PICO Portal vs CADIMA

PICO Portal9.2Visit CADIMA9.0Visit

Higher score PICO Portal #3 in Literature Review Software 9.2/10 Free plan · 14-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 1 of 5 features Visit PICO Portal

vs

CADIMA #4 in Literature Review Software 9.0/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 5 of 5 features Visit CADIMA

• PICO Portal fits best

  AI-assisted systematic review teams

• CADIMA fits best

  Teams wanting a free structured review platform

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Side by side

Feature	PICO Portal 9.2/10 Visit ↗	CADIMA 9.0/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.2	9.0
Ranking	#3 in Literature Review Software	#4 in Literature Review Software
Best for	AI-assisted systematic review teams	Teams wanting a free structured review platform
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Free
Starting price	—	Free
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	14 days	—
Deployment	Cloud	Cloud
Platforms	Web	Web
Support	Email, Docs	Email, Community, Docs
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features PICO Portal 1/5 · CADIMA 5/5
Screening workflow	✓	✓
Full-text management	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Systematic review tools	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Collaboration	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Evidence mapping	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Specs
Discovery tools	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Citation import limit	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Free plan includes screening, full-text review, and data extraction Integrates with PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and more Supports dual review, risk-of-bias assessment, and PRISMA reporting	Free access to systematic reviews, maps and literature reviews Covers screening, appraisal, extraction and duplicate removal Supports team roles, permissions and conflict management
Cons	The free PICO Portal plan supports one project Advanced ScholarIQ access is limited during the two-week trial Paid-plan pricing requires contact with the vendor	Web-only access limits platform choice No paid tiers for expanded capabilities Published site version is dated April 2023
Our verdict	PICO Portal is a web-based evidence-synthesis platform for researchers conducting literature and systematic reviews. It is designed for academic, government, nonprofit, private-sector, policy, guideline, research-and-development, and… Read the review →	CADIMA is a free, hosted web application for conducting and documenting systematic reviews, systematic maps and other literature reviews. It is aimed at research teams that need a shared workflow for organizing references, screening… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• PICO Portal — where it wins

  • Free plan includes screening, full-text review, and data extraction
  • Integrates with PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and more
  • Supports dual review, risk-of-bias assessment, and PRISMA reporting

  Where it doesn't

  • The free PICO Portal plan supports one project
  • Advanced ScholarIQ access is limited during the two-week trial
  • Paid-plan pricing requires contact with the vendor

• CADIMA — where it wins

  • Free access to systematic reviews, maps and literature reviews
  • Covers screening, appraisal, extraction and duplicate removal
  • Supports team roles, permissions and conflict management

  Where it doesn't

  • Web-only access limits platform choice
  • No paid tiers for expanded capabilities
  • Published site version is dated April 2023

• PICO Portal9.2/10 · Free plan · 14-day trial

  A broad web-based workspace for AI-assisted screening, extraction, and reporting.

  Visit PICO PortalFull verdict →
• CADIMA9.0/10 · Free plan

  A free, structured workspace for collaborative literature reviews.

  Visit CADIMAFull verdict →