Rayyan review (2026): is the free plan enough?
Systematic review screening with AI relevance predictions
Black Friday: is there a Rayyan sale?
Rayyan report card
Good · out of 4.0 · graded Nov 12, 2026
Best for screening papers for systematic reviews
Rayyan screens papers for systematic reviews with AI relevance predictions, and it starts free. But the free plan stops at 3 active reviews and 2 free reviewers, and the ResearchPilot AI is on the Business plan, sold from 5 licenses at $2,500 a year.
Who Rayyan is for
- 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
Who Rayyan is not for
- 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
Why Rayyan gets a 2.6
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- BValue for moneyEssential 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.
- BFree plan and trialFree forever with 3 active reviews, 2 free reviewers, a sample, duplicate detection and AI relevance predictions. One reviewer can live on that.
- BFeaturesScreening, 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.
- CEase of useNo store rating on record. You set up a review, invite reviewers and run the samples.
- CPlatforms and integrationsWeb, with a mobile app mentioned but no platforms listed. SSO and API access are Enterprise only, and no integrations are listed.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Rayyan's own pages on 12 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/rayyan#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/rayyan.svg" alt="Rayyan: 2.6 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where Rayyan stands among AI research tools
Rayyan's GPA of 2.6 is higher than 33 of the 49 other AI research tools we grade, and level with 7.
It stands best on value for money (B, above 36 of 49) and worst on platforms and integrations (C, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $4.99 a month for each person, against a middle price of $10 for the category: 1 of the 35 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. 2 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 50 AI research tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. Rayyan’s own letter is outlined.
- BValue for moneyAbove 36 of 49, level with 7
- BFree plan and trialAbove 36 of 49, level with 9
- BFeaturesAbove 34 of 49, level with 12
- CEase of useAbove 1 of 49, level with 27
- CPlatforms and integrationsAbove 0 of 49, level with 15
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 40 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 Rayyan, or make your own?
Keep it
To replace Rayyan 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.
It is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 2.6 is higher than 33 of the 49 other AI research tools we grade. It costs $59.88 a year.
What you could not
- A library of papers and sources to search.
- Citation records for millions of papers.
- Several people working in it at the same moment.
- An API that other software can build on.
- 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. Rayyan’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 Rayyan?
Rayyan is a web platform for running systematic and literature reviews. Teams import references, remove duplicates, screen titles and abstracts together, and extract data. Higher plans add PRISMA diagrams, PICO extraction with AI and risk-of-bias tools, and the institutional plans add the ResearchPilot AI assistant.
Worth knowing
- 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
- 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.
Rayyan pricing
As of Nov 12, 2026, Rayyan has a free plan, and paid plans start at $4.99 per seat / month, billed annually ($8.33 billed quarterly).
- Starts at
- $4.99 per seat / month, billed annually ($8.33 billed quarterly)
- Free plan
- Free forever: 3 active reviews, 2 free reviewers, 1 sample, duplicate detection and AI relevance predictions.
- Free trial
- None listed
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 3 active reviews, 2 free reviewers, 1 sample, limited mobile app access, duplicate detection and AI relevance predictions. |
| Essential | $4.99per seat / month, billed annually ($8.33 billed quarterly) | Adds PRISMA flow diagrams, 5 free reviewers, auto-resolved duplicates and unlimited mobile app access. |
| Advanced | $8.33per 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 | $41.67per 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. |
| Enterprise | Custom | Unlimited reviews, SSO / SAML, API access, a management console and dedicated support. |
Read from rayyan.ai on Nov 12, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Rayyan before you buy.
Ways to pay less
- Annual discountSave 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.
Stated on rayyan.ai - EducationDiscounts for academic institutions
The pricing page notes that discounts are available for academics on the Business / Academic plan.
Stated on rayyan.ai
Rayyan alternatives
- Rayyan vs Elicit
Free plan · from $49/mo
- Rayyan vs Scite
Free trial · from $20/mo
- Rayyan vs Undermind
Free plan · from $16/mo
- Rayyan vs Consensus
Free plan
Common questions
Does Rayyan have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 12, 2026. Rayyan is listed for Web.
Does Rayyan have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 12, 2026. Rayyan is listed for Web.
Is Rayyan open source?
Rayyan is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Nov 12, 2026.
Does Rayyan have an API?
Yes. Rayyan offers a public API, according to its own site.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 12, 2026.