DistillerSR review (2026): is it worth $19.95 a month?
Literature review software for systematic reviews and surveillance
Black Friday: is there a DistillerSR sale?
DistillerSR report card
Weak · out of 4.0 · graded Nov 13, 2026
Best for managing systematic reviews with an audit trail
DistillerSR covers a systematic review from screening to reporting, with an audit trail and AI-assisted screening. The cheapest plan is $19.95 a month, for one project, and the faculty and project plans go through sales. No free plan or trial is stated.
Who DistillerSR is for
- 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
Who DistillerSR is not for
- 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
Why DistillerSR gets a 1.8
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- DValue for moneyStudent is $19.95 a month, Faculty $94 and Research Project $194, against a category middle of $10. Corporate pricing is quote only.
- FFree plan and trialNo free tier or free trial is stated on the pages read.
- BFeaturesReview 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.
- CEase of useNo store rating on record, and a review project has to be configured before use.
- BPlatforms and integrationsWeb, with links to PubMed, EBSCO, OVID, Power BI and Tableau, and an API. No phone or desktop apps are listed.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from DistillerSR's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
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<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/distillersr#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/distillersr.svg" alt="DistillerSR: 1.8 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where DistillerSR stands among AI research tools
DistillerSR's GPA of 1.8 is higher than 5 of the 69 other AI research tools we grade, and level with 2.
It stands best on features (B, above 53 of 69) and worst on free plan and trial (F, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $19.95 a month, against a middle price of $10 for the category: 40 of the 48 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4. 5 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 70 AI research tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. DistillerSR’s own letter is outlined.
- DValue for moneyAbove 0 of 69, level with 9
- FFree plan and trialAbove 0 of 69, level with 6
- BFeaturesAbove 53 of 69, level with 13
- CEase of useAbove 1 of 69, level with 40
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 28 of 69, level with 39
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 59 AI research tools. Further left costs less, and higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Point at a dot to see which tool it is.
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
Keep DistillerSR, or make your own?
Keep it
To replace DistillerSR you would be making a library of papers and sources to search. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 62 of the 69 other AI research tools grade higher. It costs $239.40 a year.
What you could make
- Reports: an app builder makes this well.
What you could not
- A library of papers and sources to search.
- Several people working in it at the same moment.
- It plugs into other products, PubMed, EBSCO and OVID among them.
- AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. DistillerSR’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is DistillerSR?
DistillerSR is a web platform for managing literature-based research such as systematic reviews, from reference import and screening through data extraction and reporting. It is sold to companies and government bodies by quote, with published monthly plans for students and academics. It lists an AI feature that reorders references by relevance.
Worth knowing
- 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.
Key features
- 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.
DistillerSR pricing
As of Nov 13, 2026, DistillerSR is a paid product, starting at $19.95 per month (Student).
- Starts at
- $19.95 per month (Student)
- Free plan
- None
- Free trial
- None listed
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Student | $19.95per month, billing basis not stated | Three subscriptions for the price of one; 1 project and standard support; the page lists 3 users. |
| Faculty | $94per month, billed annually | One faculty user with 5 projects and standard support; bought through sales. |
| Research Project | $194per month, billed annually | One faculty member plus 4 students and 5 projects; bought through sales. |
| Departmental | Custom | Manage multiple subscriptions across a department, with 20 to 45 projects; contact sales. |
| Institutional | Custom | Capabilities for an entire institution, with 80 to 150 projects; request a quote. |
| Corporate and Government | Custom | No published price; a quote form is used for companies and public-sector teams. |
Read from distillersr.com on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with DistillerSR before you buy.
Ways to pay less
- EducationStudent and academic pricing
Discounted plans from $19.95 a month for students, with faculty and research-project plans billed annually.
Stated on distillersr.com
Works with
DistillerSR alternatives
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Free plan · from $4.99/mo
- DistillerSR vs Nested Knowledge
Free plan · from $19.95/mo
- DistillerSR vs Laser AI
From $3000/mo
- DistillerSR vs Silvi
Free plan · from €19/mo
Common questions
Does DistillerSR have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. DistillerSR is listed for Web.
Does DistillerSR have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. DistillerSR is listed for Web.
Is DistillerSR open source?
DistillerSR is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Nov 13, 2026.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026.