Pick Elicit if
researchers and analysts who want an evidence table, not a chatbot essay.
Read the Elicit pageElicit vs PaperQA2
Our take
Pick Elicit if researchers and analysts who want an evidence table, not a chatbot essay. Pick PaperQA2 if engineers and labs who will run Python and already have a PDF pile. 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
PaperQA2 Answer from papers you already have, in your own runtime
Free plan
Elicit No free plan
PaperQA2 $0
Lowest paid
Elicit Other toggle in the HTML $11/user/mo yearly
PaperQA2 Not published by the vendor
Next step up
Elicit Pro (Industry, yearly display) $49/user/mo
PaperQA2
Coding agent
Elicit Research agent composer
PaperQA2
Runs where
Elicit Hosted
PaperQA2 Hosted
Watch out
Elicit Audience and yearly/monthly toggles change the dollars
PaperQA2 You bring the model bill
Last checked
Elicit 2026-10-19 · elicit.com/pricing
PaperQA2 2026-10-22 · github.com/Future-House/paper-qa
Which one, then?
Pick PaperQA2 if
engineers and labs who will run Python and already have a PDF pile.
Read the PaperQA2 page