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Elicit alternatives · AI Research

Open-source alternatives to Elicit

Elicit is not described as open source on its own site. 4 of the 49 other AI research tools in this directory are open source, according to their own sites.

Elicit has a free plan. Paid plans start at $49 per user / month, billed annually ($11 on academic pricing). All of them are free or have a free plan.

4 tools · Listings checked up to Nov 12, 2026 · Where the facts come from

How each one differs from Elicit

  1. Ai2 Asta

    AI research assistant for finding papers and analyzing data

    • Ai2 Asta is free. Elicit starts at $49 per user / month, billed annually ($11 on academic pricing).
    • Only Elicit lists a browser extension.
    • Ai2 Asta is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
  2. STORM

    Open-source AI that writes Wikipedia-style reports with citations

    • STORM is free. Elicit starts at $49 per user / month, billed annually ($11 on academic pricing).
    • Only Elicit lists a browser extension.
    • STORM is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
    • STORM also covers mind mapping.
  3. Inciteful

    Free citation-network tools for exploring academic papers

    • Inciteful is free. Elicit starts at $49 per user / month, billed annually ($11 on academic pricing).
    • Only Elicit lists a browser extension.
    • Inciteful is open source, according to its own site.
    • Elicit also covers AI search and AI agents.
  4. Zotero

    Free, open-source reference manager from a nonprofit

    • Zotero starts at $20 per year for 2 GB of file storage. Elicit starts at $49 per user / month, billed annually ($11 on academic pricing).
    • Only Zotero lists macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android apps.
    • Only Elicit lists a web app.
    • Only Elicit lists a browser extension.

Common questions

Is there an open-source alternative to Elicit?

Yes. Ai2 Asta, STORM, Inciteful and Zotero are open source, according to their own sites.

Is Elicit open source?

Elicit is not described as open source on its own site. The listing was checked on Nov 9, 2026 against the pages it cites.

When was this checked?

Each listing shows its own date. On this page they run from Oct 5, 2026 to Nov 12, 2026. Vendors change prices and plans without notice, so confirm on their site before you buy.

This page is built from the listings. A tool is here because its listing says so, and the order is how close each is to Elicit: the alternatives its listing names first, then the tools that share the most features with it.