Alternatives · AI Research
Covidence alternatives
As of Nov 13, 2026, the best Covidence alternative for most people is Elicit (2.4 GPA), first in our ranking of AI research tools. The best free one is Rayyan (2.6 GPA).
Covidence compared with 5 alternatives: Rayyan, Silvi, Elicit, Scite and Iris.ai.
Covidence is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $339 per year for one review. 3 of the 5 alternatives are free or have a free plan. One more offers a free trial.
Listings checked up to Nov 12, 2026 · Where the facts come from
Black Friday: is there a Covidence sale?
At a glance
Price against what you get
Covidence starts at $28.25 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. 1 of the 4 alternatives on this chart scores higher and starts lower: Scite.
Rayyan and Silvi start lower without scoring higher.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
How each one differs from Covidence
Rayyan
Systematic review screening with AI relevance predictions
- Rayyan starts at $4.99 per seat / month, billed annually ($8.33 billed quarterly).
- Rayyan has a free plan, which Covidence lacks.
Suits: Students and solo researchers running a first systematic review on a free plan
Silvi
Literature review platform with AI screening and data extraction
- Silvi starts at €19 per month for 1 seat, billed as €230 yearly.
- Silvi has a free plan, which Covidence lacks.
Suits: Individual researchers who want a free review tool
Elicit
AI research assistant for literature search and systematic reviews
- Elicit starts at $49 per user / month, billed annually ($11 on academic pricing).
- Elicit has a free plan, which Covidence lacks.
- Elicit also lists a browser extension.
- Elicit also covers AI search and AI agents.
Suits: Researchers running systematic reviews with screening and data extraction
Scite
Research assistant that shows how papers have been cited
- Scite starts at $20 per month, billed monthly.
- Scite also lists a browser extension.
- Scite also covers chat assistant and AI search.
Suits: Checking whether a paper's findings were supported or disputed by later work
Iris.ai
Enterprise tools that turn documents into AI-ready data
- Iris.ai also covers AI agents and documents.
- Iris.ai does not cover citations, which Covidence does.
Suits: Large companies structuring document archives for AI
Limits worth knowing in Covidence
- Each paid license covers a set number of reviews for 12 months: 1 for $339 or up to 3 for $907.
- The pricing page says there is no separate student discount, though it offers concessions to review teams in low and lower-middle-income countries.
- More than three reviews means buying several packages or an institutional license.
- The pages read show it as a browser-based service; no desktop or app-store apps are listed.
Common questions
What are the alternatives to Covidence?
The alternatives to Covidence in this directory are Rayyan, Silvi, Elicit, Scite and Iris.ai. Each one has a side-by-side comparison with Covidence.
Is there a free alternative to Covidence?
Yes. Rayyan, Silvi and Elicit have a free plan alongside paid ones.
When were these prices checked?
Each listing shows its own date. On this page they run from Oct 5, 2026 to Nov 12, 2026. Vendors change prices without notice, so confirm on their site before you buy.