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The API is self-serve on every Consensus plan. Your plan sets how many calls you get each month, how many papers each request can return, and which features you can use.

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Get a key

1

Open the dashboard

In Consensus, click your profile icon and choose API & MCP Dashboard.
2

Create a key

Open Keys and clients, click New key, and name it. The full key is shown once.
3

Send it on every request

Pass the key in the x-api-key header. Requests without a valid key return 401.

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What each plan includes

Every plan can use every search filter. Compare plans at consensus.app/pricing.

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How calls are counted

  • One call per 100 papers returned, rounded up, with a minimum of one call per request. A request that returns 20 papers is 1 call; 150 papers is 2 calls.
  • API and MCP share one monthly pool. Searches from your API key and from your MCP connection draw down the same allowance.
  • Usage resets on the 1st of each month. Track it in the Usage tab of the API & MCP Dashboard.

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Additional usage

Pro, Teams, and Deep can keep making calls past the included amount, up to the plan’s maximum, at $0.05 per call. Additional usage is off by default; turn it on in the API & MCP Dashboard. Free plans stop at 30 calls.

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Page size and pagination

  • page_size defaults to 20. A larger value is capped to your plan’s maximum rather than rejected, so check the page_size echoed in the response.
  • Pages are zero-indexed. Requesting page=1 or later needs a paid plan; on Free it returns 403.
  • A query returns at most 1,000 results in total. (page + 1) × page_size can’t exceed 1,000 on any plan. With page_size=250, pages 0–3 cover the full 1,000. To go wider, split the topic into narrower queries or tighter filters.

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Rate limits

Every self-serve plan allows one request per second per account. A faster request returns 429 with a retry-after header; wait that long and retry. Enterprise accounts can have custom limits.

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Errors

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Enterprise

Enterprise adds custom call volumes and rate limits, up to 1,000 papers per request, and Bearer-token authentication:
For Enterprise access, contact sales. Setting Consensus up behind an AI gateway or in Microsoft 365 Copilot? See the Enterprise guides.

Get started

Your first request, and a real response with full-text excerpts.

MCP plans and access

The same plans on the MCP server, with its per-plan result and field limits.