Is Elicit free?
Research assistant with an ongoing Basic plan for scholarly search, summaries, and chat with papers.
Current free offer summary
The Basic plan includes unlimited paper search, unlimited paper summaries, unlimited chat with full-text papers, source viewing, and Zotero import. Research Agent and Research Reports are available only in limited amounts, and Elicit does not publish a fixed Basic-plan quantity on the checked pricing page.
What Elicit does
Elicit helps researchers discover academic papers, summarize findings, and ask questions grounded in full-text research. Its Basic plan provides ongoing access to core paper search and reading features, while more automated research reports, exports, and API access are reserved for paid plans.
- Academic paper search
- Paper summaries
- Full-text paper chat
- Source viewing
- Zotero import
- Paid API
Best for
- ✓ Finding academic papers
- ✓ Summarizing research
- ✓ Chatting with full-text papers
- ✓ Starting a literature review
Important limits
- • Research Agent and Research Reports are limited on Basic
- • The free pricing page does not state a fixed report quantity
- • API access is not included in the Basic plan
- • Some advanced exports and workflows require payment
FreeAIList verdict
A strong free research-reading tool because its core search and summary features are ongoing and clearly described. Treat automated reports as a limited bonus rather than an unlimited feature.
Paid plans: Paid individual plans expand automated research workflows, exports, and library features. API access requires Pro or a higher plan.
Official sources
These links support the important free-offer claims on this page.
- Elicit pricing ↗
Elicit lists unlimited search, summaries, full-text paper chat, source viewing, and Zotero import on Basic while labeling Research Agent and reports as limited.
- Elicit API documentation ↗
Elicit documents its API and states that API access requires a Pro or higher subscription.