vs
Consensus vs ChatGPT deep research
Consensus scores higher overall (8.3 vs 8), but the right pick depends on what you need.
Choose Consensus if…
Students, clinicians and anyone checking what the research says about a specific question
8.3/10★★★★★Full review →Choose ChatGPT deep research if…
Professionals who want a thorough written briefing on a complex topic
8.0/10★★★★★Full review →Side by side
| Consensus | ChatGPT deep research | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 8.3/10 | 8/10 |
| Rank in category | #3 of 10 | #4 of 10 |
| Price | Freemium · from $10/month | Paid · from $20/month |
| Free version | Unlimited searches with 10 Pro Analyses and 10 Study Snapshots a month | ChatGPT is free, but deep research is not included on the free plan |
| Platforms | Web, Android | Web, iOS, Android |
| Made by | Consensus | OpenAI |
| Research quality | 8 | 8.5 |
| Ease of use | 9 | 9 |
| Features | 8 | 6.5 |
| Value for money | 8.5 | 7 |
| Platforms | 7.5 | 9.5 |
Consensus: what the AI does
- Cited plain-language answers from peer-reviewed papers
- Consensus Meter showing agreement across studies
- Deep Search literature reviews
- Ask questions of a paper or your own PDF
- Study Snapshots summarising methods and results
- Fast way to see where the evidence points
- Every claim cites a real peer-reviewed paper
- Cheap Pro plan and a usable free tier
- Exports citations and imports from Zotero
- Built for narrow, answerable questions rather than open-ended reviews
- Reviewers report lag and high CPU use in long sessions
- No deep links to the exact passage inside a paper
ChatGPT deep research: what the AI does
- Multi-step web research agent
- Long reports with inline citations
- Analysis of uploaded files
- Images and charts embedded in reports
- Very thorough, long-form reports
- Included in the ChatGPT Plus subscription many people already have
- Excellent apps on every platform
- Not citation-verified by default; treat reports as drafts
- Only about 10 reports a month on Plus
- Not available on the free plan