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Side-by-side comparison · Research & Search

Elicit vs NotebookLM vs Wokelo

Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.

Elicit

3.8

From $49/user/mo

Best overall

NotebookLM

4.5

From $4.99/mo

Wokelo

3.8

Free to start

Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.

At a glance

Pick it if: Researchers, students and analysts who need to review a lot of papers carefully.

Best overallBest valueEasiest to use

Pick it if: Anyone who needs to understand or explain a set of documents they don't have time to read properly.

Pick it if: Private equity, venture, investment banking, consulting and corporate development teams that research companies and markets every week.

Overview

AttributeElicitNotebookLMWokelo
In one lineFinds, screens and summarises research papers into a comparison table.Upload your own documents and ask questions that only draw on those sources.AI research agents that write company, market and due diligence reports for dealmakers.
Pricing modelFreemiumFreemiumPaid
Starting price$49/user/mo$4.99/moSee website
Free plan Yes Yes No
Works with Claude Code No No Yes

Rating breakdown

Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.

AttributeElicitNotebookLMWokelo
Overall rating3.84.5Winner3.8
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
3.5
5.0
4.0
FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.
4.5
4.5
4.0
Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them.
4.5
4.0
4.0
Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan.
3.0
5.0
3.0
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.
3.5
4.0
4.0

Feature comparison

A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.

AttributeElicitNotebookLMWokelo
Access & platform
Free plan Yes Yes No
Mobile app No Yes–
Desktop app No No–
Browser extension No Yes–
API access Yes– Yes
Teams & business
Team workspace Yes Yes Yes
Enterprise plan or SSO Yes Yes Yes
Connects to other apps Yes Yes Yes
Open source or self-hosted No No No
AI abilities
Works with your files Yes Yes Yes
Understands images– Yes–
Makes images No Yes No
Makes video No Yes No
Writes code No No No
Runs agents or automations Yes No Yes
Learns your brand or style No No–
Works in many languages– Yes–
Capabilities score7/ 1711/ 176/ 17

Pricing

Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.

AttributeElicitNotebookLMWokelo
Plans

Basic

Free

Searching and reading a few papers.

FreeOur pick

Free

Almost everyone. Try this before paying for anything.

EnterpriseOur pick

Custom

Investment, consulting and corporate strategy teams.

ProOur pick

$49/user/mo billed yearly

Anyone doing a real literature review.

Google AI Plus

$4.99/mo

People who hit the free limits now and then.

Scale

$169/user/mo billed yearly

Teams running many reviews at once.

Google AI Pro

$19.99/mo

Heavy users who also want Gemini Pro and Deep Research.

Enterprise

Custom

Universities, pharma and large research groups.

Google AI Ultra

From $99.99/mo

Power users who want the top of everything Google offers.

Which plan to pickStay on Basic unless you have a review to run. When you do, Pro has everything one person needs, and the yearly commitment is the only way to get the quoted price. Scale is for teams, not for a solo researcher who wants more headroom.Stay on Free until it stops you doing something. If that happens, Google AI Pro is the sensible step because it also upgrades Gemini and Deep Research, which you will probably want anyway. AI Plus is a cheap middle step if NotebookLM is all you care about.There is only a sales-led contract. Ask for a trial on a live deal or project before you sign, and check which premium data sources are included at your price.

Key features

AttributeElicitNotebookLMWokelo
Standout features
  • Research Reports
  • Extraction tables
  • Systematic Review workflow
  • Chat with papers
  • Routines
  • Library and sharing
  • Grounded answers
  • Many source types
  • Audio and Video Overviews
  • Studio outputs
  • Discover sources
  • Sharing
  • Research reports
  • Premium data
  • Agent builder and marketplace
  • Slides and Q&A
  • API and MCP

Pros and cons

AttributeElicitNotebookLMWokelo
Pros
  • Extraction tables save days on a literature review
  • Every answer links back to the passage in the paper
  • Systematic review workflow records why papers were included or excluded
  • Routines keep a review current without you remembering to check
  • Free plan is useful for reading and summarising
  • Answers only from your sources and cites the exact passage
  • Free plan is big enough for most small businesses
  • Accepts PDFs, Docs, websites, YouTube and audio as sources
  • Audio Overviews are a clever way to get people to engage with research
  • Simple enough that you can hand it to anyone on the team
  • Cited reports that hold up better to checking than a general chatbot's
  • Premium private-market data built in
  • Builds PowerPoint slides from the research
  • Custom agents that follow your firm's process
  • Strong security and hosting options
Cons
  • $49 a user a month is a lot for anyone outside research
  • Only academic papers; no business, news or grey literature
  • Extractions still need spot-checking against the source
  • Reports and large screens take a while to run
  • Collaboration is locked to the $169 Scale plan
  • Will not research the open web unless you explicitly ask it to find sources
  • Answers can be surface-level on dense material; you still need to read the key parts
  • Audio Overviews take a few minutes and sound alike after a while
  • No way to script or automate it; everything happens in the browser
  • Expensive and sales-led, with no self-serve plan
  • Few independent reviews to judge it on
  • Thinner data on small private companies
  • Overkill for occasional market questions

Who each one is for

AttributeElicitNotebookLMWokelo
Best for
  • Literature reviews
  • Extracting data from papers
  • Screening papers by criteria
  • Comparing studies in a table
  • Summarising long reports
  • Questioning a set of PDFs
  • Turning research into a podcast
  • Study guides and briefings
  • First-pass due diligence on a target
  • Industry and market landscapes
  • Screening and sourcing acquisition targets
  • Competitor and peer comparisons
  • Drafting investment memos and client decks
You'll find it used by
  • Researchers
  • Analysts
  • Clinicians
  • Postgraduate students
  • Consultants
  • Marketers
  • Students
  • Small business owners
  • Private equity firms
  • Venture capital firms
  • Investment banks
  • Management consultants
  • Corporate development teams

Questions people ask

Which is better, Elicit, NotebookLM or Wokelo?

NotebookLM scores highest overall in our ratings (Elicit 3.8/5, NotebookLM 4.5/5 and Wokelo 3.8/5). Elicit is best for literature reviews and extracting data from papers. NotebookLM is best for summarising long reports and questioning a set of PDFs. Wokelo is best for first-pass due diligence on a target and industry and market landscapes.

Which is cheaper, Elicit, NotebookLM or Wokelo?

Elicit: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $49/user/mo. NotebookLM: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $4.99/mo. Wokelo: Pricing isn't published; check the vendor's site for a quote.

Which is easier to use, Elicit, NotebookLM or Wokelo?

NotebookLM rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Anyone who needs to understand or explain a set of documents they don't have time to read properly.

How we compare

Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.

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