AlphaSense vs Elicit (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Elicit: it is first in our ranking of AI research tools, and it grades higher too, 2.4 against 1.8.
Checked Nov 9, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 9, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
AlphaSense grades higher on value for money. Elicit grades higher on the free plan and features. They get the same grade on ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
AlphaSense
AI market intelligence search across filings, research and transcripts
Elicit
AI research assistant for literature search and systematic reviews
Which one is for you
Pick AlphaSense if
- Fits if you're an analyst who needs filings and broker research searched in one place
- Makes sense if your firm already buys enterprise data and will go through sales
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want to see a price first, as none is published
- Skip it if you're a student or solo researcher, since the pages describe an enterprise platform
- Watch out: the API, MCP and internal content search are on the Enterprise Suite only
- Watch out: expert calls and some data sets, such as Tegus, are sold separately
Pick Elicit if
- Fits if you're running a systematic review and want the screening and data extraction automated
- Works for students and casual readers, since free search, summaries and paper chat are unlimited
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you're outside a university, with Pro at $49 a user a month billed yearly and $75 monthly
- Skip it if you want real-time collaboration or extraction from figures on a budget, as both need Scale at $229 a user a month billed yearly, $375 monthly
- Tight if your workload is lumpy, because monthly usage doesn't roll over and extra is billed in $100 steps
- Watch out: the pricing page opens on industry rates, and the $11 academic Plus plan shows only once you switch
- Too light for phone or desktop use, with a web app and Chrome extension only, and an integration list that stops at Zotero
How we grade them
| 1.8GPAAlphaSenseWeak | 2.4GPAElicitFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo price is published: the pricing page says to contact sales and describes enterprise-wide and per-seat plans with no figures. With nothing to compare against the category's $10 middle, it sits at C. | DPro is $49 a user a month billed annually, $75 monthly, where paid plans in this category usually start around $12. Everything you'd come for sits up there: the review workflow, Routines, the API. Academic pricing only brings Pro to $39, and unused usage doesn't roll over. |
| Free plan and trial | FNothing free on record. A Get Started for Free button hints at a trial, but its terms are not stated. | BBasic costs nothing and gives you unlimited search over 138 million papers, unlimited summaries and unlimited chat with papers, plus Zotero import. One person could really live on that. The Research Agent and reports are capped on Basic, and the listing can't say by how much. |
| Features | CSearch across a large content set with an AI agent, expert transcripts and Office add-ins. The listing says the API, MCP and internal content search are Enterprise Suite only, and expert calls and some data sets such as Tegus are separate. | BIt covers the whole job: search from a question across papers and 545,000 clinical trials, cited reports with tables and figures, screening and data extraction for a systematic review, a Zotero library, Routines and an API. Rivals here run systematic reviews too, so there's no trick that's Elicit's alone. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. It's an enterprise platform with content sets and connectors to set up. | CNo store rating on record, and this isn't a box you type into and walk away from: there are screening workflows, extraction columns and a monthly usage pool to watch. The pricing page doesn't help, opening on industry rates with the $11 academic plan hidden until you switch. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, with PowerPoint and Excel add-ins, plus an API and MCP on the Enterprise Suite. | BA web app plus a Chrome extension that fetches full texts through your institution's journal access, and it takes in Zotero, PDFs and .ris or .bib files. The integration list stops at Zotero though, the API starts at Pro, and there's no phone or desktop app. |
| Best for | market intelligence search for finance and corporate teams | systematic reviews and evidence tables |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: AlphaSense and Elicit. How we grade
Where they differ
- AlphaSense also covers chat assistant.
- Elicit also covers AI agents and citations.
At a glance
| AlphaSense | Elicit | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free plan |
| Starts at | Not published | $49 per user / month, billed annually ($11 on academic pricing) |
| Free plan | None | Basic plan: unlimited search over 138 million papers, unlimited paper summaries and chat with papers, Zotero import, and limited Research Agent and report usage. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | AlphaSense | Elicit Research, PBC |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | elicit.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 9, 2026 |
Worth knowing
AlphaSense
- No prices are published: the pricing page says to contact sales and describes enterprise-wide and per-seat plans without figures.
- It is sold in two packages, Market Intelligence and Enterprise Suite, and the API, MCP and internal content are listed for Enterprise Suite only.
- The pages read describe an enterprise platform; a free trial is hinted at by a Get Started for Free button but its terms are not stated.
- Expert call services and some data sets, such as the Tegus library, are described as separate offerings.
Elicit
- The pricing page defaults to industry rates; the $11 Plus plan appears only when Academic is selected.
- The systematic review workflow, Routines and API access start at the Pro plan.
- Monthly usage does not roll over. Extra usage on Pro and Scale is billed in $100 increments, up to a limit you set.
- Real-time collaboration, extraction from figures and the admin panel need Scale or Enterprise.
Key features
AlphaSense
- SuperAnalyst agent
- An always-on AI agent that turns the platform's sources and a firm's own knowledge into summaries, decision-ready deliverables and repeatable workflows.
- Large curated content set
- The homepage cites 500M+ business documents, including company filings, broker and independent research, news, regulatory material and expert transcripts.
- Expert transcripts
- Includes the Tegus expert interview library, and the vendor also arranges live expert calls as a separate service.
- Office add-ins and connectors
- PowerPoint and Excel add-ins and app connectors bring the platform into Microsoft Office and other tools, and are listed in both packages.
- API and MCP access
- The Enterprise Suite adds an API and an MCP server that let other AI assistants and agents use SuperAnalyst.
- Internal content search
- The Enterprise Suite lists a firm's internal content as searchable alongside the vendor's own sources.
Elicit
- Research Agent
- Gathers evidence from scientific databases, journals, public data sources and uploaded documents, then produces cited reports, tables, figures and slides.
- Paper and clinical trial search
- Semantic search over more than 138 million papers from Semantic Scholar, PubMed and OpenAlex, plus about 545,000 clinical trials, so a query does not depend on exact keywords.
- Research reports
- Generates research briefs through a process modeled on systematic reviews. You can change which papers and what information a report covers.
- Systematic review workflow
- Automates screening and data extraction, with a Pro workflow that can screen 5,000 papers. A Chrome extension fetches full texts through your institution's journal access.
- Library and Zotero import
- Stores sources in collections with tags so they can be reused across projects, and takes in papers from Zotero, PDFs, and .ris or .bib files.
- Routines and API
- Routines rerun Research Agent work to pick up new evidence, and an API covers search, reports and systematic reviews. Both start at the Pro plan.
Plans
AlphaSense
Pricing could not be confirmed. See alpha-sense.com.
Elicit
Basic$0
Unlimited paper search, summaries and chat with papers, Zotero import, and limited Research Agent and report usage.
Pro$49
per user / month, billed annually ($588); $75 billed monthly
Standard usage, a systematic review workflow that screens 5,000 papers, 20 table columns at a time, Routines and API access.
Scale$229
per user / month, billed annually ($2,748); $375 billed monthly
5x the usage of Pro, real-time collaboration, extraction from figures, 30 table columns at a time and an admin panel with seat management.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom usage, SSO and SAML, screening of 40,000 papers, 40 extraction columns, custom data sources and unlimited API access.
Ways to pay less
AlphaSense
No public discounts listed.
Elicit
- Annual discount
Save 35% to 39% with annual billing
On industry pricing, Pro is $49 a month billed annually against $75 billed monthly, and Scale is $229 against $375. The pricing page labels these as savings of 35% and 39%.
- Education
Academic pricing from $11 per user / month
Choosing Academic on the pricing page shows Plus at $11, Pro at $39 and Scale at $89 per user / month, billed annually, or $19, $69 and $149 billed monthly.
- Nonprofit
Nonprofits can use the academic plans
Elicit has no separate nonprofit discount, but its help center says nonprofits can subscribe to the academic plans, its lowest pricing tier.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, AlphaSense or Elicit?
As of Nov 12, 2026, AlphaSense has no price we could confirm, and Elicit starts at $49 per user / month, billed annually ($11 on academic pricing).
Which has a free plan, AlphaSense or Elicit?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Elicit has a free plan. AlphaSense does not.
Which platforms do AlphaSense and Elicit run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Elicit lists a browser extension. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.