Horizon alternatives
Horizon by Sheng Qiang costs Free (OSS) and is open source. If you need something cheaper, open source, self-hosted or simply different, here are 10 alternatives that do the same job, ranked by how widely they are used, with the differences that matter.
10 Horizon alternatives, by popularity
-
AI search engine for peer-reviewed scientific literature. Its Deep Search mode breaks a research question into a multi-step search plan, runs a series of targeted searches, screens a large set of papers and writes a cited report structured like a literature review, with visuals on scientific agreement, key authors, key claims and research gaps. Other tools include Ask Paper, the Consensus Meter, study snapshots, citation export and collections. It runs in the web browser.
- Proprietary
- More widely used (Gid Score 43 vs 35)
-
An open-source multi-agent system that collects and analyses social-media posts and comments across platforms and writes public-opinion research reports; built in Python without an external agent framework.
- Bring your own API key
-
AI agents running research on single-GPU nanochat training automatically
-
Dexter is a terminal agent that answers financial research questions by planning research steps, pulling financial statements and market data through APIs, and checking its own results. It is meant for research and education, not for trading.
- Works with local models
- Bring your own API key
-
An AI research platform that searches academic papers and runs a research agent, automated research reports and systematic literature review workflows (screening and data extraction). It spun out of the nonprofit Ought.
- Proprietary
-
SciSpace (formerly Typeset) is an AI research workspace whose agent runs multi-step literature reviews, systematic-review screening, data extraction from papers and database searches.
- Proprietary
-
An AI scientist agent from Edison Scientific, a commercial spinout of FutureHouse. A run reads large amounts of literature, executes analysis code and produces cited reports.
- Proprietary
- Growing fast: usage up 57% in 30 days
-
Praxist runs persistent research loops on projects with a measurable objective, coordinating parallel research agents, task-owned evaluation, evidence retention and synthesis across generations. It is installed via pip and operated through Codex or Claude Code.
- Proprietary
- Bring your own API key
-
An open-source agent that plans research, gathers and filters many web or local sources and writes a cited report, with support for multiple model providers.
- Works with local models
- Bring your own API key
-
The open-source AI research workbench for scientific research and agent workflows. Local-first, model-agnostic desktop app with extensible skills, MCP tools and connectors, Python/R execution and traceable artifacts for reproducible research on macOS, Windows and Linux.
- Less widely used (Gid Score 24 vs 35)
Horizon vs alternatives at a glance
| Agent | Price | Free to start | Open source | MCP | Local models | Gid Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Horizon | Free (OSS) | ✓ | ✓ | ? | ? | 35 |
| Consensus | Free + $20/mo | ✓ | ✕ | ? | ? | 43 |
| BettaFish | Free (OSS) | ✓ | ✓ | ? | ? | 43 |
| Autoresearch | — | ? | ✓ | ? | ? | 40 |
| Dexter | Free (OSS) | ✓ | ✓ | ? | ✓ | 40 |
| Elicit | Free + $49/mo | ✓ | ✕ | ? | ? | 36 |
| SciSpace Agent | Free + $20/mo | ✓ | ✕ | ? | ? | 36 |
| Kosmos | Free + $200/mo | ✓ | ✕ | ? | ? | 33 |
| Praxist | Free | ✓ | ✕ | ? | ? | 32 |
| GPT Researcher | Free (OSS) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | 32 |
| Open Science | Free (OSS) | ✓ | ✓ | ? | ? | 24 |
Prices from the vendors' pricing pages; features from official docs (“?” means not documented). Full feature comparison · All prices
How teams use these tools
FAQ
What is the best alternative to Horizon?
By usage, the closest alternative is Consensus, followed by BettaFish, Autoresearch, Dexter.
Is there a free alternative to Horizon?
Yes. Consensus is free to start.
Is there an open-source alternative to Horizon?
Yes. BettaFish is open source.
How do these Horizon alternatives compare on price?
Consensus: Free + $20/mo; BettaFish: Free (OSS); Dexter: Free (OSS); Elicit: Free + $49/mo; SciSpace Agent: Free + $20/mo.
Horizon: pricing, features and stats · All AI research agents · Find the right agent in 4 questions