Abstrackr vs Universal SLR Assistant
Abstrackr
abstrackr.comUniversal SLR Assistant
sadeghanisi.github.ioSide by side
| Figure | Abstrackr | Universal SLR Assistant |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Systematic Review Software | 8.0 (#9) | 8.2 (#6) |
| Spec score · AI Literature Review Software | 8.0 (#12) | 8.2 (#10) |
| Deduplication | Abstrackr automatically deduplicates citations by DOI and PMID and supports merging remaining near-duplicates. | Duplicate detection combines DOI matching with fuzzy title matching and leaves final review to the researcher. |
| Exports | Users can export CSV or RIS files and download a full JSONL export for querying with DuckDB. | Workspace exports include decision CSV/XLSX files, AI and human decision logs, exclusion reasons, PRISMA-ready counts, a methods draft and a manifest. |
| Installation | The site says no installation is needed. | Installation uses a Git clone, virtual environment and pip requirements, with batch launchers for Windows and Python commands for macOS or Linux. |
| Intended users | The site describes Abstrackr as serving researchers, librarians, and review teams conducting systematic reviews. | It is intended for PhD students, researchers, professors, evidence synthesis teams, and systematic or scoping review authors. |
| Purpose | Abstrackr is a citation-screening tool for systematic reviews. | Universal SLR Assistant supports systematic and scoping review workflows with AI-assisted screening, extraction, and reproducible outputs. |
| Support | The site directs users to its community forum for methodology questions and workflow discussions. | The project directs users to the Complete User Guide, in-app Help panel, output logs, tests, and GitHub issues for support. |
Plans
In their own words
Abstrackr
Abstrackr is a free web tool for screening citations in systematic reviews. It supports solo work, blinded team screening, pilot rounds, and conflict resolution. After about 100 labels, machine learning ranks remaining citations by predicted relevance. A live PRISMA flow table records screening thresholds, resolved conflicts, exclusion reasons by tag, and analysis of the model’s stop point. Citations can be imported from PubMed, Scopus, or Embase, or uploaded as RIS and CSV files. The service deduplicates records by DOI and PMID and can merge remaining near-duplicates. Results export as CSV or RIS, with a full JSONL download for DuckDB queries. Blinding starts enabled, and changes are logged with user, reason, timestamp, and project snapshots. Member and Leader roles have no stated team-size limit, while reminders arrive 7, 4, and 1 day before deadlines. No installation is needed, and the site directs methodology questions to its community forum.
Universal SLR Assistant
Universal SLR Assistant supports systematic and scoping reviews with AI-assisted screening, extraction, and reproducible outputs. It provides a desktop interface and a browser-based local Web App, and imports RIS, BibTeX, CSV, and plain-text references, including exports from PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. Its workflow covers abstract screening, full-text PDF processing, structured extraction, and export; likely duplicates are identified by DOI and fuzzy title matching. Workspace mode stores references, PDF metadata, review items, decisions, and audit events in a local SQLite workspace, separating AI suggestions from human decisions. Exports can include decision files and logs, exclusion reasons, PRISMA-ready counts, a methods disclosure draft, and a manifest. The project supports a range of cloud and local AI providers. Cloud providers receive submitted paper text, while Ollama or another local endpoint can keep it on the user's computer or local network. AI results are assistance only: people must verify them and make final review and reporting decisions. The software is free under the MIT License; cloud AI provider API fees may apply.