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Consensus vs Paperguide

Two fact sheets from our own research, side by side — pricing, platforms, API access and status re-checked by us rather than quoted from the vendors.

The short answer

Free plan
Both have one
Public API
Consensus has one; not confirmed by us for Paperguide
Best fit
Consensus: Checking whether a specific claim has support across published studies · Paperguide: researchers running systematic or scoping reviews
Platforms
Consensus: Web, iOS, Android · Paperguide: Web, Chrome extension
Trust score
About even — Consensus 90, Paperguide 87

From our own records as of each tool's last check. Anything we have not confirmed is left out rather than guessed. How we verify

Side by side

FactConsensusPaperguide
CategoryAcademic Search & Literature ReviewAcademic Search & Literature Review
Pricing modelFreemiumFreemium
Starts at—$29/mo
Public APIYesNot confirmed
Trust score90 / 10087 / 100
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, APIWeb, Chrome extension
CompanyConsensus NLP, Inc.Paperguide
Launched2021—
Last verifiedOct 15, 2026Oct 16, 2026

What our research says

Consensus

Useful when you want to know what a body of literature actually concludes rather than reading one paper at a time, but it orients you, it does not replace reading them.

Pros

  • Every answer is tied to specific papers with study design and sample size
  • Free tier is a standing plan rather than a time-limited trial
  • The yes-or-no consensus meter is a fast orientation device
  • Covers a very large index of peer-reviewed literature

Cons

  • Summaries can flatten real disagreement between studies into false consensus
  • Coverage skews to indexed English-language biomedical work
  • Pricing cannot be verified from outside; the site blocks automated access
  • Free allowance of the deeper analyses runs out quickly in real use

Paperguide

Unusually complete for this category: most tools do search or reference management or extraction, and Paperguide does all three plus PRISMA-grade systematic review screening. That breadth is worth the $29 if you actually run reviews. Credits meter everything, and some headline features are still labelled as coming.

Pros

  • Search across a stated 200M papers with citation-grounded answers
  • Imports existing libraries from Zotero, Mendeley or DOI
  • Data extraction into structured, cited tables rather than free text
  • Systematic review module with PRISMA reporting
  • Free tier of 1,000 credits a month to evaluate properly

Cons

  • Image and table extraction and dual-reviewer screening are still marked as coming soon
  • Everything is metered in AI credits, so heavy review work hits limits
  • Advertised low prices assume annual billing; month-to-month is roughly 70% more
  • No named legal entity — the terms only give a Georgia, US jurisdiction

Which one fits

Choose Consensus if you need

  • Checking whether a specific claim has support across published studies
  • Clinicians and students orienting quickly in an unfamiliar literature
  • Anyone who wants citations attached to every summarised claim

Choose Paperguide if you need

  • researchers running systematic or scoping reviews
  • teams that want search, references and extraction in one tool
  • anyone migrating a Zotero or Mendeley library into an AI workflow

Consensus vs Paperguide: the questions people ask

Is Consensus cheaper than Paperguide?

Paperguide starts at $29/mo. Consensus has a free tier; what its paid plans cost is not confirmed by us yet.

Does Consensus or Paperguide have a free tier?

Both: Consensus has a free tier, and Paperguide has a free tier.

Which has a public API, Consensus or Paperguide?

Consensus ships a public API, as of our last verification. A public API for Paperguide is not confirmed by us — check its developer docs before you plan an integration.

All Consensus alternatives →All Paperguide alternatives →Browse all Academic Search & Literature Review →