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Colandr

colandrapp.com

Free plan Web
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Spec score 7.8 #20 of 38 in AI Literature Review Software

What it is

Colandr is a free web platform for evidence reviews and other document reviews and syntheses. Machine learning ranks citations by relevance to help screen titles and abstracts, while natural language processing classifies included documents into user-defined categories and assists full-text data extraction. Reviewers retain the final inclusion, exclusion, and classification decisions, and teams can collaborate and cross-check work. Citation files can be imported in TXT, RIS, or BIB formats, with a 40 MB limit per import, and screening decisions and extracted data can be exported as CSV. Colandr does not connect directly to citation databases; users export citations elsewhere, although the platform can help create Boolean search strings. Full-text papers must be found and imported individually, with no mass-upload feature. Relevance rankings update after every 10 screened citations, and metadata suggestions begin after 50 hand-coded extractions. Colandr describes itself as open-source and open-access.

Spec sheet

Purpose
Colandr is a web-based platform for conducting evidence reviews and can be used for different types of document reviews and syntheses.Read 7 Oct 2026 · colandrcommunity.com
Support
The team directs users to its help email and bug-reporting form, and asks users to allow time for responses because volunteers run the project.Read 7 Oct 2026 · colandrcommunity.com
Citation screening
Machine learning sorts citations by relevance to help reviewers screen titles and abstracts.Read 7 Oct 2026 · colandrcommunity.com
Collaboration
The platform supports collaborative teams and cross-checking between review team members.Read 7 Oct 2026 · colandrcommunity.com
Data extraction
Natural language processing helps classify included documents into user-defined categories and supports full-text data extraction.Read 7 Oct 2026 · colandrcommunity.com
Full-text uploads
Users must find and import full-text papers themselves, one paper at a time; the FAQ says there is no mass-upload feature.Read 7 Oct 2026 · colandrcommunity.com
Hosting
The Colandr community site says the platform runs on an AWS server hosted by Conservation International.Read 7 Oct 2026 · colandrcommunity.com
Human oversight
Reviewers make the final inclusion, exclusion, and classification decisions.Read 7 Oct 2026 · colandrcommunity.com
Import limits
Supported citation import formats are TXT, RIS, and BIB, and a single import can be up to 40 MB.Read 7 Oct 2026 · colandrcommunity.com
Imports and exports
Colandr supports citation uploads in BibTeX and RIS formats and exports screening decisions and extracted data as CSV.Read 7 Oct 2026 · colandrcommunity.com
Launch
The Colandr community site says the platform launched in July 2017.Read 7 Oct 2026 · colandrcommunity.com
Machine-learning thresholds
Citation relevance ranking updates after every 10 citations screened, while metadata extraction suggestions begin after 50 hand-coded extractions in a review.Read 7 Oct 2026 · colandrcommunity.com
Open source
Colandr describes itself as an open-source, open-access tool and links to front-end and back-end code repositories.Read 7 Oct 2026 · colandrcommunity.com
Search databases
Colandr does not connect to citation databases; users export citations from another system, while Colandr can help generate Boolean search strings.Read 7 Oct 2026 · colandrcommunity.com

Plans and prices

Free Free Open access · collaborative reviews Read 7 Oct 2026 · colandrcommunity.com

Every Colandr plan and price →

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • Free open-access platform
  • Machine learning ranks citation relevance
  • Natural language processing supports classification and extraction
  • Collaborative review and cross-checking
  • CSV export for decisions and extracted data

Limits

  • No direct citation-database connections
  • Full texts require one-at-a-time imports
  • Imports are limited to 40 MB
  • Machine suggestions require screening or coding thresholds

Who it suits

It suits review teams conducting evidence, systematic, or other document syntheses who want machine-assisted screening with human decisions. Users should be able to export citations and gather full texts separately.

Verdict

Colandr combines assisted screening and extraction with reviewer control and team workflows. Its separate citation-search and full-text steps are important constraints for planning a review.

Where Specifiction places it

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