Compare AI tools
Side-by-side: what they do, what they cost, what Kai actually thinks. Pass up to 4 tools via
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Elicit S | MagicSchool S | GitHub Copilot B | Perplexity S | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tagline | AI research assistant for academic literature. | AI platform built for teachers. Lesson plans + IEPs + admin. | Microsoft/GitHub's autocomplete. Deep VS Code + JetBrains integration. | AI search done right. Cited answers, not chat theater. |
| Category | research | education | coding | research |
| Pricing | Free + $12-$42/mo | Free + $100/yr Plus + school plans | Free (limited) + $10/mo Pro + $19/mo Business | Free + $20/mo Pro |
| Best for | Grad students, researchers, anyone doing literature reviews. | Teachers prepping materials. School districts. | Teams with GitHub already. Devs who don't want to change IDEs. | Replacing Google for any question where you want a cited answer in seconds. |
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| Kai's verdict | S-tier for academic research. Nothing else comes close for systematic reviews. | S-tier for teachers. If you teach K-12, start here this week. | B-tier. Solid for autocomplete but the category moved past it. Pick Cursor unless you can't. | S-tier for search. I use it before Google now. If you're still Googling everything, try this for a week. |
| Link | Open → | Open → | Open → | Open → |