Abstrackr
Abstrackr is a free web-based tool for screening citations during systematic reviews.
What Abstrackr is
Abstrackr is a free web-based tool for screening citations during systematic reviews. It supports individual screening, blinded team reviews, pilot rounds, and conflict resolution. After about 100 labels, its machine-learning model ranks the remaining citations by predicted relevance. A live PRISMA flow table tracks screening thresholds, resolved conflicts, tagged exclusion reasons, and the model’s stop-point analysis. Citations can be imported from PubMed, Scopus, or Embase, or uploaded as RIS or CSV files. Abstrackr deduplicates records using DOI and PMID, with an option to merge remaining near-duplicates. Users can export CSV or RIS files, or download a full JSONL export for querying with DuckDB. Blinding is on by default, and changes are recorded in an audit log with the acting user, reason, timestamp, and project snapshots. Projects have Member and Leader roles, with no team-size limit; assignment reminders are sent 7, 4, and 1 day before deadlines. No installation is needed. The site directs users to its community forum for methodology and workflow discussions.
Good
- Free with no seat limits or usage caps
- Supports solo and blinded team screening
- Imports PubMed, Scopus, and Embase citations
- Offers CSV, RIS, and JSONL exports
- No installation needed
Watch out
- Does not provide AI paper summaries
- Does not support full-text analysis
- Machine-learning ranking begins after about 100 labels
Who it suits
Abstrackr suits researchers, librarians, and review teams conducting systematic reviews. Its team workflow, audit log, and PRISMA tracking may be useful for collaborative citation screening.
Verdict
Abstrackr combines citation screening, collaboration, deduplication, and PRISMA tracking in a free web tool. It is focused on citation-level review work; the listed capabilities do not include full-text analysis or AI paper summaries.
Plans and prices
From Abstrackr's own pricing page, checked 4 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | No seat limits · no usage caps · no subscription · Completely free |
The facts
Each one read from Abstrackr's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Assignment reminders
- Automated reminders are sent 7, 4, and 1 day before an assignment deadline.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Blinding and audit log
- Blinding is on by default, and changes to blinding are recorded in an audit log with the acting user, reason, timestamp, and project snapshots.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Deduplication
- Abstrackr automatically deduplicates citations by DOI and PMID and supports merging remaining near-duplicates.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Exports
- Users can export CSV or RIS files and download a full JSONL export for querying with DuckDB.checked 4 Oct 2026
- History
- The site says Abstrackr was originally developed and hosted at Brown University and was later relaunched at abstrackr.com by the same team.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Import formats
- The site says citations can be uploaded from PubMed, Scopus, and Embase, or as RIS or CSV files.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Installation
- The site says no installation is needed.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Intended users
- The site describes Abstrackr as serving researchers, librarians, and review teams conducting systematic reviews.checked 4 Oct 2026
- PRISMA reporting
- A live PRISMA flow table includes screening thresholds, conflict-resolved counts, exclusion reasons by tag, and ML stop-point analysis.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Abstrackr is a citation-screening tool for systematic reviews.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Screening workflow
- It supports solo screening, blinded team screening, pilot rounds, and conflict resolution.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Support
- The site directs users to its community forum for methodology questions and workflow discussions.checked 4 Oct 2026
Where it runs
- Machine learning
- After about 100 labels, its model ranks remaining citations by predicted relevance.checked 4 Oct 2026
The company
- Team roles
- Projects have Member and Leader roles, and the site says there is no limit on team size.checked 4 Oct 2026
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