Rayyan

Rayyan is a systematic review platform for teams conducting evidence reviews with transparent, auditable workflows. It covers reference importing, collaboration, deduplication, title and abstract screening, full-text screening, data extraction, risk-of-bias assessment, and reporting. ResearchPilot AI Reviewer screens articles against a user's inclusion and exclusion criteria and provides decisions with reasoning notes. AI Analyzer offers suggested include or exclude decisions with explanations, while researchers retain final decision-making. ResearchPilot can also extract answers to custom questions from PDFs and metadata, highlight relevant text, and allow review of the extracted answers. Rayyan accepts exported reference files from databases and reference managers, but does not connect directly to databases. Its API provides programmatic access to reviews, references, decisions, and metadata, and can support automation and external integrations. The Free plan includes three active reviews and two free reviewers; paid plans are billed annually by seat or license, with pricing starting at $8.33 a month per seat. Mobile app access is limited on Free and unlimited on Essential and higher.

Rayyan suits research teams carrying out systematic reviews that need screening, extraction, collaboration, and reporting workflows. The organization options are intended for groups such as universities, healthcare teams, pharma, and CROs.

The Free plan provides three active reviews, two free reviewers, one sample, and limited mobile app access. Essential provides five free reviewers, while Advanced adds nine active reviews, ten free reviewers, unlimited samples, and AI PICO extraction.

Rayyan is a systematic-review platform for research teams coordinating evidence from screening through reporting. It suits groups that need an auditable shared workflow and want AI assistance while researchers retain decision authority. The breadth is useful, but file-based importing and plan limits make it less convenient for teams that expect direct database connections or generous entry-level capacity.

Overview

Rayyan covers reference import, collaboration, deduplication, title-and-abstract and full-text screening, data extraction, risk-of-bias assessment, and reporting. Keeping these stages in one workflow can reduce handoffs for a coordinated review; it is more than a fit-for-purpose citation manager, and likely excessive for researchers who need only to organize references.

References arrive as exported files from databases or reference managers, not through direct database connections. That adds an import step teams must account for. Rayyan says its Systematic Auto-Resolver can deduplicate up to 200,000 references using the review protocol, making its stated capacity notable for large collections.

Key features

ResearchPilot AI Reviewer screens against user-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria and provides decisions with reasoning notes. AI Analyzer recommends include-or-exclude decisions with justification based on those criteria, while leaving final decisions to the researcher. The distinction matters: the tools can assist review work without taking final judgment away from the team.

ResearchPilot can also extract answers to custom questions from PDFs and metadata, highlight supporting text, and let users review extracted answers. That combination is useful when a review involves repeated extraction questions, though researchers remain responsible for checking the output.

API access supports programmatic work with reviews, references, decisions, and metadata, alongside an official Python SDK, workflow automation, and external-system integrations. This gives technical teams options to connect Rayyan to their workflows. Security provisions stated for enterprise include HIPAA and GDPR compliance, SOC 2 controls, encryption in transit and at rest, and SAML 2.0, OAuth, and MFA.

Pricing

Rayyan is freemium, with paid plans starting at $8.33/mo. Paid prices below are billed annually, so the monthly figures should not be read as month-to-month rates.

• Free: free, free forever. It allows 3 active reviews, 2 free reviewers, and 1 sample, with limited mobile app access. This is a narrow starting point for an individual or small group evaluating the workflow; the review and reviewer caps can quickly constrain ongoing work.
• Essential: $4.99 a month per seat, billed annually. It adds 5 free reviewers, PRISMA flow diagrams, duplicate auto-resolution, and unlimited mobile app access. This suits teams that need those workflow and mobile features but can work without the higher review capacity or AI PICO extraction.
• Advanced: $8.33 a month per seat, billed annually. It provides 9 active reviews, 10 free reviewers, unlimited samples, AI PICO extraction, and priority support. It is the stronger fit for active research teams needing more room and extraction assistance.
• Business / Academic: $41.67 a month per license, billed annually, starting with 5 licenses. It includes 250 free reviewers, 50 organization-wide reviews, a team dashboard, workspace roles, and priority support. The minimum license count and annual billing make this a substantial commitment, best suited to organizations coordinating multiple teams.
• Enterprise: custom pricing, billed per license annually. It includes unlimited reviews and viewers, SSO / SAML, API, a management console, and dedicated support. This is the option for organizations that need those controls and scale rather than a self-serve plan.

Standard support comes with Free and Essential; Advanced and Business / Academic receive priority support, while Enterprise receives dedicated support. The mobile app is unlimited on Essential and above but limited on Free.

Platforms

Rayyan is available on web, Android, and iOS, with API access. Its mobile app supports on-the-go or offline work, but Free users have limited access. Reference exchange through RIS, BibTeX, EndNote, and CSV supports common file-based workflows, though it does not replace the missing direct database connection.

Who it's for

Rayyan is aimed at systematic evidence-review teams, including pharma, medical-device, CRO, university, healthcare, government, and health technology assessment organizations. Its shared stages, protocol-based screening, and API make the strongest case for teams with repeatable review processes. A solo researcher doing a small review may find the free caps restrictive, while a group needing live database connections should look elsewhere.

Pros and cons

• Pro: The workflow spans screening, extraction, risk-of-bias assessment, and reporting, helping teams keep review stages together.
• Pro: AI screening and extraction provide reasoning or highlighted evidence while final decisions and answer review stay with researchers.
• Pro: Stated deduplication capacity reaches 200,000 references, and API access includes a Python SDK for automation.
• Con: No direct database connections means teams must export and import references.
• Con: Free is capped at 3 active reviews, 2 reviewers, and 1 sample, with limited mobile access.
• Con: Business / Academic requires at least 5 licenses with annual billing, and Enterprise uses custom pricing and annual billing.

Alternatives

For a broader shortlist, compare Literature Review Software, Systematic Review Software, and AI Literature Review Software.

• RevMan is another freemium option with a free trial and Linux, macOS, web, and Windows support; consider it if those platforms or trial access better suit your needs.
• Elicit is a freemium web and API option with unlimited search across more than 138 million papers, summaries, and chat on its Basic plan, alongside limited Research Agent and Research Reports usage. Choose it when that search-and-paper interaction model is the priority.
• Synthesis is a paid option for Linux, macOS, and Windows with a free trial; consider it if those desktop platforms and a trial are a better fit.
• VOSviewer is free for any purpose and supports Linux, macOS, web, and Windows. It is worth considering when a free tool across those platforms is the deciding factor.
• Bibliometrix is a free, open-source R package available on CRAN with a Biblioshiny web interface. Pick it if that package-and-interface approach fits your work.
• ASReview is free and open source, with no licensing fees or subscriptions, and can be self-hosted across several operating systems. It may suit teams willing to run their own hardware or server, which can incur costs.
• Litmaps has a free web plan with basic search, up to 20 inputs, 100 articles, one Litmap, a monthly summary, and no collaboration. Choose it for that lighter, non-collaborative free use case.
• ResearchRabbit offers a free web plan with unlimited searches across 310+ million articles, unlimited libraries and collections, collection sharing, and up to 50 seed articles. It is an alternative when those discovery and collection features are the priority.

Verdict

Rayyan is a strong choice for research groups running transparent, repeatable evidence reviews that benefit from integrated screening, extraction, and API automation. Its clearest reason to choose it is the combination of a broad team workflow and AI assistance that leaves final decisions with researchers. Look elsewhere if direct database connections are essential, or if the Free plan's review and reviewer caps cannot accommodate the work.

Rayyan combines review workflow tools with AI assistance and API access. Teams should account for the lack of direct database connections and check which plan's review, reviewer, and mobile limits fit their work.