Elicit
AI research assistant for literature search, systematic reviews and evidence reports
Freemium
Kagi
Ad-free, subscription-funded search engine with built-in AI assistant and summarization tools
Free trial
Verdict
Elicit is listed under Education & Research and Kagi under AI Assistants. Elicit scores higher in FinderAtlas's editorial review (8.3 vs 8.1 out of 10). Both have a free plan or trial. Only Kagi is available on iOS and Android.
Best overall
Elicit
- Academic researchers
- Graduate students
- Life sciences and pharma teams
- Policy and government analysts
Choose Elicit if
- You want a tool built for literature reviews.
- Free plan with unlimited search across 138M+ papers.
- Sentence-level citations for AI-generated claims.
Choose Kagi if
- You want a tool built for people who want ad-free, personalizable search results and are willing to pay a subscription to get them.
- No advertising; revenue comes from subscriptions.
- Site-level raise, lower and block controls let users tune results.
- Best for beginners
- Kagi
- Best for business
- Elicit
Features
17 features compared.
- Research AgentElicitAvailableKagiNot available
- Research ReportsElicitAvailableKagiNot available
- Systematic Literature ReviewElicitAvailableKagiNot available
- Data extraction tablesElicitAvailableKagiNot available
- LibraryElicitAvailableKagiNot available
- RoutinesElicitAvailableKagiNot available
- Chat with papersElicitAvailableKagiNot available
- Zotero importElicitAvailableKagiNot available
- API and MCP serverElicitAvailableKagiNot available
- Ad-free searchElicitNot availableKagiAvailable
- Site personalizationElicitNot availableKagiAvailable
- LensesElicitNot availableKagiAvailable
- Kagi AssistantElicitNot availableKagiAvailable
- Quick Answer and Summarize PageElicitNot availableKagiAvailable
- Developer APIsElicitNot availableKagiAvailable
- Orion browserElicitNot availableKagiAvailable
- Kagi Translate and Kagi NewsElicitNot availableKagiAvailable
Pricing
Plans as listed by each vendor. Check their sites for current prices.
- Pricing modelElicitFreemiumKagiFree trial
- Free planElicitYesKagiYes
- Starting priceElicit$0Kagi$0
- PlansElicit4 plansKagi4 plans
Elicit plans
Basic
$0
Free plan with limited Research Agent and Reports usage
- Unlimited search across 138M+ papers
- Unlimited summaries
- Unlimited chat with papers
- View sources for answers
- Zotero import
Pro
Most popular$75/user/mo
Billed monthly ($49 per user per month billed annually); standard usage for systematic reviews
- Systematic review workflow screening up to 5,000 papers
- 20 table columns
- Reports from up to 135 data sources
- Routines
- Custom extractions from uploaded papers
- API access
Scale
$279/user/mo
Billed monthly ($169 per user per month billed annually); 5x usage with collaboration
- 5x Pro usage
- Figure extraction
- Live collaboration
- Reports from up to 200 data sources
- 30 table columns
- Admin panel with usage tracking
Enterprise
Custom/custom
For companies and schools
- Custom usage
- Screen 40,000 papers with 40 columns
- SSO and SAML
- No training on your data by default
- Custom data sources and templates
- Unlimited API access
Kagi plans
Trial
$0
Free trial to evaluate Kagi
- 100 searches
- 100 Assistant interactions
Starter
$5/month
Entry plan for light searchers
- 300 searches
- Assistant Quick mode
Professional
Most popular$10/month
Unlimited search for regular users
- Unlimited searches
- Assistant Quick mode
- larger monthly Assistant allowance
Ultimate
$25/month
Full AI access
- Unlimited searches
- Assistant Research mode
- flagship models including Claude
- GPT and Gemini
- highest level of support
Our ratings
Scored out of 10 by the Finder Atlas editorial team. Last reviewed October 2026.
- Elicit
- 8.3overall
- Kagi
- 8.1overall
Academic Paper Search
- Elicit
- 8.8
- Kagi
- Not rated
Structured Data Extraction
- Elicit
- 8.7
- Kagi
- Not rated
Citation Transparency
- Elicit
- 8.6
- Kagi
- Not rated
Systematic Review Support
- Elicit
- 8.5
- Kagi
- Not rated
Pricing Clarity
- Elicit
- 7.0
- Kagi
- Not rated
Ease of Use
- Elicit
- Not rated
- Kagi
- 8.2
Feature Depth
- Elicit
- Not rated
- Kagi
- 8.6
Value for Money
- Elicit
- Not rated
- Kagi
- 7.4
Performance & Speed
- Elicit
- Not rated
- Kagi
- 8.4
Documentation & Support
- Elicit
- Not rated
- Kagi
- 7.8
Scores weigh documented features, plan value, platform coverage, integrations and user feedback. A missing score means we have not rated that area yet.
Pros and cons
Elicit
Pros
- Free plan with unlimited search across 138M+ papers
- Sentence-level citations for AI-generated claims
- Structured extraction of paper details into tables
- Dedicated systematic review workflow and Routines for tracking new research
- API and MCP server for use with other tools
Cons
- Research Agent and Reports usage is limited on the free plan
- Systematic reviews, Routines and API access need Pro at $75 per user per month ($49 billed annually)
- Pricing page shows only annual-billing rates for Pro and Scale
- Focused on research; not a general-purpose assistant
- No mobile app
Kagi
Pros
- No advertising; revenue comes from subscriptions.
- Site-level raise, lower and block controls let users tune results.
- Lenses give quick topic-specific filtering such as Academic or Forums.
- Ultimate bundles access to Claude, GPT and Gemini models in Assistant.
- Public APIs and an MCP server support developer use.
- Transparent funding history published by the company.
Cons
- No permanent free tier: the trial is limited to 100 searches.
- The $5 Starter plan caps searches at 300 per month, which users report running out of quickly.
- Reviewers report that lens use and loading more results can count as extra searches.
- Full AI model access requires the $25 Ultimate plan.
Platforms
- WebElicitSupportedKagiSupported
- WindowsElicitNot supportedKagiNot supported
- macOSElicitNot supportedKagiNot supported
- iOSElicitNot supportedKagiSupported
- AndroidElicitNot supportedKagiSupported
- APIElicitSupportedKagiSupported
- Browser ExtensionElicitNot supportedKagiNot supported
Integrations
Elicit
4 integrations- Zotero
- PubMed
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- MCP
Kagi
4 integrations- Anthropic Claude
- OpenAI GPT
- Google Gemini
- MCP
Company
- CompanyElicitElicitKagiKagi Inc.
- FoundedElicitNot listedKagi2018
- HeadquartersElicitOakland, CAKagiSan Francisco, CA
- Monthly usersElicit5M+ researchersKagiNot listed
- ListingElicitClaimedKagiClaimed
Featured Education & Research
Picked by our editors. Not paid placement.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Elicit better than Kagi?
It depends on your workflow. Elicit is built for literature reviews. Kagi is built for people who want ad-free, personalizable search results and are willing to pay a subscription to get them.
What are the key feature differences between Elicit and Kagi?
Elicit: AI research assistant for literature search, systematic reviews and evidence reports. Kagi: Ad-free, subscription-funded search engine with built-in AI assistant and summarization tools.
Does Elicit or Kagi have a free plan?
Yes, both do. Elicit is freemium and Kagi is free trial, and each has a free plan or trial.
Which is cheaper, Elicit or Kagi?
Both can be used for free. Paid plans differ in limits and features, so compare the tiers in the pricing table above.