing
Explainpaper 2026-10-22 · explainpaper.com/pricing
Which one, then?
Pick Explainpaper if
students and researchers who already have a PDF and want a sentence-level explainer beside it.
Read the Explainpaper page