S
SConsensus vs DuckDuckGo
Pricing, features, platforms and who each one suits — side by side.
C
Choose Consensus if…
- you need an API to build on
- you're in its core audience: students, academic researchers
D
Choose DuckDuckGo if…
- you work on iOS, Android, macOS
- you're in its core audience: privacy-conscious internet users, everyday searchers
Side by side
Feature Consensus DuckDuckGo
Pricing modelFreemiumFree
Starting price$20/moFree
Free plan
Free trial
API
Open source
Trains AI on your content—No
PlatformsWeb, APIWeb, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, Chrome
CategoryResearch AssistantsAI Search
CompanyConsensusDuck Duck Go, Inc.
Based in—United States
Founded—2008
Part of——
Key features
C Consensus
- Search across 400M+ scientific papers
- Pro Search and Deep Search synthesized answers
- Ask Paper chat with a single study
- Consensus Meter for scientific agreement on yes/no questions
- Study Snapshots summarizing findings and methods
- Citation Graph of paper relationships
- Citation export in RIS, BibTeX and CSV
- API and MCP access
D DuckDuckGo
- Private web search
- Duck.ai chat available from the search box
- Browsers for iOS, Android, Mac and Windows
- Browser extension that blocks web trackers
- Email Protection service
- Themes and search settings
Plans and prices
From each vendor's site. Prices change — confirm before buying.
Consensus
Free$0
Pro$20/mo or $144/year (~$12/mo billed yearly)
Deep$65/mo or $540/year (~$45/mo billed yearly)
TeamsCustom
EnterpriseCustom
DuckDuckGo
FreeFree
Strengths and limitations
Consensus
- Free plan includes unlimited Papers searches
- Indexes over 400 million scientific papers
- Citation export to RIS, BibTeX and CSV
- API and MCP calls included on every plan
- Free plan limited to 10 Pro messages and 3 Deep reviews a month
- Pro plan includes only 15 Deep reviews a month
- No mobile apps listed; web only
- Support offered in English only
DuckDuckGo
- Search is described as private and free
- Browsers available for iOS, Android, Mac and Windows
- Free tracker-blocking extension
- AI chat (Duck.ai) built into the search experience
- The home page does not describe Duck.ai's features or which AI models it uses
- No API or developer access listed
More comparisons
Other options to consider
SS
Free
S
Free AI-powered search engine for scientific papers across all fields
Research AssistantsFree planAPI
E
EAI research assistant for paper search, systematic reviews and evidence reports
Free, from $49/mo
E
Free, from $49/mo
E
AI research assistant for paper search, systematic reviews and evidence reports
Research AssistantsFree planAPI
N
NN
Freemium
N
AI research notebook that answers questions from the sources you upload
Research AssistantsFree plan
P
PP
Paid
A
AA
Contact
A
AI market intelligence across filings, broker research and expert calls
AI Investing & Stock Research
M
MAI assistant for chat, web search, writing and images at work and home
Free, from $18/mo
M
Free, from $18/mo
M
AI assistant for chat, web search, writing and images at work and home
AI ChatbotsFree plan
Built from each vendor's public website; we haven't tested them hands-on. Editorial policy