Compare AI tools

	Elicit S	Recraft S	DALL-E 3 B	Fathom S
Tagline	AI research assistant for academic literature.	Vector + raster AI for designers. Actually controls the output.	OpenAI's image model. Built into ChatGPT Plus.	Meeting notes, free forever for individuals.
Category	Research	Image	Image	Meetings
Pricing	Free + $12-$42/mo	Free + $12-$48/mo	Included with ChatGPT Plus $20/mo	Free for individuals + $15-$29/user/mo teams
Best for	Grad students, researchers, anyone doing literature reviews.	Designers, brand teams, anyone needing vector output or tight style control.	ChatGPT Plus users who want images without paying extra.	Solo operators, freelancers, small teams on a budget.
Strengths	Searches 125M+ papers Extracts + synthesizes findings across papers Systematic review workflow	Exports SVG vectors — rare in AI image gen Strong style control + consistency Brand kit for consistent outputs	Excellent prompt understanding Built into ChatGPT — no extra subscription Good at composition + concepts	Unlimited free tier for solo use Strong summaries + action items Works in Zoom, Meet, Teams
Weaknesses	Academic-only Can hallucinate citations — verify everything	Less hyped than Midjourney Learning curve for non-designers	Aesthetic ceiling below Midjourney + Ideogram Text rendering worse than Ideogram No fine control	Bot-joining model Team features gated
Kai's verdict	S-tier for academic research. Nothing else comes close for systematic reviews.	S-tier for designers. The only one that takes vectors seriously.	B-tier standalone, A-tier value if you already pay ChatGPT. Don't pay for it separately.	S-tier for solo + free. The best free option, hands down.
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