Buhos vs Rayyan

Buhos is web-based software for conducting systematic literature reviews, with tools for reference screening, full-text management, collaboration, analysis and reporting. Reviews can be individual or group-based, with internal messaging for personal and review-related communication. The workflow has defined stages, but stages can be changed at any point. Buhos imports bibliographic records in formats including BibTeX, RIS, PubMed/NBIB, JSON and CSV, from sources such as WoS, Scopus, EBSCOhost, SciELO, PubMed, Lilacs and ProQuest. Crossref supports deduplication and reference information retrieval; Scopus and PubMed can supply missing abstracts and metadata when API credentials are available. A repository provides online viewing of PDF and ODF files. Other tools include customized forms, data analysis, reports and exports. English and Spanish are listed as available languages. Buhos runs on Linux, Windows and macOS; the project links to deployment guidance and API documentation. Its documentation says it fully supports the conducting phase of a review, partly supports report formatting, and omits some planning and reporting activities. Buhos is free.

Rayyan is a platform for teams carrying out systematic evidence reviews, with workflows intended to be transparent, auditable, and reproducible. Its process spans reference import, collaboration, deduplication, title and abstract screening, full-text screening, data extraction, risk-of-bias assessment, and reporting. ResearchPilot AI Reviewer screens articles against criteria set by the user and gives decisions with reasoning notes. The Analyzer suggests inclusion or exclusion with justification, while the researcher retains final decision-making. ResearchPilot can also extract answers to custom questions from PDFs and metadata, highlight relevant passages, and let users inspect the answers. References are imported from exported files rather than a direct database connection. The API offers programmatic access to reviews, references, decisions, and metadata, plus workflow automation and external integrations. Rayyan is available on Android, iOS, web, and through an API. The Free plan allows three active reviews and two free reviewers; paid options start at $8.33 a month per seat, billed annually. Free mobile access is limited; Essential and higher provide unlimited mobile access.