P
PDuckDuckGo vs Elicit
Pricing, features, platforms and who each one suits — side by side.
D
Choose DuckDuckGo if…
- you work on iOS, Android, macOS
- you're in its core audience: privacy-conscious internet users, everyday searchers
E
Choose Elicit if…
- you need an API to build on
- you're in its core audience: academic researchers, pharma and medtech research teams
Side by side
Feature DuckDuckGo Elicit
Pricing modelFreeFreemium
Starting priceFree$49/mo
Free plan
Free trial
API
Open source
Trains AI on your contentNo—
Inline citations—
Citation export—
Reference manager import—
Model choice—
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, ChromeWeb, API
CategoryAI SearchResearch Assistants
CompanyDuck Duck Go, Inc.Elicit, inc.
Based inUnited States—
Founded2008—
Part of——
Key features
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
E Elicit
- Search across 138M+ academic papers
- Automated screening and data extraction for systematic reviews
- Research reports with sentence-level citations
- Research Agent for in-depth questions
- Routines that refresh work with new research
- Library to store and reuse sources
- API and MCP server for agent integrations
- Zotero import
Plans and prices
From each vendor's site. Prices change — confirm before buying.
DuckDuckGo
FreeFree
Elicit
BasicFree
Pro$49/user/mo ($588 billed annually)
Scale$229/user/mo ($2,748 billed annually)
EnterpriseCustom
Strengths and limitations
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
Elicit
- Free plan includes unlimited paper search, summaries and chat
- AI claims backed by sentence-level citations
- API access starts at the Pro plan
- Enterprise plan does not train on your data by default
- Free plan has limited Research Agent and Reports usage
- Collaboration features require the $229/user/month Scale plan
- Paid prices are listed on annual billing
- No mobile apps listed
More comparisons
Other options to consider
PP
Paid
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
C
CGeneral-purpose AI chat assistant for writing, research, coding and everyday tasks
Free, from $8/mo
C
Free, from $8/mo
C
General-purpose AI chat assistant for writing, research, coding and everyday tasks
AI ChatbotsFree plan
G
GG
Freemium
G
Google's AI assistant for chat, research, images, video and everyday tasks
AI ChatbotsFree planAPI
C
CC
Free, from $17/mo
D
DD
Paid
Built from each vendor's public website; we haven't tested them hands-on. Editorial policy