The Best Zotero AlternativesTop Research Managers and other similar apps like Zotero

Alternatives list

1. 

   

   Mendeley

    295 likes

   Mendeley helps manage and share academic knowledge: Mendeley Desktop is free academic software (Windows, Mac, Linux) for organizing and sharing research papers and generating bibliographies with 1GB of free online storage to automatically back up and synchronize your library...

   98 Mendeley alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Freemium
   • Proprietary

   Application type

   • Research Manager

   Origin

   • Netherlands
   • EU

   Platforms

   • Mac
   • Windows
   • Linux
   • Online

   • Netherlands
   • EU

   

   

   

   +2

   

   More about Mendeley  

   

   Good alternative?Is Mendeley a good alternative to Zotero?

    

   |

   2comments

   ExpandCollapse

   Mendeley vs Zotero Comments

   Positive comment by John Fastman · Dec 30, 2016

   Mendeley differs from Zotero like this: 1) It is not open source, but it's still free (as in beer); 2) it has better features for annotating pdf files; 3) It emphasizes connections between academics working in similar areas, which helps in discovery of references. Zotero doesn't do that. However, Zotero is better at extracting meta data from pdf files and has the superior browser plugin.

   Positive comment by Nick Scientist · Feb 7, 2023

   Mendeley is not open-source. After the migration to the Mendeley Reference Manager which has been a disaster in performance for the desktop apps, exhibit buggy behavior, are much more taxing to computers. Web plugin much better in Zotero too.

   2 of 2 comments

   

   

   • Mendeley is Freemium and ProprietaryZotero is Freemium and Open Source
2. 

   

   JabRef

    108 likes

   Bibliography reference manager. The native file format used by JabRef is BibTeX, the standard LaTeX bibliography format.

   62 JabRef alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source (MIT)

   Application type

   • Research Manager

   Platforms

   • Mac
   • Windows
   • Linux
   • Microsoft Edge
   • Vivaldi
   • Google Chrome
   • Mozilla Firefox

   

   More about JabRef  

   

   Good alternative?Is JabRef a good alternative to Zotero?

    

   |

   2comments

   ExpandCollapse

   JabRef vs Zotero Comments

   Positive comment by Guest · Oct 24, 2020

   Open source, clean, robust. Works best with BibTex/Latex environment.

   Positive comment by Guest · Aug 15, 2023

   Screen clear with all important informations easily readible. Avoid import of existing records and efficient merge compared to zotero !!! So no duplicate. We can create many librairies and we are not limited to one big with every records in, so quicker when you have a lot of references.

   2 of 2 comments

   

   

   • JabRef is Free and Open SourceZotero is Freemium and Open Source
4. 

   

   Qiqqa

    426 likes

   Qiqqa is a free research and reference manager. Search for, read and annotate your PDFs. Then review your work, write up and create bibliographies instantly.

   71 Qiqqa alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Freemium
   • Open Source

   Application type

   • Research Manager

   Origin

   • United Kingdom

   Platforms

   • Windows

   • United Kingdom

   

   

   

   +2

   

   More about Qiqqa  

   

   Good alternative?Is Qiqqa a good alternative to Zotero?

    

   |

   4comments

   ExpandCollapse

   Qiqqa vs Zotero Comments

   Negative comment by phytographer · Oct 30, 2020

   Qiqqa does not have:

   1. Chrome connector for gathering citations
   2. Google Docs integration
   3. LibreOffice Integration

   Negative comment by Alternative User929 · Jul 5, 2023

   Not like Zotero or Mendeley.

   Negative comment by altenativeto · Feb 8, 2020

   The open source transparency and the WebDav sync make Zotero a better option for Users with a certain degree of Data control/ privacy needs.

   3 of 4 comments

   

   

   • Qiqqa is Freemium and Open SourceZotero is also Freemium and Open Source
5. Ad

   

   

   AnswerThis

   Advanced AI tool for academic research delivers in-depth literature reviews, citing over 200 million sources, summarizing findings, supporting uploads, chat-based queries, user libraries, editable reviews, and free or pro access ...

   https://answerthis.io

   Learn More
6. 

   

   EndNote

    45 likes

   Reference management tool supporting searching and importing from databases, auto-formatting citations, creating bibliographies, syncing libraries via the cloud, annotating PDFs, collaboration, deduplication of references, web-based access, and AI-powered assistance.

   53 EndNote alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Paid
   • Proprietary

   Application type

   • Research Manager

   Origin

   • United Kingdom

   Platforms

   • Mac
   • Windows
   • Online
   • iPhone
   • iPad

   • United Kingdom

   

   

   

   +8

   

   More about EndNote  

   

   Good alternative?Is EndNote a good alternative to Zotero?

    

   |

   2comments

   ExpandCollapse

   EndNote vs Zotero Comments

   Positive comment by John Fastman · Dec 30, 2016

   Unfortunately, in terms of sheer functionality and completeness as a reference manager, EndNote is probably the best. Unfortunately, because it's very expensive, it's not open source and it doesn't work on Linux. But the level of customization over citation styles, and the integration with MS Word make it a default for many. In my estimation, 90%+ of researchers would find enough in Zotero not to have to pay for End Note.

   Positive comment by Guest · May 11, 2020

   this is the program that the journals ask to make references using it

   2 of 2 comments

   

   

   • EndNote is Paid and ProprietaryZotero is Freemium and Open Source
7. 

   

   Paperpile

    59 likes

   Organize your research papers in a Gmail-like web app, sync your PDFs to Google Drive and cite your references in Google Docs.

   53 Paperpile alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Paid
   • Proprietary

   Application type

   • Research Manager

   Platforms

   • Mac
   • Windows
   • Online
   • Android
   • iPhone
   • Android Tablet
   • iPad
   • Google Chrome
   • Microsoft Office Word
   • Google Drive
   • Google Drive - Docs
   • Google Scholar

   

   

   

   More about Paperpile  

   

   Good alternative?Is Paperpile a good alternative to Zotero?

    

   |

   1comment

   ExpandCollapse

   Paperpile vs Zotero Comments

   Positive comment by Guest · Feb 28, 2019

   It is an amazing software and has many great features when compared to Zotero

   1 of 1 comments

   

   

   • Paperpile is Paid and ProprietaryZotero is Freemium and Open Source
9. 

   

   Paperwork

    42 likes

   Paperwork is a personal document manager for scanned documents (and PDFs).

   44 Paperwork alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source

   Application typeApplication types

   • Document Manager
   • Document Scanner

   Origin

   • France
   • EU

   Platforms

   • Windows
   • Linux
   • Flathub

   • France
   • EU

   

   

   

   +1

   

   More about Paperwork  

   

   Good alternative?Is Paperwork a good alternative to Zotero?

    

   |

   1comment

   ExpandCollapse

   Paperwork vs Zotero Comments

   Negative comment by Guest · Mar 14, 2025

   Paperwork is for personal documents, Zotero is for research

   1 of 1 comments

   

   

   • Paperwork is Free and Open SourceZotero is Freemium and Open Source
   • Paperwork is a Document Manager Zotero is a Research Manager
10. 

    

    BibSonomy

     45 likes

    BibSonomy is a system for sharing bookmarks and lists of literature (BibTex format).

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application typeApplication types

    • Research Manager
    • Bookmark Manager

    Origin

    • Germany
    • EU

    Platforms

    • Online

    • Germany
    • EU

    

    More about BibSonomy  

    

    Good alternative?Is BibSonomy a good alternative to Zotero?

     
11. 

    

    ReadCube Papers

     71 likes

    Papers helps you collect and curate the research material that you're passionate about. This award-winning reference manager will improve the way you find, organize, read, cite, and share.

    48 ReadCube Papers alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    • Research Manager

    Origin

    • United States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Microsoft Edge
    • Google Chrome
    • Safari
    • Firefox

    • United States

    

    

    

    +3

    

    More about ReadCube Papers  

    

    Good alternative?Is ReadCube Papers a good alternative to Zotero?

     
12. 

    

    Citavi

     53 likes

    Reference management and knowledge organization with integrated task planner. Solution for work groups with data sharing in intranet available.

    43 Citavi alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    • Research Manager

    Origin

    • Switzerland

    Platforms

    • Windows

    • Switzerland

    

    

    

    +3

    

    More about Citavi  

    

    Good alternative?Is Citavi a good alternative to Zotero?

     

    |

    1comment

    ExpandCollapse

    Citavi vs Zotero Comments

    Negative comment by altenativeto · Aug 23, 2021

    It is sadly unstable software. It has of course more professional functions than zotero but also problems with stability. For Example: when I had my computer in standby, I have to restart the software.

    1 of 1 comments

    

    

    • Citavi is Freemium and ProprietaryZotero is Freemium and Open Source
13. 

    

    ZoteroBib

     15 likes

    ZoteroBib is a free service to help people quickly create bibliographies without installing any software or creating an account.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Origin

    • United States

    Platforms

    • Online

    • United States

    

    

    More about ZoteroBib  

    

    Good alternative?Is ZoteroBib a good alternative to Zotero?

     
14. 

    

    WizNote

     82 likes

    WizNote is a Note software, which is especially designed for Internet users and mobile Internet users. WizNote focuses more on notes of rapid collection, management, reading and sharing. WizNote is smaller, more stable, and more suitable for computers, phones and mobile devices.

    252 WizNote alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application typeApplication types

    • Note-taking
    • Todo List Manager

    Origin

    • China

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • BSD
    • Windows Phone
    • iPad

    • China

    

    

    

    +6

    

    More about WizNote  

    

    Good alternative?Is WizNote a good alternative to Zotero?

     
15. 

    

    SciSpace

     8 likes

    Search the largest scientific corpus in the world Discover and study research papers better with SciSpace copilot.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Origin

    • India

    Platforms

    • Online

    • India

    

    

    More about SciSpace  

    

    Good alternative?Is SciSpace a good alternative to Zotero?