Best AI Research Assistants in 2026
27 ai research assistants ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
27ranked
23free plans on this page
$1/molowest paid tier
2 Oct 2026last checked
#1 Scholarly Top pick · 8.9 Free plan · $1/mo
#2 Elicit Runner-up · 8.5 Free plan · $11/mo
#3 Consensus Also great · 8.5 Free plan · $20/mo
- Free planFree trial Web
- Free plan
- Yes
- Paid from
- 12 /user/mo
- Source citations
- Yes
- Deep research mode
- Yes
- Source access
- web+files+connectors
- File uploads
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms$1/mofirst paid tier About ScholarlyVisit site - Free plan apiWeb
- Free plan
- Yes
- Paid from
- 11 /user/mo
- Source citations
- Yes
- Deep research mode
- Yes
- Source access
- web+files
- File uploads
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms$11/mofirst paid tier About ElicitVisit site - Free plan AndroidapiextensioniOSWeb
- Free plan
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms$20/mofirst paid tier About ConsensusVisit site - Free planFree trial apiextensionWeb
- Free plan
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms$14/mofirst paid tier About SciteVisit site - Free plan extensioniOSWeb
- Free plan
- Yes
- Source citations
- Yes
- Deep research mode
- Yes
- Source access
- web+files+connectors
- File uploads
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms$1/mofirst paid tier About SciSpaceVisit site - Free plan AndroidapiiOSmacOSWebWindowsRecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms$2.83/mofirst paid tier About PerplexityVisit site
- Free plan AndroidextensioniOSmacOSWebWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Source citations
- Yes
- Deep research mode
- Yes
- Source access
- web+files+connectors
- File uploads
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms - Free plan WebiOSAndroid
- Free plan
- Yes
- File uploads
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms$9.99/mofirst paid tier About Gemini NotebookVisit site - Free plan Web
- Free plan
- Yes
- Source citations
- Yes
- Deep research mode
- Yes
- Source access
- web+files+connectors
- File uploads
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms - Free plan Web
- Free plan
- Yes
- Source citations
- Yes
- Deep research mode
- Yes
- Source access
- web+files+connectors
- File uploads
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms - Free plan AndroidapiextensioniOSmacOSWebWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Paid from
- 14.99 /user/mo
- Source citations
- Yes
- Deep research mode
- Yes
- Source access
- web+files
- File uploads
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms$1.25/mofirst paid tier About LinerVisit site - Free planFree trial AndroidapiextensioniOSmacOSWebWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Paid from
- 8 /user/mo
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms$8/mofirst paid tier About FabricVisit site - Free plan WebWindowsmacOSLinux
- Free plan
- Yes
- Source citations
- Yes
- Deep research mode
- Yes
- Source access
- web+files+connectors
- File uploads
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms - Free plan AndroidextensioniOSmacOSWeb
- Free plan
- Yes
- Paid from
- 16.67 /user/mo
- Source citations
- Yes
- Deep research mode
- Yes
- Source access
- web+files
- File uploads
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms$16.67/mofirst paid tier About Gab AI Research AssistantVisit site - Free plan Web
- Free plan
- Yes
- Source citations
- Yes
- Deep research mode
- Yes
- Source access
- web
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms - Free plan WebiOSAndroid
- Free plan
- Yes
- Paid from
- 15 /user/mo
- File uploads
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms - Free plan Web
- Free plan
- Yes
- Paid from
- 15 /user/mo
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms - Free plan WebWindowsmacOS
- Free plan
- Yes
- Source citations
- Yes
- Deep research mode
- Yes
- Source access
- web+files
- File uploads
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms - Free plan WebiOS
- Free plan
- Yes
- Source citations
- Yes
- Deep research mode
- Yes
- Source access
- web+files+connectors
- File uploads
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms - Free plan Web
- Free plan
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms - Free plan Web
- Free plan
- Yes
- Source citations
- Yes
- Deep research mode
- Yes
- Source access
- web+files+connectors
- File uploads
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms - Free plan Web
- Free plan
- Yes
- Source citations
- Yes
- File uploads
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms - Free plan macOS
- Free plan
- Yes
- Source citations
- Yes
- Deep research mode
- Yes
- Source access
- web
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms - Web
- Source citations
- Yes
- Deep research mode
- Yes
- Source access
- web+files+connectors
- File uploads
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms - Web
- Free plan
- No
- Paid from
- 26 /user/mo
- Source citations
- Yes
- Deep research mode
- Yes
- Source access
- web+files
- File uploads
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planFree trialPlatforms
Is your platform on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored. They are labelled, and the editorial order and scores never change for payment.
Questions about this list
Which ai research assistant is ranked first on The Geeks Club?
Scholarly is ranked #1 of 27 with a score of 8.9. Elicit is second and Consensus third.
How many of these have a free plan?
23 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, Scholarly has the lowest first paid tier we found: $1/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked on how quickly a newcomer can get going: documentation depth, a free tier or trial, and the platforms it runs on. Paid placements never change a rank.