Suggestions appear as you type. Use the up and down arrows to choose one and Enter to open it.

This page's audience our own tag's counts — open to see them
–Visits
–Page views
–Clicks to vendors
–Time on page
–Reading now
Clicks to vendors, by tool
  • –
Top countries
  • –
Devices
  • –

– · visits, page views and clicks counted by our own tag, which counts more than our checked analytics; every figure rounded down · how we count

Head-to-head · Literature Review Software

Buhos vs Rayyan

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 5 checks side by side
Higher score Buhos #1 in Literature Review Software 9.4/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 4 of 5 features Visit Buhos
Rayyan #2 in Literature Review Software 9.3/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 1 of 5 features Visit Rayyan

Buhos leads on 0 checks, Rayyan on 0, and 5 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 5 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreBuhos · 9.4/10
  • Free planboth
  • Most featuresBuhos · 4 of 5

Buhos scores higher on our rubric for literature review software: 9.4 against 9.3 out of 10; our editors rank them #1 and #2.

Buhos is the better fit for free, end-to-end systematic review teams. Rayyan is the better fit for mobile-first collaborative review teams.

  • Buhos fits best

    Free, end-to-end systematic review teams

  • Rayyan fits best

    Mobile-first collaborative review teams

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Side by side

Feature Buhos 9.4/10 Visit ↗ Rayyan 9.3/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.4 9.3
Ranking #1 in Literature Review Software #2 in Literature Review Software
Best for Free, end-to-end systematic review teams Mobile-first collaborative review teams
Pricing model Free Free plan + paid
Starting price Free plan $8.33/seat/mo
Free plan ✓ ✓
Free trial — —
Deployment Self-hosted, Desktop Cloud, Mobile
Platforms Web, Windows, macOS, Linux Web, iOS, Android
Support Email, Docs Phone, Tickets, Community, Docs, Live chat
Built for Solo, Small business, Mid-market Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Buhos 4/5 · Rayyan 1/5
Screening workflow ✓ ✓
Full-text management ✓ (best) Not checked yet
Systematic review tools ✓ (best) Not checked yet
Collaboration ✓ (best) Not checked yet
Evidence mapping Not checked yet Not checked yet
Specs
Discovery tools Search Not checked yet
Citation import limit Not checked yet Not checked yet
Our review
Pros
  • Covers screening, extraction, quality assessment, reporting, and full-text review
  • Imports BibTeX, RIS, PubMed/NBIB, JSON, and CSV references
  • Supports collaboration with reviewer assignments, comments, tags, and messaging
  • Free plan covers importing, screening, and collaboration
  • Supports duplicate detection, extraction, risk-of-bias, and PRISMA reporting
  • iOS and Android apps support mobile and offline screening
Cons
  • Local or independent-server deployment requires technical setup
  • Focused on systematic literature review workflows rather than broader research work
  • Export options are limited to BibTeX, Excel, and GraphML
  • Individual paid plans are billed quarterly
  • Business / Academic pricing starts at five licenses
  • ResearchPilot features beyond Help Center mode require institutional plans
Our verdict

Buhos is open-source software for developing and managing systematic literature reviews. It supports both individual and group-based reviews, making it suitable for researchers who need a structured process from literature discovery…

Read the review →

Rayyan is a web-based collaboration platform for researchers, students, librarians, and review teams conducting literature and systematic reviews. Its workflow covers reference importing, duplicate detection, title and abstract screening,…

Read the review →
  1. BuhosLiterature Review Software 9.4Free plan
  2. RayyanLiterature Review Software 9.3Free plan

Strengths and trade-offs

  • Buhos — where it wins

    • Covers screening, extraction, quality assessment, reporting, and full-text review
    • Imports BibTeX, RIS, PubMed/NBIB, JSON, and CSV references
    • Supports collaboration with reviewer assignments, comments, tags, and messaging

    Where it doesn't

    • Local or independent-server deployment requires technical setup
    • Focused on systematic literature review workflows rather than broader research work
    • Export options are limited to BibTeX, Excel, and GraphML

  • Rayyan — where it wins

    • Free plan covers importing, screening, and collaboration
    • Supports duplicate detection, extraction, risk-of-bias, and PRISMA reporting
    • iOS and Android apps support mobile and offline screening

    Where it doesn't

    • Individual paid plans are billed quarterly
    • Business / Academic pricing starts at five licenses
    • ResearchPilot features beyond Help Center mode require institutional plans
  • Buhos9.4/10 · Free plan

    A free, end-to-end workspace for individual and collaborative systematic reviews.

    Visit BuhosFull verdict →
  • Rayyan9.3/10 · Free plan

    A mobile-first review workspace with free screening, AI tools, and structured extraction.

    Visit RayyanFull verdict →

More comparisons

All literature review software comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update