GPT Researcher
GPT Researcher is an open-source agent that researches web sources and user documents, then produces reports with citations.
What GPT Researcher is
GPT Researcher is an open-source agent that researches web sources and user documents, then produces reports with citations. It breaks a research question into sub-questions, searches sources in parallel, filters relevant passages and assembles a cited report. The homepage lists more than 20 retrievers, including Tavily, Google, Bing, Exa, arXiv and PubMed. It says the tool supports any LLM, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Mistral, DeepSeek and local models through Ollama. Document research can cover PDFs, Word files, spreadsheets and Markdown, on their own or alongside web sources. Reports can be exported as Markdown, PDF, Word, JSON or CSV. Its MCP server exposes research tools to clients including Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT custom GPTs and n8n. A self-hosted FastAPI server offers REST endpoints for deep research, quick search and report writing. It can run on a personal machine, server or container. The maker says data leaves the user’s machine only through configured providers; local models with SearXNG can keep it on the user’s infrastructure. The software has no usage limits, though provider limits and costs apply.
Good
- Researches web sources and uploaded documents
- Exports reports in five listed formats
- Offers self-hosted API and container deployment
- No GPT Researcher usage limits
Watch out
- Requires Python 3.11 or later
- Requires keys for an LLM and retriever
- Provider usage costs and limits still apply
Who it suits
GPT Researcher may suit people who want cited reports from web research, their own files or both. It is also relevant to users who prefer self-hosting or connecting research tools to MCP clients.
Verdict
GPT Researcher combines multi-source research, document analysis and cited report exports, with self-hosted deployment options. Users need to configure an LLM and retriever, and any provider charges are separate from the free software.
Plans and prices
From GPT Researcher's own pricing page, checked 4 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Open Source | Free | No GPT Researcher usage limits · Pay underlying LLM and search provider costs directly · Self-hosted |
The facts
Each one read from GPT Researcher's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- API
- A self-hosted FastAPI server provides REST endpoints for deep research, quick search, and report writing.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Deployment
- The maker describes running it on a personal machine, server, or container, including with a Docker image.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Document research
- It can research PDFs, Word files, spreadsheets, and Markdown documents alone or alongside web sources.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- The official gptr-mcp server exposes research tools to Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT custom GPTs, n8n, and other MCP clients.checked 4 Oct 2026
- LLMs
- The product says it supports any LLM, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Mistral, DeepSeek, and local models via Ollama.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- GPT Researcher is an open source agent that researches the web and users’ documents, then writes detailed reports with citations.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Reports
- Reports can be produced in Markdown, PDF, or Word, and the homepage also lists JSON and CSV export formats.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Requirements
- The homepage FAQ says it requires Python 3.11 or later and keys for an LLM and retriever, with local models supported via Ollama.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Research workflow
- It plans sub-questions, searches sources in parallel, filters relevant passages, and writes a cited report.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Security and data
- The maker says data leaves the user’s machine only through configured LLM and retriever providers, and local models with SearXNG can keep it on the user’s infrastructure.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Sources
- The homepage lists 20+ retrievers, including Tavily, Google, Bing, Exa, arXiv, and PubMed.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Support
- The maker directs users to its Discord community for questions and support.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Usage limits
- GPT Researcher imposes no usage limits; limits depend on the configured providers.checked 4 Oct 2026
Money
- Costs
- A deep research run using default OpenAI and Tavily settings is estimated at a few cents to a few dollars in provider spend.checked 4 Oct 2026
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