Head-to-head · facts checked 21 Sept 2026
Elicit vs Perplexity
Perplexity uniquely has 8 features · Elicit uniquely has 7 features.
From
$19/mo academic plan ($75/mo industry plan)
Free plan
Yes
From
$20/mo (Pro)
Free plan
Yes
The verdict
Elicit or Perplexity?
Section 01
Pricing, plan by plan
Every plan each vendor publishes, monthly and yearly where both are offered.
Elicit
Free
Free
Limited Research Agent and Research Reports
Basic
Free
Limited usage for Research Agent and Research Reports
Plus (Academic)
$19/mo · $132/yr
Standard usage for Research Agent, Research Reports, and Systematic Literature Reviews
Pro (Academic and Industry)
$69/mo · $480/yr
5x usage for Research Agent, Research Reports, and Systematic Literature Reviews
Scale (Academic and Industry)
$149/mo · $1,068/yr
9x usage for Research Agent, Research Reports, and Systematic Literature Reviews
Enterprise (Academic and Industry)
Custom
Custom usage for Research Agent, Research Reports, and Systematic Literature Reviews
Perplexity
Free
Free
Cited answers, limited file uploads, auto model
Perplexity Pro
$17/mo · $204/yr
4,000 bonus credits + US$40 free Computer credits; access to latest AI models including Claude Sonnet 5, Gemini 3.1 Pro, Sonar 2
Perplexity Max
$167/mo · $2,004/yr
35,000 bonus credits + 10,000 monthly credits + US$450 free Computer credits; unlimited usage and top performance
Enterprise Pro
$34/seat/mo · $408/seat/yr
US$85 free Computer credits; guaranteed no training on your data, SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA, GDPR, PCI DSS compliance
Enterprise Max
$271/seat/mo · $3,251/seat/ye
US$550 free Computer credits; unlimited usage, premium security features including SCIM, audit logs, and data retention settings
Education Pro
$9/mo · $108/yr
For everything else about each tool, read the full Elicit review and Perplexity review.
Side by side
| Company | ||
| Founded | 2021 | 2022 |
| HQ | San Francisco, USA | San Francisco |
| AI model | Claude (Anthropic) + proprietary models | Sonar 2, GPT-5.6 Terra, Claude Sonnet 5, Gemini 3.1 Pro, Grok 4.5 |
| User base | 5M+ | 15 million MAU |
| Platforms | Web | Web, Windows, Mac, iOS, Android |
| Languages | English primarily | 50+ |
| Pricing | ||
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | No | No (free tier available instead) |
| Starting price | $19/mo academic plan ($75/mo industry plan) | $20/mo (Pro) |
| Enterprise | Custom | $40/user/mo |
| All plans | Free — Free Basic — Free Plus (Academic) — $19/mo Pro (Academic and Industry) — $69/mo Scale (Academic and Industry) — $149/mo Enterprise (Academic and Industry) — Custom | Free — Free Perplexity Pro — $17/mo Perplexity Max — $167/mo Enterprise Pro — $34/seat/mo Enterprise Max — $271/seat/mo Education Pro — $9/mo |
| Positioning | ||
| Best for | Systematic literature reviews and academic research | Researchers who want cited answers, memory across sessions and an agent that works in a cloud sandbox |
| Differentiator | Dedicated Systematic Review Workflow screening up to 5,000 papers; nonprofit mission focused on scaling good reasoning and trustworthy AI-assisted research | Perplexity combines real-time web search with AI synthesis and inline citations, delivering concise research answers with transparent source verification in a single interface. |
| Competitors | Consensus, Semantic Scholar, Research Rabbit, Scite, Perplexity, SciSpace | ChatGPT, Google Gemini, You.com, Bing Copilot |
| Features | ||
| 138m+ Paper Search | ✓ | — |
| Deep Research | — | ✓ |
| Export to Ris/Csv/Bib/PDF/Docx | ✓ | — |
| Extract From Figures in Papers | ✓ | — |
| File Uploads & Analysis | — | ✓ |
| Image Generation | — | ✓ |
| Perplexity Computer | — | ✓ |
| Pro Search | — | ✓ |
| Real Time Collaboration | ✓ | — |
| Systematic Review Workflow | ✓ | — |
| Unlimited Paper Alerts | ✓ | — |
| Video Generation | — | ✓ |
| Academic Search | ✓ | ✓ |
| AI Summarization | ✓ | ✓ |
| API Access | ✓ | ✓ |
| Browser Extension | ✓ | ✓ |
| Citation Generation | ✓ | ✓ |
| Data Privacy | ✓ | ✓ |
| Document Upload | ✓ | ✓ |
| Export Formats | Yes, RIS, CSV, BIB, PDF, DOCX (Academic Plus and above) | Markdown, copy to clipboard, shareable link |
| Fact Checking | ✓ | ✓ |
| Follow Up Questions | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mobile App | ✕ | ✓ |
| Multi Source Synthesis | ✓ | ✓ |
| Team Collaboration | ✓ | ✓ |
| Web Search | ✕ | ✓ |
| Integrations | ||
| API Access | ✓ | ✓ |
| Browser Extension | ✓ | ✓ |
| Google Docs Export | — | ✕ |
| Key Integrations | Zotero import, Elicit API, MCP server for agent/workflow integration, custom data sources (Enterprise) | Perplexity API, Chrome Extension, iOS Shortcuts, Android integration, Spaces sharing |
| Zotero Integration | ✓ | ✕ |
Section 02
Elicit vs Perplexity: common questions
Is Elicit or Perplexity cheaper?
Elicit's cheapest paid plan is $19/mo academic plan ($75/mo industry plan) and Perplexity's is $20/mo (Pro). Compare what each plan includes below before going on price alone.
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