Try Wonders for freeSearch for a student discount on almost any AI research tool and the results fill up with coupon aggregators. Most of what they list was never published by the tool. This page only reports what each company says on its own website, with a link and the date we checked: 21 September 2026. Prices are in US dollars unless noted, and they change, so follow the links before you pay.
We make Wonders, so treat our own row with the same scepticism and check it against our pricing page.
The short answer
| Tool | Student or education discount | How you get it | Lowest paid plan (list price) | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wonders | 50% off for verified students and faculty: $6/month billed yearly | Verify an academic email or use Student Beans | Plus: $12/month billed yearly | 14-day free trial |
| Elicit | No student discount. Separate, lower Academic pricing | Select "Academic" on the pricing page | Plus (Academic): $11/month billed annually, or $19 monthly | Yes (Basic) |
| Consensus | Up to 40% off for students and faculty | Valid school email, via "Claim your discount" | Pro: $12/month billed annually ($144) | Yes |
| SciSpace | None specific to students | n/a | Premium: $12/month billed annually, or $20 monthly | Not listed on the pricing page |
| Paperguide | 30% academic discount | Verify a university email | Plus: $12/month billed annually, or $19 monthly | Yes |
| Scite | Discount for students and academics who recommend Scite to their institution | Email your librarian and copy Scite; they send a code | Basic: $20/month billed yearly, 7-day trial | Connect tier only (no search or Assistant) |
| ResearchRabbit | No student tier. Country-based pricing | Automatic by country | ResearchRabbit+: $10/month on the annual plan, or $12.50 monthly | Yes, "forever" |
Sources: Elicit pricing, Consensus pricing, SciSpace pricing, Paperguide pricing, Scite pricing, ResearchRabbit pricing, Wonders pricing. All accessed 21 September 2026.
Tool by tool
Elicit
Elicit's pricing page has no student discount and no student code. What it does have is a selector that switches between Industry and Academic pricing, and the academic side is much cheaper:
| Plan | Academic, billed annually | Academic, billed monthly | Industry, billed annually | Industry, billed monthly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | Free | Free | Free | Free |
| Plus | $11/month ($132/year) | $19/month | Not offered | Not offered |
| Pro | $39/month ($468/year) | $69/month | $49/month ($588/year) | $75/month |
| Scale | $89/month ($1,068/year) | $149/month | $169/month ($2,028/year) | $279/month |
The free Basic plan includes unlimited search and summaries, with limited use of the Research Agent and reports. Exports to RIS, CSV and BibTeX start at Plus. Universities can buy Enterprise licences, so ask your library before paying yourself.
Consensus
Consensus states on its pricing page that students and faculty with a valid school email, and US healthcare professionals with a valid NPI number, "can get up to 40% off a subscription." List prices are $12/month billed annually for Pro ($144) and $45/month billed annually for Deep ($540). The free plan includes basic paper search, 10 Pro messages and up to 3 Deep reviews a month. The page says "up to," so the exact percentage may depend on the plan you choose.
SciSpace
SciSpace lists Premium at $20/month, or $12/month billed annually, with Advanced and Max tiers above it. Its pricing FAQ answers "Do you offer discounts?" with a general coupon for yearly plans, shown on the page itself; on the day we checked, a banner described it as a flash sale ending 21 September 2026. There is no discount tied to student status. SciSpace also sells a paraphraser and an AI detector alongside its research tools. Some course policies restrict tools like these, so check yours before using them for assessed work.
Paperguide
Paperguide shows an "Academic Discount: Save 30% with valid university emails" banner with a verify-email step. List prices are $19/month for Plus ($12/month billed annually) and $49/month for Pro ($29/month billed annually). There is a free plan with monthly AI credits.
Scite
Scite's pricing page says: "We do offer discounts for students and academics if you recommend Scite to your institution." You email your library, copy Scite's support and sales addresses, and they send a code. The amount is not stated. List price is $20/month billed yearly for Basic and $50/month billed yearly for Pro, each with a 7-day trial. The free Connect tier does not include the Assistant or search. Scite also sells team and enterprise plans, so check whether your library already has access.
ResearchRabbit
ResearchRabbit has a free plan ("$0, forever") with unlimited searches and collections and up to 50 seed articles. ResearchRabbit+ is $10/month on the annual plan or $12.50 monthly, and the page notes country-based discounts across more than 100 countries. There is no student tier.
Wonders
Wonders Plus is $12/month billed yearly. Verified students and faculty get 50% off, which is $6/month billed yearly. Verification is an academic email address (for example .edu, .ac.uk, .edu.au and German university domains) or Student Beans. Every plan starts with a 14-day free trial. If your university address is not recognised, or you cannot afford it, email scholarship@readwonders.com. Details are on the students page.
Other tools students ask about
- Connected Papers: free for 5 graphs a month; the Academic plan is $3/month billed annually ($36), against $10/month for Business. Source.
- Paperpile: 50% off for students, faculty, researchers and eligible nonprofits; $4.15/month billed annually on the Regular plan, with a 30-day trial. Source.
- Zotero: free and open source. You only pay for cloud file storage beyond 300 MB, from $20/year for 2 GB. Source.
- Semantic Scholar: free.
Why tools that draft the text for you are not in this comparison
We left out tools whose main job is to produce the text. Jenni AI's home page lists an AI Essay Writer, an Essay Expander and a Paragraph Generator among its tools. ThesisAI's home page is headed "One prompt, fully cited." and says it turns the papers you upload into "a referenced first draft that you review, edit and finish yourself"; the same page says what it hands back is a starting point, not a document to submit unread. Both checked 21 September 2026. This page is about tools for finding, reading and citing sources, so we did not compare drafting tools. Whether you may submit AI-drafted text depends on your institution and the assignment, so check the policy before you pay for one. Our own position is on the Don't cheat page.
Three ways to pay less, whatever the tool
- Ask your library first. Elicit, Scite, Consensus and Wonders all sell institutional licences. If your university has one, you pay nothing.
- Use your university email. Every real discount above is verified through a school address, not a code from a coupon site.
- Use the free plan or trial for a defined task. Run the search for one chapter during a trial, export your references to Zotero, and decide afterwards.
How we checked
On 21 September 2026 we opened each tool's public pricing page in a browser, switched between monthly and annual billing (and between Academic and Industry on Elicit), and recorded what was displayed. We did not create accounts, test codes or contact sales teams, so discounts that are only offered by email are not covered. We will update the date above whenever we re-check. If a price here is out of date, tell us at support@readwonders.com.
