Elicit

What it does

Done-for-you service

NoYou run the software yourself on a self-serve subscription. Enterprise adds people for onboarding and training, but Elicit does not staff a team to build or operate research agents on your behalf.Dedicated customer success team providing training, onboarding, and success planningelicit.com/pricing ↗

How much it does unattended

Runs autonomously

YesOnce a session starts the agent plans and executes end to end without supervision (you can close the tab and return to a finished output), though it may ask clarifying questions before it begins.The Research Agent breaks your prompt into a systematic plan, then executes it step by step. You can watch which sources it's consulting and how it's…support.elicit.com/en/articles/14756886… ↗

Agent permissions

PartlyThe agent runs a whole plan unattended once launched; the only documented gates are the clarifying questions it asks up front, an effort slider, and an explicit approval before a new skill is saved.Nothing is saved until you approve it, and the options at that point are create, revise, or cancel.support.elicit.com/en/articles/16647708… ↗

Not established: Multi-agent

Which models it runs on

Claude

YesAnthropic is a named subprocessor whose models generate Elicit's AI responses, so Claude is in the stack, but as Elicit's own choice, with no Claude toggle exposed to the buyer.Anthropic's models are used to give AI responses.trust.elicit.com/subprocessors ↗

GPT

YesOpenAI appears in the same subprocessor inventory with the same purpose, so GPT models also serve responses, again chosen by Elicit rather than selected by the user.OpenAI's models are used to give AI responses.trust.elicit.com/subprocessors ↗

Open models

NoElicit's complete subprocessor inventory names exactly two model providers, both proprietary; the only other ML entry is Coreweave hosting Elicit's own custom models, and no open-weight option is offered to users.OpenAI's models are used to give AI responses.trust.elicit.com/subprocessors ↗

Model choice

NoElicit picks and ensembles models itself as part of its accuracy approach; no plan, settings page or API parameter anywhere on the site lets a buyer choose which model runs.We use strategies like process supervision, prompt engineering, ensembling multiple models, double-checking our results with custom models and…support.elicit.com/en/articles/14757979… ↗

Where you use it

In your editor

PartlyElicit ships no IDE or editor extension of its own; reaching it from an editor means connecting its hosted MCP server from any MCP-compatible client, which needs Pro or above.All three are also available through the Elicit MCP server, so Elicit can return cited answers inside Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or any MCP-compatible…support.elicit.com/en/articles/14757400… ↗

On the command line

PartlyThere is no first-party Elicit CLI product; the vendor publishes a CLI tool among its API integration examples, so terminal use means running that sample against the Pro-and-above API.Working examples in curl, Python, and JavaScript, plus integrations (CLI tool, Slack bot, Claude Code skill)docs.elicit.com ↗

In your pipeline

NoNo CI or pull-request surface; Elicit's own surface enumeration is the web app and the API, and the closest published case is a customer's own scheduled jobs.The Research Agent is available through elicit.com or via API to bring into your workflows.elicit.com/blog/introducing-elicit-rese… ↗

In a browser

YesThe primary surface is the hosted web app at elicit.com, where sessions, projects, library and admin settings all live; the API is the alternative rather than the main route.The Research Agent is available through elicit.com or via API to bring into your workflows.elicit.com/blog/introducing-elicit-rese… ↗

Whose machine it runs on

Self-hosted

PartlyOnly the Enterprise column mentions custom deployments such as single-tenancy, and Elicit never documents that as running on customer infrastructure; every self-serve plan is vendor-hosted only.Enterprise-level security and controls, including SSO & SAML, 2FA, user analytics, domain verification, and custom deployments (e.g. single-tenancy)elicit.com/pricing ↗

Open source

NoThe terms reserve all rights in the service to Elicit and separately bar reverse engineering or decompiling it; only an API examples repo and a third-party licence list are public.Using the Service does not give you ownership of any intellectual property rights in or to any part of the Service.elicit.com/operations/terms ↗

What it costs to run

How it meters

PartlyBilling is per seat per month, but the work itself draws on a monthly usage pool whose size Elicit never states in any unit; overage is sold in fixed $100 increments of extra usage.Usage isn't a fixed amount per action, because the work varies from one task to the next.support.elicit.com/en/articles/15646622… ↗

Free tier

YesBasic is a standing free plan rather than a trial, giving unlimited paper search, summaries and chat with limited Research Agent and Report usage; no call or card is mentioned.Yes! While our most powerful workflows and features are on the paid plan, we also offer a generous free plan so you can use Elicit.elicit.com ↗

API access

PartlyA documented REST API covering search, reports and systematic review exists, but it starts at Pro; the docs list Basic and Plus as having no access at all to search requests.The Elicit API is available on the Pro, Scale, and Enterprise plans.support.elicit.com/en/articles/14757400… ↗

MCP server

PartlyElicit runs a hosted MCP server with OAuth 2.0 so another agent can query it directly, exposing the full API surface, but the entitlement begins at Pro rather than the free plan.The Elicit MCP and API are available to customers on the Pro, Scale, and Enterprise plans.support.elicit.com/en/articles/14757404… ↗

Bring your own key

PartlyYou bring your own documents and your institution's publisher subscriptions; the vendor documents no way to supply your own model keys or inference.Upload your own documents and integrate company subscriptions to access more full-text papers.elicit.com/solutions/research-agent ↗

Buying it for a team

A company can buy it

YesAn organisation buys a Scale team subscription billed centrally to an admin, or an Enterprise contract; invoice-based billing and institutional contracts are both documented separately.Centralized billing: All team members' subscriptions are billed to the Team Admin in a single purchase.support.elicit.com/en/articles/14759330… ↗

Seat model

YesPricing is strictly per user per month with the buyer choosing seat count at signup and adding or removing seats later; no floor or ceiling is published, and removals get no prorated refund.When signing up, choose the number of team members on your subscription. You can add or remove team members at any point in your subscription.support.elicit.com/en/articles/14759330… ↗

Pooled budget

YesOn a Scale team the included usage is the sum of the seats and everyone draws from one shared pool, so a heavy user can consume a quiet colleague's share without any per-seat split.A team's included usage is the sum of its seats, so a 4-member team has 4x an individual's usage, and the whole team draws from one pool.support.elicit.com/en/articles/14759330… ↗

Admin controls

PartlyAdmin powers cover membership, seats, usage visibility and what happens to a departing member's work; nothing published lets an admin constrain what the agent may do or which sources it may reach.User management: Team admins have access to an Admin Dashboard to invite or remove team members, view usage, and purchase additional seats.support.elicit.com/en/articles/14759330… ↗

Audit log

PartlyEnterprise lists user analytics and Scale admins can view team usage, but no log of administrative actions is documented anywhere; the auditability Elicit advertises is of review decisions, not of admins.Enterprise-level security and controls, including SSO & SAML, 2FA, user analytics, domain verification, and custom deployments (e.g. single-tenancy)elicit.com/pricing ↗

Single sign-on

PartlySAML SSO with 2FA and domain verification appears only in the Enterprise column; OIDC is never mentioned, and self-serve plans up to Scale sign in with email or a Google social login.Enterprise-level security and controls, including SSO & SAML, 2FA, user analytics, domain verification, and custom deployments (e.g. single-tenancy)elicit.com/pricing ↗

What happens to your code

Opt out of training

PartlyOnly Enterprise is promised no training on your data by default; no opt-out control is documented for Basic, Plus, Pro or Scale, though uploaded PDFs are stated to stay private to the account.elicit.com/pricing ↗

Data residency

PartlyJurisdiction is disclosed and it is the United States only: every one of the fifteen listed subprocessors is US-based; no EU or UK region is offered, with transfers handled contractually by SCCs.Our servers are located in the United States.elicit.com/operations/privacy ↗

Getting out

PartlyData export is broad (citations to RIS and BIB, review stages to CSV or XLSX, reports to PDF or DOCX), but unused monthly usage expires each cycle and cancelling refunds nothing already paid.Unused usage does not roll over to the next month.support.elicit.com/en/articles/15646622… ↗

Certifications

YesA Vanta trust centre publishes a SOC 2 Type 2 report plus SOC 3, Cyber Essentials, VPAT and HECVAT; GDPR and CCPA are handled through a DPA with standard contractual clauses.Elicit Research, PBC SOC 2 Type 2 Report 07152025.pdftrust.elicit.com ↗