AnswerThis

What is AnswerThis?

AnswerThis is an AI research assistant built for the full academic research workflow: finding relevant literature, screening papers, running systematic reviews and meta-analyses, and drafting citation-backed content for papers, dissertations, or theses. It searches a database of more than 250 million papers, offers an AI Writer for citation-backed drafting, and syncs with reference managers like Zotero and Mendeley.

Higher tiers add full-text AI screening for systematic reviews, extended-thinking models for more rigorous synthesis, and eventually a personal human research assistant on the top plan. It targets everyone from individual graduate students to pharma/CRO teams doing regulatory-grade literature reviews and trial-landscape research.

Key features

• Searches 250M+ academic papers with grounded, cited answers
• AI Writer drafts citation-backed content for papers, dissertations, and theses
• Systematic review and meta-analysis workflows with full-text AI screening
• Zotero and Mendeley sync for reference management
• Personal research library with adjustable size limits by plan
• Personal human research assistant available on the top-tier Max plan

How to get started

1. Search your research topic across 250M+ indexed papers
2. Build a personal library from search results or uploaded PDFs
3. Run a systematic review or ask AnswerThis follow-up questions with citations
4. Use the AI Writer to draft citation-backed sections of your paper
5. Sync your library to Zotero or Mendeley for reference management

AnswerThis pricing

AnswerThis's Free plan includes a small number of basic queries per month and a 50-paper library with no expiry. Pro costs $35/month (seat) for unlimited basic queries and monthly systematic reviews, Lab/Team costs $75/month (minimum 3 seats, billed annually) for team collaboration, and Max/University costs $250/month for unlimited usage and campus-wide site licenses.

Our take: Distinctive for going beyond general research Q&A into full systematic-review and meta-analysis workflows with full-text AI screening, aimed at academic and regulatory-grade literature work specifically.

Prices verified 2026-09. Plans change often — confirm on the official site above before you buy.

Use cases

• Graduate students conducting literature reviews for a thesis or dissertation
• Research teams running systematic reviews and meta-analyses collaboratively
• Pharma, CRO, and HEOR teams needing regulatory-grade evidence synthesis
• Academic libraries offering campus-wide AI research tools to students

AnswerThis vs. alternatives

FAQ

Is AnswerThis free to use?

AnswerThis's plans: Free; Pro $35/mo; Lab/Team $75/mo; Max/University $250/mo. Pricing and free-tier limits change over time, so check the official site above for the latest details.

What is AnswerThis used for?

AI research assistant for literature search, systematic reviews, and citation-backed academic writing across 250M+ papers.

Who is AnswerThis best for?

AnswerThis is a good fit for graduate students conducting literature reviews for a thesis or dissertation, or research teams running systematic reviews and meta-analyses collaboratively.

What are the alternatives to AnswerThis?

Commonly compared alternatives include Elicit, Consensus, and Scite, see the comparison above for how they differ.

How much does AnswerThis cost?

AnswerThis has a free tier with a small monthly query allowance; paid plans start at $35/month (Pro) and scale to $75/month (Lab & Team, minimum 3 seats) and $250/month (Max/University) for unlimited usage and institutional features.