Consensus vs Dimensions (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Dimensions grades higher than Consensus: 2.8 against 2.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 9, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Consensus grades higher on features and ease of use. Dimensions grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Consensus
AI search engine that answers questions from peer-reviewed papers
Free plan
Dimensions
Linked research database of publications, grants and patents
Free plan
Which one is for you
Pick Consensus if
- Fits if you want to know what peer-reviewed studies say about one specific question
- Works for teams that want cited paper search inside ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot or their own tools
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you need the price before you sign up, as the paid prices couldn't be read
- Tight if you're staying free, with 10 Pro messages and 3 Deep Searches a month
- Tight if you lean on Deep Search, with 15 a month on Pro and 50 a seat on Team
- Watch out: API calls past your plan's credits cost $0.05 each, with 500 included on Pro and Team
- Not for you if you want an iPhone app, since none was found on the US App Store
Pick Dimensions if
- Fits if you're a student or researcher who wants to find papers and grants for free
- Makes sense if you look up who funds what and who has cited what
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you work at a company, since the free version is personal and non-commercial only
- Skip it if you want to manage references or screen papers, as it isn't a reference or review tool
- Watch out: the full products have no published prices and go through a demo
- Watch out: the ChatGPT tool needs ChatGPT Plus or Enterprise
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAConsensusGood | 2.8GPADimensionsGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNobody can put a number on this one. The pricing page didn't show its paid prices on two readings, and Consensus's own pricing summary leaves the dollar amounts out, so it lands where every unpriced tool lands. Pro has 15 Deep Searches a month, Deep has 200, and students get up to 40% off. | AThe free version is no cost and covers search, analytics, export and AI summaries, which is a lot for a research database. Paid products have no listed price. |
| Free plan and trial | CBasic paper search across 400M+ papers is free and the Citation Graph comes with every account, which is more than nothing. But the AI is rationed to 10 Pro messages and 3 Deep Searches a month, so the bit you came for runs out in an afternoon. | BThe free version has no stated cap, but it's personal and non-commercial only, so a company can't use it. |
| Features | BIt covers the whole job: plain-language questions answered from their source papers, filters for study type, journal rank and sample size, Deep Search across 1,000 papers, a citation graph, a Zotero library, an API and an MCP connector. Its rivals cover the same ground, mind, several of them screening more papers. | CA database and analytics tool with AI summaries. The listing says it is not a reference manager or a review screening tool, so you need other software alongside. |
| Ease of use | BNo store rating on record either way, so this rests on the product: you type a question the way you'd ask a colleague, and the answer comes back with its papers attached. Nothing to connect or configure first. | CNo store rating on record. Search and filters take some learning, and the paid apps go through a demo. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb and an Android app, with an API and an MCP connector that puts Consensus search inside ChatGPT, Claude and Copilot. It imports from Zotero too. No iOS app was found on the US App Store when it was checked. | BWeb, with ReadCube, ORCID and ChatGPT. Dimensions Research GPT is described for ChatGPT Plus and Enterprise users. |
| Best for | asking what the studies actually say | searching papers, grants and patents in one database |
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: Consensus and Dimensions. How we grade
Where they differ
- Consensus also covers AI agents.
In commonFree planWebPublic APIAI searchResearchCitations
At a glance
| Consensus | Dimensions | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | Not published | Not published |
| Free plan | Basic paper search across 400M+ papers, plus 10 Pro messages and 3 Deep Searches per month. Paid tiers are Pro, Deep, Team and Enterprise; their prices could not be read. | Free version for personal, non-commercial use, with search, analytical views and export. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Consensus NLP, Inc. | Digital Science |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | dimensions.ai |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Consensus
- Paid prices could not be confirmed: the pricing page did not show them on two readings, and Consensus's own pricing summary leaves out dollar amounts.
- The free tier allows 10 Pro messages and 3 Deep Searches per month. Pro includes 15 Deep Searches, Deep 200 and Team 50 per seat.
- API calls beyond a plan's included credits cost $0.05 each; 500 are included on Pro, Team and Enterprise and 2,000 on Deep.
- An Android app is listed on Google Play. No iOS app was found on the US App Store when checked.
Dimensions
- The free version is limited to personal, non-commercial use.
- Paid products have no published prices; access goes through a demo request.
- Dimensions Research GPT is described for ChatGPT Plus and Enterprise users.
- It is a database and analytics tool, not a reference manager or review screening tool.
Key features
Consensus
- Cited answers from 400M+ papers
- Ask a research question in plain language and get a summary tied to its source papers, with filters for study type, journal rank, citation count, sample size and year.
- Deep Search
- Builds and runs a search strategy, screens up to 1,000 papers and writes a report on the 50 most relevant. The monthly allowance depends on the plan.
- Research agent
- Chains citation crawling, DOI lookup, author search and similar-paper search, and can build a comparison table from the full text of the results.
- Citation Graph
- Starts from one or more seed papers and maps what they cite and what has cited them since. It is included with every account.
- Library with Zotero import
- Imports papers from Zotero, BibTeX, RIS or PDF, then searches the collection, looks for gaps in it and generates bibliographies.
- API and MCP connector
- The API returns ranked papers with metadata for use in other tools, and the MCP connector links Consensus search to ChatGPT, Claude and Copilot.
Dimensions
- Linked research data
- The free version page cites more than 140 million publications and 29 million datasets, linked to grants, patents, clinical trials and policy documents.
- Search and filters
- Full-text search with filters for researchers, source titles, categories and open access.
- Analytical views
- Citation-based indicators and Altmetric Attention Scores help show the impact of the research being viewed.
- AI summarization
- The free version includes AI summaries of the content and topics in a set of results.
- Account tools
- A free account can export data, save favorites, store references with ReadCube and link publications to an ORCID record.
Plans
Consensus
Pricing could not be confirmed. See consensus.app.
Dimensions
Free Version$0
Publication and dataset search with analytical views, export and AI summaries, for personal, non-commercial use only.
Institutional and commercialCustom
Full Dimensions applications and data, with no published prices; the site directs visitors to request a demo.
Ways to pay less
Consensus
- Education
Up to 40% off for students, faculty and US clinicians
Students and faculty with a valid school email, and US clinicians with a valid NPI number, can claim up to 40% off. Consensus's pricing summary gives students 40% off for 12 months with a verified student email.
Dimensions
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Consensus or Dimensions?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Consensus has no price we could confirm, and Dimensions publishes no starting price.
Which has a free plan, Consensus or Dimensions?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Consensus and Dimensions have a free plan.
Which platforms do Consensus and Dimensions run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Consensus lists an Android app. 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.