Elicit vs Sourcely (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Elicit: it is first in our ranking of AI research tools, and they share a 2.4 GPA.
Checked Nov 9, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 9, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Elicit grades higher on the free plan and features. Sourcely grades higher on value for money and ease of use. They get the same grade on platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Elicit
AI research assistant for literature search and systematic reviews
Sourcely
Paste an essay and find academic sources to cite
Which one is for you
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
Pick Sourcely if
- Fits if you've drafted an essay and need papers to back it up
- Works for someone who uses ChatGPT or Claude and wants source search there
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you do a lot of searching: 10 deep searches a month on Pro, 30 on Ultra
- Not for you if you want to know the free limits first, as they aren't on the pricing page
- Watch out: the free version is mostly English-language sources
- Watch out: Ultra's monthly price isn't shown, and there's no app
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAElicitFair | 2.4GPASourcelyFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | CPro is $9 a month billed yearly ($17 monthly), in the middle of the research range. Ultra is $19. |
| Free plan and trial | 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. | CA free version exists, but its limits aren't on the pricing page beyond being mostly English-language sources. |
| Features | 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. | CSource finding from text, deep search, summaries, chat, citation export and filters. Deep searches are capped monthly on both paid plans: 10 on Pro, 30 on Ultra. |
| Ease of use | 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. | BNo store rating on record. Paste your text and get sources back, with nothing to set up. |
| Platforms and integrations | 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. | BWeb only, with MCP support for ChatGPT and Claude. |
| Best for | systematic reviews and evidence tables | finding academic sources for an essay you've written |
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: Elicit and Sourcely. How we grade
Price against what you get
Elicit starts at $49 a month for each person and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Sourcely starts at $9 a month and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and Sourcely starts $40 a month lower. Of the other AI research tools on the chart, 6 score higher than Elicit for less, and 3 score higher than Sourcely for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Elicit also covers AI agents.
- Sourcely also covers chat assistant.
At a glance
| Elicit | Sourcely | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $49 per user / month, billed annually ($11 on academic pricing) | $9 per month, billed annually ($17 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Basic plan: unlimited search over 138 million papers, unlimited paper summaries and chat with papers, Zotero import, and limited Research Agent and report usage. | A free version exists, limited mostly to English-language sources; its other limits are not on the pricing page. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Elicit Research, PBC | Sourcely |
| Price read from | elicit.com | sourcely.net |
| Checked | Nov 9, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Sourcely
- Deep searches are capped monthly on both paid plans.
- The free version is mostly limited to English-language sources.
- The monthly price for Ultra is not shown on the pages read.
Key features
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.
Sourcely
- Source finding from text
- Paste an essay or paragraph and Sourcely highlights citation-worthy parts and suggests sources.
- Deep search
- Quick and Deep modes; paid plans include a monthly number of deep searches.
- Summaries and chat
- Gives a summary of each source and lets you ask questions about it.
- Citation export
- Exports references in more than 700 citation styles and saves sources to a library.
- Filters
- Narrow results by publication year, authorship and relevance.
- MCP support
- Paid plans list MCP support for ChatGPT, Claude and similar assistants.
Plans
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.
Sourcely
Pro$9
per month, billed annually ($17 billed monthly)
10 deep searches and 25 source credibility checks a month, plus MCP support.
Ultra$19
per month, billed annually
30 deep searches and 100 credibility checks a month, on a smarter AI model.
Ways to pay less
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.
Sourcely
- Annual discount
Save 50% with yearly billing
The pricing page shows a Yearly toggle labeled as saving 50% against monthly billing.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Elicit or Sourcely?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Elicit starts at $49 per user / month, billed annually ($11 on academic pricing), and Sourcely starts at $9 per month, billed annually ($17 billed monthly). One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, Elicit or Sourcely?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Elicit and Sourcely have a free plan.
Which platforms do Elicit and Sourcely 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.