MetaReview vs RevMan vs R vs Stata vs Covidence vs Meta-Mar — features, pricing, and learning curve side-by-side
The first decision in any meta-analysis isn't about your research question — it's about choosing the right tool. Pick the wrong software and you could waste weeks learning to code, spend hundreds of dollars on a license you don't need, or discover halfway through that critical features are missing.
This guide compares the 6 most-used meta-analysis tools in 2026 across five dimensions: feature coverage, pricing, learning curve, chart quality, and report export.
| Feature | MetaReview | RevMan | R (metafor) | Stata | Covidence | Meta-Mar |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Registration | Free | $895+ | $225/yr | €19-69 |
| Installation | None | Required | Required | Required | None | None |
| Coding Required | No | No | R code | Stata code | No | No |
| Time to Learn | 5 minutes | 1-2 days | 1-4 weeks | 1-4 weeks | 30 minutes | 30 minutes |
| Statistical Analysis | ||||||
| Effect Size Types | OR/RR/HR/MD/SMD | OR/RR/MD/SMD | All | All | No statistics | OR/RR/MD/SMD |
| Survival Data (HR) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Subgroup Analysis | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Meta-Regression | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Cumulative Analysis | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Trim-and-Fill | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Dose-Response | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Prediction Interval | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| GRADE Assessment | ✓ | ✓ | Package | Package | ✗ | ✗ |
| Charts & Visualizations | ||||||
| Forest Plot | ✓ SVG/PNG | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Funnel Plot | ✓ + Contour | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Galbraith Plot | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| L'Abbe Plot | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | Package | ✗ | ✗ |
| Baujat Plot | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | Package | ✗ | ✗ |
| Network Meta-Analysis | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| PRISMA Flow Diagram | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Research Workflow | ||||||
| PubMed Search | ✓ Built-in | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| AI Literature Screening | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| RIS/EndNote Import | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Paste from Excel | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Report Export | ||||||
| DOCX Report | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| HTML Report | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Methods Paragraph | ✓ Auto | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Results Narrative | ✓ Auto | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| JSON Data Export | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
Data as of February 2026. RevMan refers to RevMan Web. R refers to the meta/metafor packages.
Graduate students doing their first meta-analysis, clinicians with limited time, researchers without programming skills, and teams with no software budget.
Cochrane systematic review authors, researchers already familiar with RevMan, and teams that specifically need RoB assessment.
Researchers with programming experience, teams needing highly customized analyses, and statisticians.
Institutions with existing Stata licenses, researchers who use Stata for other analyses, and teams with dedicated software budgets.
Large teams focused on systematic review screening who will use a separate tool for statistical analysis.
Researchers who prefer a paid tool with a simple interface and need only basic meta-analysis features.
RevMan is one of the most widely used meta-analysis tools, but it has notable gaps. Here's how it compares with MetaReview feature-by-feature:
| Feature | MetaReview | RevMan Web |
|---|---|---|
| Meta-Regression | ✓ Scatter + regression + CI band | ✗ |
| Dose-Response | ✓ Linear + quadratic | ✗ |
| Galbraith Plot | ✓ | ✗ |
| L'Abbe Plot | ✓ | ✗ |
| Baujat Plot | ✓ | ✗ |
| Influence Diagnostics | ✓ 6 dimensions | ✗ |
| Begg's Test | ✓ | ✗ |
| Contour Funnel Plot | ✓ | ✗ |
| Forest Plot Sorting | ✓ 5 modes | Limited |
| Forest Plot Tooltips | ✓ Interactive | ✗ |
| PubMed Search | ✓ Built-in | ✗ |
| AI Screening | ✓ | ✗ |
| Methods Paragraph | ✓ PRISMA format | ✗ |
| Paste from Excel | ✓ | ✗ |
| Clinical Interpretation | ✓ | ✗ |
| Undo/Redo | ✓ 50 steps | Basic |
| Risk of Bias (RoB) | ✗ | ✓ Built-in |
| Team Collaboration | ✗ | ✓ |
| Tool | Price | Billing | Student Discount |
|---|---|---|---|
| MetaReview | $0 | Free forever | Free |
| R + RStudio | $0 | Open source | Free |
| RevMan Web | Free* | Cochrane account | Free* |
| Meta-Mar | €19-69 | Per project | None |
| Covidence | $225/yr | Annual | Free (1 review) |
| Stata | $895+ | Perpetual | $225 (educational) |
* RevMan Web is free for registered Cochrane users.
Suppose you want to analyze "Aspirin vs Placebo for Cardiovascular Event Prevention." Here's the complete workflow:
Total time: data entry + analysis + export takes about 30 minutes (excluding literature search and full-text reading).
Zero cost. Zero coding. Zero installation. From data to forest plot in 5 minutes, with one-click Word report export.
Try MetaReview NowSee live example: Aspirin vs Placebo Meta-Analysis (7 RCTs) →
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