Head to head · Chat & research · updated Oct 25, 2026
ChatGPT vs Consensus
ChatGPT scores 79 to Consensus's 47 on public evidence for deep research & AI search, and they rank #1 and #4 there. Both are free to start. Numbers below are the same public signals the ranking uses, recomputed nightly — nothing here is sponsored.
ChatGPT
OpenAI's general-purpose chat assistant with web browsing, file analysis, image generation and voice.
+ The broadest feature set in one place: Deep Research, code-executing data analysis on uploaded spreadsheets, voice mode and a huge library of custom GPTs.
− Free and Plus tiers hit message caps on the best models at busy times, and answers can be confidently wrong without citations unless you ask it to search.
Consensus
A search engine over peer-reviewed papers that summarizes what the research says and shows a yes/no/possibly meter.
+ The Consensus Meter gives an at-a-glance split of studies supporting or opposing a claim, with each paper linked.
− Only indexes academic literature, so it is useless for questions the scientific record does not cover, and paper summaries can oversimplify findings.
Side by side
public evidence| ChatGPT | Consensus | |
|---|---|---|
| Evidence score / 100 | 79 | 47 |
| GitHub stars | closed source | closed source |
| Hacker News stories, 30d | 224 | 11 |
| Release-feed mentions, 30d | 72 | 3 |
| Last activity | 0 days ago | 7 days ago |
| Pricing | Free tier · Plus $20/mo, Pro $200/mo | Free tier · Premium from $8.99/mo |
| Platforms | web, mac, windows, ios, android, api | web |
| Maker | OpenAI | Consensus |
Which one?
Pick ChatGPT if
- you want the stronger public evidence (79 vs 47)
- you need it on android, api, ios
Best for an all-round first assistant to try.
Pick Consensus if
The Consensus Meter gives an at-a-glance split of studies supporting or opposing a claim, with each paper linked.
Best for checking what studies say about a claim.