DistillerSR vs Buhos

DistillerSR8.7Visit BBuhos8.4Visit

Higher score DistillerSR #5 in Systematic Review Software 8.7/10 Paid ✓ 0 of 4 features Visit DistillerSR

vs

B Buhos #8 in Systematic Review Software 8.4/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 4 features Visit Buhos

• DistillerSR fits best

  Auditable institutional reviews

• Buhos fits best

  Free open-source end-to-end reviews

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Side by side

Feature	DistillerSR 8.7/10 Visit ↗	BBuhos 8.4/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.7	8.4
Ranking	#5 in Systematic Review Software	#8 in Systematic Review Software
Best for	Auditable institutional reviews	Free open-source end-to-end reviews
Pricing model	Paid	Free
Starting price	—	Free plan
Free plan	—	✓ (best)
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud	Self-hosted, Desktop
Platforms	Web	Web, Windows, macOS, Linux
Support	Email, Community, Docs · 24/7	Email, Docs
Integrations	12 integrations	8 integrations
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Solo, Small business, Mid-market
Features DistillerSR 0/4 · Buhos 0/4
Reference deduplication	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Data extraction	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Full-text storage	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Protocol support	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Specs
Blinded screening	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Collaborator limit	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Review types	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Dual-reviewer workflows with conflict resolution and configurable validation AI classifiers, prioritization, and evidence extraction from tables and text Audit trails, version control, reporting, and broad literature integrations	Covers search, screening, extraction, assessment, reporting, and exports Supports group reviews with reviewer assignment, comments, tags, and messaging Imports major bibliographic formats and connects with eight research databases
Cons	No free plan; paid-only access reduces value for smaller teams Corporate and government pricing is quote-based The Student plan is restricted to eligible students	Local or independent-server deployment can require technical administration Its workflow is specialized for systematic literature reviews Documented exports are limited to BibTeX, Excel, and GraphML
Our verdict	DistillerSR is a web-based literature review and evidence management platform for academic researchers, healthcare organizations, pharmaceutical and medical-device companies, contract research organizations, governments, and NGOs. It… Read the review →	Buhos is web-based software for developing and managing systematic literature reviews. It is designed for researchers working alone or in groups who need a structured process from bibliographic searching through screening, full-text… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• DistillerSR — where it wins

  • Dual-reviewer workflows with conflict resolution and configurable validation
  • AI classifiers, prioritization, and evidence extraction from tables and text
  • Audit trails, version control, reporting, and broad literature integrations

  Where it doesn't

  • No free plan; paid-only access reduces value for smaller teams
  • Corporate and government pricing is quote-based
  • The Student plan is restricted to eligible students

• Buhos — where it wins

  • Covers search, screening, extraction, assessment, reporting, and exports
  • Supports group reviews with reviewer assignment, comments, tags, and messaging
  • Imports major bibliographic formats and connects with eight research databases

  Where it doesn't

  • Local or independent-server deployment can require technical administration
  • Its workflow is specialized for systematic literature reviews
  • Documented exports are limited to BibTeX, Excel, and GraphML

• DistillerSR8.7/10 · Paid

  A mature, auditable review platform with strong workflows and no free plan.

  Visit DistillerSRFull verdict →
• BBuhos8.4/10 · Free plan

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

  Visit BuhosFull verdict →