Claude Research review

Claude Research is a good fit for teams whose answers sit partly in their own tools. Once you turn on web search and click Research, Claude runs several searches that build on each other, decides what to investigate next and works through open questions, returning answers with inline citations. On the web and in Claude Desktop it also searches Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Docs and can call tools from any connectors you have enabled, without asking for approval at each step. Research runs on Claude Opus 5.5 regardless of the chat model, and it is included on Pro, which costs $17 a month with annual billing or $20 monthly, as well as Max, Ultra, Team and Enterprise. The limits are worth knowing: there is no research on the free plan, mobile research skips connectors silently, local MCP servers in Claude Desktop are not used, and research sessions consume the same usage allowance as chats, only faster.

Who it is for

Teams that want research grounded in their connected tools as well as the web.

Price

Research on paid plans; Pro $17 a month billed annually or $20 monthly; Max from $100 a month.

$17 Per month with annual subscription discount
Quoted from the vendor pricing page on November 9, 2026.

Key features

• Multiple searches that build on each other and pick what to investigate next
• Searches Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Docs alongside the web
• Uses tools from connectors you turn on without asking for approval each time
• Inline citations so you can check each source
• Runs on Claude Opus 5.5 whatever model is selected for the chat

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Available on every paid plan, from Pro upward
• Strength: Connector access makes it strong for internal knowledge questions
• Strength: Same pricing page covers individual and team plans
• Weakness: Not available on the free plan
• Weakness: Research on mobile searches only the web and skips connectors without warning
• Weakness: Research uses up normal usage limits faster than regular chats

Key facts

• Plans with research: Pro, Max, Ultra, Team and Enterprise
• Model: Claude Opus 5.5, falling back to Claude Opus 4.8
• Requirement: Web search must be turned on

Where it ranks

Claude Research is No. 4 in our Best Deep Research AI Tools verdict.