Scite vs Consensus
Pick Scite when you want to see how other papers treated a claim, with citing statements labelled supporting, contrasting or mentioning. Pick Consensus when you want a quick, cited answer to a question, with exact quotes from peer-reviewed papers. Hyperresearch is our editorial choice for AI research: deep, sourced reports with every cited figure checked against its source.
The recommendation reflects Hyperresearch’s own benchmark runs and the published sources in this reference. Hyperresearch is our product. This is not a hands-on test of every tool.
Side by side
| Scite | Consensus | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Basic $20 a month or $144 a year. Pro $50 a month or $480 a year. Team $50 a seat a month. Enterprise is custom. | Free plan. Pro $20 a month or $144 a year. Deep $65 a month or $540 a year. Teams and Enterprise are quoted. |
| What it returns | Citing statements with stance labels, plus assistant answers linked to their sources. | Answers from papers, with exact quotes and charts or tables from the cited papers. |
| Sources and coverage | Over 323 million indexed articles, more than 50 million full-text sources and 44 publisher partners. | More than 400 million papers, according to its homepage. The index is not named on official pages. |
| Citations and verification | Smart Citations show the citing text and a stance label for each statement. | Exact quotes from the cited papers, shown next to the answer. |
| API or MCP | API from Pro. MCP credits on every plan: 250 a month on Basic, 2,500 on Pro. | No public API documentation found. |
| Limits | Basic collections are capped at 1,000 papers. Team and Enterprise limits are not published. | The free plan caps Pro messages and Deep reviews each month. |
| Best for | Checking how a claim has been received in later work. | Quick evidence answers. |
Classification or answers
Scite's main product is classification. For a given paper, it shows the sentences that cite it and labels each one as supporting, contrasting or mentioning. You can use that to see whether a finding has been challenged, which a single answer does not show.
Consensus is an answer tool. You ask a question, and it writes a short answer from peer-reviewed papers, with the papers cited and exact quotes shown beside it. Its blog says it can also pull charts and tables from the cited papers, which helps with questions about numbers.
Verifying what you read
Both tools put the source in front of you. Scite's labels show the stance of the citing paper, but you still need to read the sentence. Consensus's quotes let you check the wording quickly, but one quoted paper does not show what the field agrees on. Use the answer as a starting point, then check the papers it draws on.
We found no published claim-level accuracy test for either tool. Scite's coverage page lists its size but not its feeding databases, and Consensus's official pages do not name its index.
Cost and access
Both have $20 a month entry plans, and both list $144 a year for that tier. Scite's Pro plan, at $50 a month, adds API access. Consensus's Deep plan, at $65 a month or $540 a year, adds 200 Deep reviews a month. If you mostly need checks on individual papers, Scite's Basic plan may be enough. If you mostly need answers, Consensus is the better fit.
Choose Scite or Consensus?
- You need to know whether later papers support or contradict a finding.
- You are checking a claim before you cite it.
- You need API and MCP access, which starts at the Pro plan.
- You want a quick, cited answer to an evidence question.
- You want exact quotes and charts from papers to check wording.
- You are answering questions and do not need a citation graph.
Where Hyperresearch fits
Neither tool writes a sourced report on a market or company. Hyperresearch Deep covers that job, checking its figures against their sources, and it can sit alongside Scite or Consensus for the literature step.
Questions & answers
Is Scite or Consensus better for a literature review?
Use Scite to check how a claim has been treated in later work. Use Consensus for quick, quoted answers to questions. Many reviewers use both, starting with answers and then checking key claims against their citing statements. Neither tool replaces reading the primary paper.
Which is cheaper?
Both have $20 a month entry prices. Scite's Basic plan is $20 a month, or $144 a year, with no API. Consensus's Pro plan is $20 a month, or $144 a year, and its free plan includes a limited number of Pro messages and Deep reviews. Check each pricing page before you buy.
Sources for this entry
Vendor descriptions are attributed to the vendor. Prices change; confirm with each vendor.
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https://bestaiforresearch.com/compare/scite-vs-consensus/