Consensus Free Plan: What You Actually Get Before Paying
Consensus has a free plan with unlimited paper searches, 10 Pro messages, and 3 Deep Reviews a month. Here is what it includes and when Pro is worth it.
By Galactic News Editorial · Published 2026-11-11T16:29:38+00:00 · Updated 2026-11-11T16:29:38+00:00
Consensus Free Plan: What You Actually Get Before Paying
Consensus is a search engine for peer-reviewed research. Its free plan costs $0, needs no credit card, and includes unlimited paper searches plus 10 Pro messages, 3 Deep Reviews, and 10 Study Snapshots a month. That is enough to test the tool properly. It is not enough for weekly literature reviews.
What the Consensus free plan includes
The free plan starts with unlimited paper searches. You can search the database of more than 200 million peer-reviewed papers as often as you like. Each search returns cited answers drawn from the studies themselves.
You also get 10 Pro messages a month. A Pro message analyzes up to 20 papers and writes a cited answer. You get 3 Deep Reviews a month. A Deep Review runs up to 20 searches, screens more than 1,000 papers, and analyzes up to 100 of them, typically around 50. It produces a structured report with findings and gaps.
Study Snapshots are included too: 10 a month. A snapshot summarizes what the evidence says on a question. API and MCP access is included on every plan, with 30 calls a month on Free. That lets Consensus work inside ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Microsoft 365 Copilot.
Where the free plan stops
The caps are the whole story. Ten Pro messages run out fast once you research seriously. Three Deep Reviews a month is generous for a free tier, but it is still three. Unused allowances do not roll over. A quiet month does not bank credits for a busy one. The snapshot cap of 10 a month and the API cap of 30 calls a month bind heavy users too.
What Consensus does well, and what it cannot do
Consensus is built for one job: answering questions from peer-reviewed research. It searches more than 200 million papers and links every claim to its source. That makes it useful for students, clinicians, journalists, and analysts who need evidence, not opinions.
Its limits are honest ones. Consensus says its own guidance plainly: the service does not cover all research, and a model can misread or summarize a real source incorrectly. Always open the cited papers for claims that matter. It only covers published research, so business, product, and news questions are out of scope.
The free plan is the right way to learn these limits. Ten Pro messages and three Deep Reviews are enough to see how the tool handles your questions, including the ones it answers badly. No credit card is needed to sign up, and the free plan has no end date.
The free plan also covers only published research. It is no use for business, product, or news questions. And like any summary tool, it can misread a study or miss context. Check the cited papers before you rely on an answer.
Consensus free plan vs Pro and Deep
| Plan | Price | Pro messages | Deep Reviews | Study Snapshots | API and MCP calls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 10 a month | 3 a month | 10 a month | 30 a month |
| Pro | $20 a month, or $144 a year | Unlimited | 15 a month | Unlimited | 500 a month |
| Deep | $65 a month, or $540 a year | Unlimited | 200 a month | Unlimited | 2,000 a month |
Annual billing cuts Pro to $12 a month and Deep to $45 a month. Pro saves $96 a year against monthly billing. Deep saves $240 a year. Extra API and MCP calls cost $0.05 each on paid plans.
Discounts worth knowing
Students and faculty can apply for a 40 percent discount with a verified school email. That cuts Pro to about $86 a year. Clinicians may qualify for 25 percent off. Team plans are priced per user and include 50 Deep Reviews per user a month. Enterprise covers organizations with more than 200 users.
Who should stay on the free plan
- Occasional fact-checks: a few questions a month fit easily inside 10 Pro messages.
- Trying the tool: three Deep Reviews a month is a real allowance for evaluation.
- Light research: if you check what the research says a few times a month, free is enough.
The upgrade signal is simple. If you ration Pro messages or need more than three Deep Reviews a month, Pro at $12 a month billed annually is the next step. If you need more than 15 Deep Reviews a month, only Deep at $45 a month billed annually closes the gap. There is no plan between 15 and 200.
Bottom line
The Consensus free plan is a real allowance, not a teaser. Ten Pro messages and three Deep Reviews a month let you evaluate the tool on real questions. Pro at $12 a month billed annually is the sensible upgrade for anyone researching weekly. Deep is only for people whose job is literature reviews. Start free, upgrade when the caps bite, and always open the cited papers before you quote them.