Overview

RevMan supports diagnostic test accuracy, intervention, methodology, overview, prognosis, qualitative, and flexible reviews. It is a substantial workspace for authors taking a review from structured data entry through analysis and presentation, but it does not include a screening workflow. Teams that need screening alongside review authoring should look elsewhere.

Key features

Multiple authors can work on different parts of a review at the same time and see who else is working. Templates, structured headings, and Cochrane methodological guidance provide a useful framework for shared writing, while custom templates leave room to adapt it.

For quantitative work, RevMan supports pairwise meta-analysis, sensitivity and subgroup analyses, and fixed-effects, random-effects, Mantel-Haenszel, and inverse-variance models. Forest, SROC, and funnel plots, risk-of-bias assessments, and PRISMA flow diagrams help turn analysis into review outputs. This breadth is valuable for authors who need those methods and visualizations; it is unnecessary weight for projects focused only on screening.

Study data and references can be imported from Covidence, and RIS reference imports can draw on Crossref, PubMed, or CRS. There are important integration boundaries: GRADEpro integration is not enabled for non-Cochrane reviews, and Cochrane Library data cannot be downloaded and reused in RevMan.

RevMan Web complies with GDPR for processing personal data of people in the EU, encrypts stored data, and uses 256-bit SSL for communications. It is hosted on AWS, with customer data in London and Ireland, and uses Cochrane Account single sign-on through OpenID Connect. After a subscription ends, reviews and their history remain accessible in RevMan for 60 days, so subscribers should plan for export or continued access rather than treating that window as permanent retention.

Pricing

RevMan is freemium, with a 30-day trial and annual individual subscriptions. The free Practice review plan costs 0.00 USD per free, but permits only one person per review, provides no data export, and deletes the review after 30 days. It is suitable for a brief individual practice exercise, not a durable project or collaborative review. Cochrane authors working on Cochrane Reviews can use RevMan Web free through Cochrane author access.

The Individual student annual subscription is 80.00 GBP per year, billed £80.00 + VAT (EU & UK); the Individual academic annual subscription is 100.00 GBP per year, billed £100.00 + VAT (EU & UK); and the Individual standard annual subscription is 130.00 GBP per year. Student and academic eligibility is shown after login. These paid individual options avoid the practice plan’s stated deletion and export restrictions, while the student and academic tiers cost less than the standard subscription if the subscriber qualifies.

Organization subscription starts at £560 for up to 8 users, with custom pricing depending on organization type and seat count. It is the option for a group needing a shared organizational subscription, but the starting price and seat allowance matter when comparing it with individual access. Check the VAT on EU and UK subscriptions when budgeting.

Platforms

RevMan supports Linux, macOS, Windows, and the web. RevMan Web supports Chrome, Firefox, and newer Edge versions, but not mobile devices or touchscreen use. That makes it a poor fit for authors who need to review or edit on phones, tablets, or touch-first computers. For support beyond the Knowledge Base, users can contact the Cochrane Support Team.

Who it's for

RevMan is best suited to students, academics, and review teams who need structured authoring alongside established meta-analysis methods and built-in figures. It is less suitable for screening-led workflows, mobile-first work, or short practice projects that need durable records and export.

Pros and cons

Pros: Broad review-type support and multiple meta-analysis models make it useful across varied evidence syntheses.
Pros: Simultaneous editing, templates, and methodological guidance support coordinated, structured writing.
Pros: Built-in plots, risk-of-bias assessments, and PRISMA flow diagrams keep several reporting outputs within the review workspace.
Cons: The free Practice review is single-user, has no export, and is deleted after 30 days.
Cons: No screening workflow and no mobile or touchscreen support exclude some common review and access needs.
Cons: GRADEpro integration is unavailable for non-Cochrane reviews, and Cochrane Library data cannot be reused in RevMan.

Alternatives

Choose Synthesis if you want a paid option with a free trial and Linux, macOS, and Windows support. Choose ASReview if free, open-source software with no licensing fees or subscriptions matters most, and you can account for the possible cost of your own hardware or server. Bibliometrix is a free open-source R package available on CRAN with a Biblioshiny web interface.

Rayyan offers a freemium option with a free tier capped at 3 active reviews, 2 free reviewers, 1 sample, and limited mobile app access. Buhos is a free alternative credited to Claudio Bustos Navarrete. Elicit has a free Basic plan with limited Research Agent and Research Reports usage, alongside unlimited search across more than 138 million papers, summaries, and chat with papers. EviSynth is open source and offers free academic access with unlimited collaborators and no trials or subscriptions. Litmaps has a free tier limited to 20 inputs, 100 articles, one Litmap, monthly summaries, and no collaboration.

For broader comparisons, browse Literature Review Software and Systematic Review Software.

Verdict

Choose RevMan if your priority is a structured, collaborative systematic-review workspace with substantial analysis and visualization tools. Its clearest advantages are the breadth of supported review methods and the way writing, analysis, and reporting outputs fit together. Look elsewhere if you need screening, mobile access, or a free practice space that preserves and exports your work.

	DistillerSR	RevMan
Free plan	No	Yes
Free trial		Yes
Paid from	$7.83/mo	£6.67/mo
Platforms	api, Web	Linux, macOS, Web, Windows
Free plan	No	Yes
Screening workflow	Yes	No
AI paper summaries	Yes
Full-text analysis	Yes
Systematic review support	Yes
Collaboration seats	3
Export formats	JSON
Systematic review tools		Yes
Collaboration		Yes
Evidence mapping		No

DistillerSR vs RevMan

DistillerSR

RevMan