Digital illustration of a researcher using Covidence and Rayyan for systematic reviews.

Streamline Your Research: Covidence and Rayyan - The Future of Systematic Reviews

Lena Kashyap in Tech & Innovation July 2025 • 4 min read.

"Unlock efficiency and accuracy in your literature reviews with these free and user-friendly software tools designed for modern researchers."

In today's fast-paced research environment, efficiency and accuracy are paramount. Systematic reviews, a cornerstone of evidence-based practice, often involve sifting through vast amounts of data. Fortunately, innovative software solutions are emerging to streamline this process. Covidence and Rayyan, two such tools, are making waves in the research community by offering user-friendly and cost-effective ways to conduct systematic reviews.

Traditionally, systematic reviews involved manual processes like sorting references in Endnote, coding in Reference Manager, or even printing and marking documents by hand. These methods are not only time-consuming but also prone to errors. Covidence and Rayyan offer a digital alternative, designed to facilitate screening, data extraction, and collaboration.

This article explores the features, benefits, and practical applications of Covidence and Rayyan, demonstrating how these tools can significantly improve the efficiency and reliability of systematic reviews. Whether you're a seasoned researcher or new to the field, understanding these platforms can transform your approach to literature reviews.

Covidence and Rayyan: A Detailed Overview

Digital illustration of a researcher using Covidence and Rayyan for systematic reviews.

Covidence and Rayyan are designed to address the challenges of systematic reviews. Both platforms were developed within the systematic review community, by and for users, on a not-for-profit basis. This ensures that the tools are aligned with the needs of researchers and are continuously improved based on user feedback.

Rayyan stands out as a completely free tool, providing researchers with the capability to screen titles and abstracts offline using its mobile app. This feature enhances cost efficiency and flexibility, allowing researchers to work on their reviews from anywhere. Covidence offers a free trial option and is free for Cochrane Reviews, making it accessible to a wide range of users.

Key features of Covidence and Rayyan include:

User-friendly interfaces that simplify the screening process.
Tools for quality assessment and data extraction.
Mobile app support for offline screening (Rayyan).
Machine-learning capabilities to suggest relevant articles (Rayyan).

Rayyan's unique machine-learning function suggests labels based on your selection patterns. It learns from include/exclude decisions and gives a five-star rating to articles you are most likely to include. The 'similarity graph' visual display is visually appealing. Covidence offers tools optimized for Cochrane-style intervention reviews, facilitating the pooling of trial results for specific treatments and clinical conditions.

Conclusion: Empowering Researchers with Advanced Tools

Covidence and Rayyan are powerful tools that can significantly enhance the efficiency and accuracy of systematic reviews. By leveraging these platforms, researchers can streamline their screening process, improve collaboration, and make more informed decisions. Whether you're conducting a Cochrane review or managing a complex research project, Covidence and Rayyan offer valuable solutions to meet your needs and elevate your research outcomes.

About this Article -

This article was crafted using a human-AI hybrid and collaborative approach. AI assisted our team with initial drafting, research insights, identifying key questions, and image generation. Our human editors guided topic selection, defined the angle, structured the content, ensured factual accuracy and relevance, refined the tone, and conducted thorough editing to deliver helpful, high-quality information.See our About page for more information.

Everything You Need To Know

How do Covidence and Rayyan improve systematic reviews compared to traditional methods?

Covidence and Rayyan streamline systematic reviews by offering digital alternatives to manual processes. Instead of manually sorting references in tools like EndNote or Reference Manager, or physically marking documents, these platforms facilitate screening, data extraction, and collaboration, saving time and reducing errors. Rayyan, with its mobile app, even allows offline screening. While traditional methods are time-consuming and prone to errors, Covidence and Rayyan offer user-friendly interfaces and features designed to improve efficiency and reliability.

What are the key differences between Covidence and Rayyan, especially regarding features and cost?

Rayyan distinguishes itself with its completely free access and mobile app functionality, allowing users to screen titles and abstracts offline. It also incorporates machine-learning capabilities to suggest relevant articles based on inclusion/exclusion decisions, enhancing the screening process. While Covidence offers a free trial and free access for Cochrane Reviews, it does not offer offline screening capabilities or machine learning suggestions. The 'similarity graph' is a visual tool that visually displays how articles are similar.

How is Covidence specifically optimized for Cochrane reviews, and does Rayyan offer similar capabilities?

Covidence is optimized for Cochrane-style intervention reviews. This means it provides tools specifically designed to facilitate the pooling of trial results for specific treatments and clinical conditions, which is essential for Cochrane Reviews. Rayyan does not offer these specific tools tailored for Cochrane reviews, focusing instead on general screening and article suggestion features. Both can be used for Cochrane reviews although Covidence is optimized. Note that Covidence is free for Cochrane reviews.

In what ways can utilizing platforms like Covidence and Rayyan enhance overall research outcomes?

Covidence and Rayyan enhance research outcomes by improving the efficiency and accuracy of systematic reviews. Streamlining the screening process allows researchers to process more data, identify relevant studies more quickly, and improve collaboration among team members. The ability to make more informed decisions based on reliable evidence synthesis ultimately leads to better research outcomes and evidence-based practices. These can result in better decision-making and reduce research waste.

Can you explain how Rayyan's machine-learning feature suggests relevant articles and improves the selection process?

The machine-learning feature in Rayyan assists in the article selection process by learning from the user's include/exclude decisions. Rayyan analyzes the selection patterns and assigns a five-star rating to articles that it predicts the user is most likely to include. This feature is designed to prioritize relevant articles, further streamlining the screening process and reducing the time spent on irrelevant studies. This proactive approach contrasts with traditional methods where researchers manually assess each article without automated suggestions.