DistillerSR vs Rayyan (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Rayyan grades higher than DistillerSR: 2.6 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
DistillerSR grades higher on platforms. Rayyan grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
DistillerSR
Literature review software for systematic reviews and surveillance
Rayyan
Systematic review screening with AI relevance predictions
Which one is for you
Pick DistillerSR if
- Fits if you run reviews that need a full audit trail for regulators
- Works for university teams who would buy the Faculty or Research Project plan
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to try before paying, because no free tier or trial is stated
- Tight if you are a student: the Student plan covers 1 project
- Pricey if you are faculty: Faculty is $94 a month for 5 projects, and plans are bought through sales
- Watch out: corporate and government pricing is a quote form only
Pick Rayyan if
- Fits if you're a student or researcher screening for a review without a budget
- Works for small review teams that need the duplicate check and AI ranking
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free: 3 active reviews and 2 free reviewers
- Pricey if you're an institution, as ResearchPilot AI is Business at $2,500 a year from 5 licenses
- Watch out: PRISMA diagrams need Essential, and PICO extraction needs Advanced
- Watch out: SSO and API access are on the Enterprise plan only
- Watch out: the mobile app is limited on Free, and its platforms aren't listed
How we grade them
| 1.8GPADistillerSRWeak | 2.6GPARayyanGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DStudent is $19.95 a month, Faculty $94 and Research Project $194, against a category middle of $10. Corporate pricing is quote only. | BEssential is $4.99 a seat a month billed yearly, and Advanced is $8.33. That's in the cheapest quarter, which starts at $7.50 for the category. Business is $41.67 per license, from 5 licenses. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free tier or free trial is stated on the pages read. | BFree forever with 3 active reviews, 2 free reviewers, a sample, duplicate detection and AI relevance predictions. One reviewer can live on that. |
| Features | BReview lifecycle management, AI screening, an audit trail, reference alerts, full-text retrieval and BI and API links. The listing names no gap in the core review work. | BScreening, duplicate detection, team samples, PRISMA diagrams, PICO extraction and risk-of-bias tools. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in screening itself, but PRISMA and PICO sit on paid plans. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record, and a review project has to be configured before use. | CNo store rating on record. You set up a review, invite reviewers and run the samples. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, with links to PubMed, EBSCO, OVID, Power BI and Tableau, and an API. No phone or desktop apps are listed. | CWeb, with a mobile app mentioned but no platforms listed. SSO and API access are Enterprise only, and no integrations are listed. |
| Best for | managing systematic reviews with an audit trail | screening papers for systematic reviews |
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: DistillerSR and Rayyan. How we grade
Price against what you get
DistillerSR starts at $19.95 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Rayyan starts at $4.99 a month for each person and scores 2.3.
DistillerSR scores higher, and starts $14.96 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other AI research tools on the chart, 5 score higher than DistillerSR for less, and 5 score higher than Rayyan for less.
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
Where they differ
- DistillerSR also covers reports.
- Rayyan also covers citations.
At a glance
| DistillerSR | Rayyan | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free plan |
| Starts at | $19.95 per month (Student) | $4.99 per seat / month, billed annually ($8.33 billed quarterly) |
| Free plan | None | Free forever: 3 active reviews, 2 free reviewers, 1 sample, duplicate detection and AI relevance predictions. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | DistillerSR Inc. | Rayyan |
| Price read from | distillersr.com | rayyan.ai |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
DistillerSR
- Corporate and government pricing is not published; it is quote-only through a form.
- No free tier or free trial is stated on the pages read.
- The Student plan is limited to 1 project, and faculty and project plans to 5 projects.
- Faculty and Research Project plans are bought by contacting sales, not self-serve checkout.
Rayyan
- The free plan stops at 3 active reviews and 2 invited free reviewers.
- ResearchPilot AI, 250 reviewers and organization-wide management need the Business / Academic plan, sold from 5 licenses.
- SSO / SAML and API access are listed only on the Enterprise plan.
- The site mentions a mobile app, but the pages read do not say which platforms it covers.
Key features
DistillerSR
- Review lifecycle management
- Centrally manages importing references, screening, extraction and reporting with a configurable workflow.
- AI-assisted screening
- Reorders references by predicted relevance and can double-check exclusion decisions; plan availability is shown only as icons.
- Audit trail
- Integrated audit trail and version control, which the vendor presents as making evidence traceable.
- Reference database alerts
- LitConnect brings in new articles from databases such as EBSCO, OVID and PubMed; it is not on the Student or Faculty plans.
- BI and API integration
- Connects to business-intelligence tools such as Power BI and Tableau, and exposes an API as a paid module.
- Full-text retrieval
- Links references to source material through DOI.org and works with the Unpaywall plugin.
Rayyan
- Screening with AI relevance predictions
- Reviewers include or exclude references while the tool predicts relevance. Every plan, including the free one, lists AI relevance predictions.
- Duplicate detection
- Duplicate detection is on every plan. Auto-resolving duplicates is listed from the Essential plan up.
- Team workbench and samples
- Reviews can be divided between team members and randomized into samples, with more than 15 workbench facets for analyzing decisions.
- PRISMA diagrams and PICO extraction
- PRISMA flow diagrams start on Essential. Advanced adds AI extraction of PICO data.
- Risk-of-bias tools
- The Advanced plan lists the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale and the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool, and the site announces a Risk of Bias feature.
- ResearchPilot for institutions
- The Business / Academic plan and above include ResearchPilot, which the site describes as AI search, screening and extraction for institutions.
Plans
DistillerSR
Student$19.95
per month, billing basis not stated
Three subscriptions for the price of one; 1 project and standard support; the page lists 3 users.
Faculty$94
per month, billed annually
One faculty user with 5 projects and standard support; bought through sales.
Research Project$194
per month, billed annually
One faculty member plus 4 students and 5 projects; bought through sales.
DepartmentalCustom
Manage multiple subscriptions across a department, with 20 to 45 projects; contact sales.
InstitutionalCustom
Capabilities for an entire institution, with 80 to 150 projects; request a quote.
Corporate and GovernmentCustom
No published price; a quote form is used for companies and public-sector teams.
Rayyan
Free$0
3 active reviews, 2 free reviewers, 1 sample, limited mobile app access, duplicate detection and AI relevance predictions.
Essential$4.99
per seat / month, billed annually ($8.33 billed quarterly)
Adds PRISMA flow diagrams, 5 free reviewers, auto-resolved duplicates and unlimited mobile app access.
Advanced$8.33
per seat / month, billed annually ($13.33 billed quarterly)
9 active reviews, 10 free reviewers, unlimited samples, AI extraction of PICO data, priority support and extra risk-of-bias tools.
Business / Academic$41.67
per license / month, billed annually
Starts at 5 licenses ($2,500 a year), sold through sales. Adds ResearchPilot AI, 250 free reviewers and 50 organization-wide reviews.
EnterpriseCustom
Unlimited reviews, SSO / SAML, API access, a management console and dedicated support.
Ways to pay less
DistillerSR
- Education
Student and academic pricing
Discounted plans from $19.95 a month for students, with faculty and research-project plans billed annually.
Rayyan
- Annual discount
Save up to 40% with annual billing
The pricing page says annual plans save up to 40% against quarterly billing; Essential is $4.99 a seat annually against $8.33 quarterly.
- Education
Discounts for academic institutions
The pricing page notes that discounts are available for academics on the Business / Academic plan.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, DistillerSR or Rayyan?
As of Nov 13, 2026, DistillerSR starts at $19.95 per month (Student), and Rayyan starts at $4.99 per seat / month, billed annually ($8.33 billed quarterly). One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, DistillerSR or Rayyan?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Rayyan has a free plan. DistillerSR does not.
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.