Consensus vs Perplexity Pro
Perplexity Pro is a general answer engine at $17 per month billed annually. Its page sells research and work tasks, names no clinical sources, and lists Deep research with models from OpenAI, Google and Anthropic. Consensus Pro is $12 per month billed annually with unlimited Pro messages, 15 Deep reviews a month and a Meter showing how much the evidence agrees on a yes/no question. An academic team that also wants documents and apps built from its research picks Perplexity.
A 2026 JMIR test gave the free versions of nine tools 15 retracted articles, so it measured handling of retractions and not clinical questions. Perplexity answered all five questions correctly for 5 articles and put a retracted article in topic overviews in 6 cases. Consensus produced no fully correct response set.
A US physician asking clinical questions is better served by Consensus. Its vendor says Medical mode draws on about 50,000 clinical guidelines, it takes up to 40% off with a valid NPI, and third-party sources conflict on whether any Perplexity tier signs a BAA, while Consensus states no BAA position either.
Research tools · Reviewed November 1, 2026
Consensus
by Consensus · founded 2021
AI search across 250M+ research papers (vendor figure) with a Consensus Meter and Deep Search.
Perplexity Pro
by Perplexity AI · founded 2022
General-purpose answer engine with inline citations and Deep research. Perplexity does not market it as a clinical tool.
When to pick each one
Consensus
- Consensus Meter on yes/no questions
- Vendor says Medical mode covers 50,000 guidelines
- Pro $12 per month, billed annually
Perplexity Pro
- Deep research across several AI models
- Pro $17 per month, billed annually
Score
Each row shows points earned of points available under the published rubric.
Consensus
44of 100
Perplexity Pro
53of 100
| Dimension | Consensus | Perplexity Pro | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peer-reviewed papers | 0 / 21 | 8.4 / 21 | -8.4 |
| RCT / meta-analysis / systematic review | 0 / 6 | 0 / 6 | 0 |
| Funding & adoption signal | 12 / 12 | 8.4 / 12 | +3.6 |
| Pricing transparency | 6.5 / 6.5 | 6.5 / 6.5 | 0 |
| Years in market | 4.2 / 6 | 4.2 / 6 | 0 |
Scroll horizontally to see every column.
Pricing
Consensus
| Tier | Monthly | Annual | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | n/a | n/a | 10 Pro messages per month and up to 3 Deep reviews. |
| Pro | n/a | $144 | Unlimited Pro messages and 15 Deep reviews per month. The month-to-month price is not shown. |
| Deep | n/a | $540 | 200 Deep reviews per month. The month-to-month price is not shown. |
Perplexity Pro
| Tier | Monthly | Annual | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | n/a | n/a | A free tier exists. |
| Pro | n/a | $204 | The monthly-billed price is not shown. Limited-time +$40 free Computer credits listed. |
| Max | n/a | $2,004 | Adds expert-level research. The monthly-billed price is not shown. |
Evidence
Consensus
No FDA decision, peer-reviewed study or community post in our record.
Perplexity Pro
Peer-reviewed
1 PubMed record names Perplexity Pro.
Compliance and integrations
Documented from each vendor’s own pages.
| Spec | Consensus | Perplexity Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | ||
| HIPAA | ||
| SOC 2 Type II | ||
| EHR integrations | Not specified | Not specified |
| Founded | 2021 | 2022 |
| HQ | US | US |
Scroll horizontally to see both columns.
Common questions
Open the full research tools comparison
Literature search, paper summarization, citation analysis, systematic-review extraction. Consensus and OpenEvidence have absorbed most clinician research traffic in 2026. We compared the full universe.