Covidence vs Iris.ai (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Covidence grades higher than Iris.ai: 2.2 against 1.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Covidence grades higher on the free plan, features and platforms. Iris.ai grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Covidence
Web platform for screening and extracting data in systematic reviews
Which one is for you
Pick Covidence if
- Fits if you're running a systematic review with two reviewers screening
- Works for a team that already keeps its references in EndNote, Zotero or Mendeley
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you're a student: the page says there's no separate student discount
- Tight if you run more than three reviews, as that means several packages or a site license
- Skip it if you just want to read papers, since it only does review screening
- Watch out: each license covers a set number of reviews for 12 months
- Watch out: the trial is 500 records, and there are no apps beyond the browser
Pick Iris.ai if
- Fits if your company needs data pulled out of large piles of technical documents
- Makes sense if you're an R&D team happy to buy through a demo
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a price, as none is published and pricing couldn't be verified
- Skip it if you're an individual researcher, since the products are for enterprises
- Watch out: no free tier or trial is listed
- Watch out: no apps or integrations are listed
How we grade them
| 2.2GPACovidenceFair | 1.6GPAIris.aiWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | D$339 a year for one review, $907 for up to three. That works out to about $28 a month for one review, inside the research category's dearest tenth, which starts at $20. | CNo price is published and every product is sold through a demo request. There is nothing to compare against the category's $10 middle, so it sits at C. |
| Free plan and trial | CA free trial with 500 records. The page does not say whether a card is needed, and 500 records is smaller than most reviews. | FNothing free on record: no free plan and no trial. |
| Features | BImport, dual screening, extraction, quality assessment, mobile screening and PRISMA numbers. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the review work itself. | CData extraction, industry templates, an enterprise knowledge engine and R&D search. The listing doesn't show a gap, but it also doesn't show what a single researcher would get. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You set up a review, invite reviewers and set criteria before anything happens. | CNo store rating on record. Deploying on your own data means setup work. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, with EndNote, Zotero, Mendeley, RefWorks and RevMan. No desktop or app-store apps are listed. | CWeb only, with no integrations or apps on the listing. |
| Best for | screening and extracting data in systematic reviews | enterprise teams turning documents into AI-ready data |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Covidence and Iris.ai. How we grade
Where they differ
- Covidence also covers citations.
- Iris.ai also covers AI agents and documents.
At a glance
| Covidence | Iris.ai | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Paid |
| Starts at | $339 per year for one review | Not published |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | Free trial with 500 records | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Covidence | Iris.ai AS |
| Price read from | covidence.org | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Iris.ai
- No prices are published; every product is sold through a demo request.
- Pricing could not be verified, so no plan or price is listed.
- Aimed at enterprises, not individual researchers.
Key features
Covidence
- Import and deduplication
- References come in from EndNote, Zotero, Mendeley, RefWorks or RIS, CSV and PubMed XML files, with duplicates removed automatically.
- Dual screening
- Independent dual screening, blinding and structured conflict resolution are described as standard, and exclusion reasons are recorded at full-text stage.
- Data extraction and quality assessment
- Extraction and quality assessment are steps inside the same review, so the team works on one copy of the data.
- Mobile screening
- Every plan lists title and abstract screening on a phone.
- PRISMA numbers and export
- The site says PRISMA numbers and the audit trail build as the team works, and the review can be exported.
Iris.ai
- Axion data extraction
- Turns PDFs, reports, images, graphs and tables into structured, machine-readable data.
- Industry schema templates
- Prebuilt structures for legal contracts, patents, clinical trials and financial statements.
- Neuralith
- Described as turning enterprise knowledge into an AI engine, with agentic workflows.
- RSpace
- Described as precision intelligence for complex R&D.
- Deployment on your own data
- The vendor says teams run Iris.ai on their own documents and systems.
Plans
Covidence
Single$339
per year for 1 review
One review with unlimited collaborators, valid for 12 months.
Package$907
per year for up to 3 reviews
Up to 3 reviews with unlimited collaborators, valid for 12 months.
InstitutionsCustom
Departmental or organization-wide licenses with unlimited reviews and users, arranged through sales.
Iris.ai
Pricing could not be confirmed. See iris.ai.
Ways to pay less
Covidence
- Other savings
Concessions for low and lower-middle-income countries
Review teams based in a low or lower-middle-income country can contact Covidence about using it for their review.
Iris.ai
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Covidence or Iris.ai?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Covidence starts at $339 per year for one review, and Iris.ai has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, Covidence or Iris.ai?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Covidence nor Iris.ai has a free plan. Covidence has a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.