Litstream review
A broad, team-oriented workspace for collecting, screening, extracting, and reporting evidence.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Litstream is ICF’s web-based software for systematic literature reviews. It is designed for agencies, nonprofits, private researchers, and review teams that need to manage evidence collection from search through reporting. The platform combines literature search, automated data collection, reference deduplication, title and abstract screening, full-text screening, structured data extraction, study quality assessment, and visualization. Review managers can configure workflow steps, assign work, and track progress across collaborators.
Pricing is handled through contact sales, with the offering presented as a tailored solution with expert support. Litstream’s main value is its coverage of the full review workflow rather than a single task. Teams can create configurable extraction worksheets, tag documents, highlight keywords, and organize assignments. Reporting includes visualizations and interactive charts, while protocol support and systematic-review workflows help structure the process from planning through assessment. Organizations comparing tools should expect a sales-led buying process rather than selecting from published self-serve plans.
The standout capability is the combination of prioritization and collaboration. Machine-learning and clustering approaches can help teams prioritize studies, while assignments and progress tracking divide work across reviewers. Quality assessment workflows, extraction, and reporting keep later review stages connected to the initial search and screening process. Litstream is a strong fit for teams conducting structured, multi-stage evidence reviews and coordinating work among several contributors. Researchers seeking only a lightweight reference manager, a narrow screening utility, or a non-web workflow may prefer a more focused alternative.
Litstream pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Covers search, deduplication, screening, extraction, and reporting
- Machine-learning and clustering tools help prioritize studies
- Assignments and progress tracking support collaborative review teams
- Where it doesn't
- Pricing requires a contact-sales process
- Web-only access may not suit offline workflows
- Its broad workflow may exceed the needs of simple reviews
Litstream fact sheet, pricing and score →
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