Pick Elicit if
researchers and analysts who want an evidence table, not a chatbot essay.
Read the Elicit pageElicit vs Explainpaper
Our take
Pick Elicit if researchers and analysts who want an evidence table, not a chatbot essay. Pick Explainpaper if students and researchers who already have a PDF and want a sentence-level explainer beside it. Skip Elicit if people who want a cited web answer (Perplexity) or a general assistant (ChatGPT).
Best for
Elicit A literature question with papers behind it
Explainpaper An in-context explanation next to the PDF
Free plan
Elicit No free plan
Explainpaper $0 · / month. Unlimited highlight explanations; follow-up questions; Zotero import; basic AI models
Lowest paid
Elicit Other toggle in the HTML $11/user/mo yearly
Explainpaper Not published by the vendor
Next step up
Elicit Pro (Industry, yearly display) $49/user/mo
Explainpaper
Coding agent
Elicit Research agent composer
Explainpaper
Runs where
Elicit Hosted
Explainpaper
Watch out
Elicit Audience and yearly/monthly toggles change the dollars
Explainpaper Pro is the figure and outline card
Last checked
Elicit 2026-10-19 · elicit.com/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