Elicit vs Perplexity (2026): Which AI App Is Better?

Both are popular ai research & search. Here is how Elicit and Perplexity stack up on price, strengths and weaknesses, and which one we would pick.

Elicit

Find, screen and extract data from academic papers

8.2 /10

Pricing: Free plan, paid from $12/mo

Pros

Purpose-built for literature reviews
Data extraction into tables
Cheap Plus plan

Cons

Coverage gaps for some fields
Extractions must be checked

Visit Elicit ↗

Perplexity

Answer engine that searches the web and cites every source

9.0 /10

Pricing: Free plan, paid from $20/mo

Pros

Cited answers you can verify
Deep Research produces thorough reports
Model choice on Pro

Cons

Citations sometimes point to weak sources
Free tier limits Pro searches

Visit Perplexity ↗

Elicit vs Perplexity at a glance

	Elicit	Perplexity
Editor score	8.2 / 10	9.0 / 10
Pricing model	Freemium	Freemium
Starting price	$12/mo	$20/mo
Reader upvotes	0	0
Best for	academic, literature review, papers	search, citations, research

Our pick

Perplexity edges it with a score of 9.0 versus 8.2. Perplexity is the better fit if you value: cited answers you can verify, deep research produces thorough reports. Choose Elicit instead if you need: purpose-built for literature reviews, data extraction into tables.