In short
How they differ.
Worked out from the makers' own pages, read Oct 20, 2026. Prices change; check before you pay.
- Only Elicit has a free plan.
- Elicit's cheapest paid plan is cheaper: $11 a month against $20.
- Claude Research also has a phone app and computer app.
- Claude Research shipped an update more recently (Oct 7, 2026).
Side by side
The details.
| Claude Research | Elicit | |
|---|---|---|
| Made by | Anthropic · United States | Elicit · United States |
| What it says it is | “With research, Claude investigates your question in depth.” | “The AI Research Assistant” |
| Free plan | NoResearch is not on the Free plan (pricing table: Research "No" for Free). Available on Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise. | YesBasic (free): limited Research Agent and Research Reports; unlimited search across more than 138 million papers. |
| Plans | Free: freePro: $20 a monthMax 5x: $100 a monthTeam (standard seat): $25 a month | Basic: freePlus: $11 a monthPro: $49 a monthScale: $169 a monthEnterprise: not in US$ |
| Runs on | web, desktop, iOS, Android | web |
| Latest update | Introducing Claude Haiku 5.5, Oct 7, 2026 | Routines and more flexible research with the Agent, Sep 30, 2026 |
| Its terms | “We may use your chats or coding sessions to improve our models, if:”What it does with your data · Anthropic Privacy Center: How do you use personal data in model training? | “PDFs you upload are encrypted and remain private to your account only, until you choose to delete them.”What it does with your data · Elicit Help: Privacy for uploaded papers |
| Disputes | None on file | None on file |
| Sources | Prices, Oct 20, 2026 · Description · company-reported | Prices, Oct 20, 2026 · Description · company-reported |
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