RevMan Web positions itself as a comprehensive tool for systematic reviews and meta-analyses, yet it remains anchored to outdated design and limited functionality that undermine its purported benefits.

• Its interface is clunky and unintuitive, carrying over legacy design flaws from desktop predecessors.
• The software offers limited support for complex analyses, lacking advanced statistical methods now standard in meta-research.
• Collaboration features are basic at best, making multi-author workflows cumbersome.

• RevMan Web supports only a narrow range of effect measures and models, preventing nuanced analysis.
• It cannot easily incorporate network meta-analysis, meta-regression, or Bayesian methods.
• There is no built-in integration with AI tools or automated data extraction, forcing manual input that is time-consuming and error-prone.

• The platform does not connect directly with major literature databases or living evidence platforms.
• Lack of APIs or export options limits interoperability with other tools like GRADEpro, Covidence, or Elicit.
• Users must manually manage references and datasets, increasing potential for data fragmentation and error.

• Version control is minimal, and tracking changes over time is difficult.
• Reporting features are rigid and do not allow for nuanced presentation of uncertainty or conflicting evidence.
• Risk of bias assessments are manual and not linked to dynamic evidence updates.

RevMan Web is a legacy tool struggling to keep pace with the demands of modern systematic review and meta-analysis. Its clunky interface, limited analytical power, and poor integration make it ill-suited for agile, collaborative, and rigorous evidence synthesis.

Recommendation: Researchers requiring advanced, dynamic, and transparent synthesis tools should seek alternatives or augment RevMan Web with supplementary platforms.

• ✅ Fully customizable and flexible meta-analysis via scripting
• ✅ Supports advanced methods: meta-regression, network meta-analysis, Bayesian approaches
• ✅ Open source and widely used in research
• ➕ Why better than RevMan Web:

No GUI limitations, full control over analysis and reporting, highly reproducible

• ✅ Streamlined workflows for screening, data extraction, risk of bias assessment
• ✅ Collaboration-friendly with version control and audit trails
• ✅ Automated citation importing and conflict resolution
• ➕ Why better than RevMan Web:

Supports the full systematic review process, not just meta-analysis

• ✅ AI-assisted evidence extraction and risk of bias prediction
• ✅ Helps prioritize studies and reduces manual workload
• ➕ Why better than RevMan Web:

Enhances efficiency and accuracy beyond manual processes

• Comprehensive Meta-Analysis (CMA):

User-friendly GUI with powerful statistical options including subgroup and sensitivity analyses

• JASP:

Free GUI-based tool integrating frequentist and Bayesian meta-analysis methods

• Use R packages if comfortable with coding and need advanced analysis.
• Use Covidence or DistillerSR for team-based review management.
• Use Elicit or RobotReviewer to speed up evidence extraction and bias assessment.
• Use RevMan Web only for simple meta-analyses or if required by collaborators.