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

The best open source alternative to Zotero is JabRef. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to Zotero and 18 is open source so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source alternatives to Zotero are Qiqqa, Paperwork, BibSonomy and ZoteroBib.

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Zotero alternatives are mainly Research Managers, but if you're looking for Document Managers or PDF Readers you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Open Source, Mac, Research Manager and Free. You can also filter by region, for example EU-based alternatives if you prefer software developed in the European Union. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Zotero.
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Alternatives list

  1. JabRef icon
     107 likes

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

    57 JabRef alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Microsoft Edge
    • Vivaldi
    • Google Chrome
    • Mozilla Firefox
     
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    2
  2. Qiqqa icon
     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.

    69 Qiqqa alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
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    4
  3. Paperwork icon
     41 likes

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

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
     
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    1
  4. ZoteroBib icon
     14 likes

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

    14 ZoteroBib alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Online
     
  5. MyBib icon
     16 likes

    A new FREE citation generator. Automatically create bibliographies, references, and citations in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and over 8000 more styles with a totally free and no-ads citation generator.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Google Chrome
     
  6. I, Librarian icon
     2 likes

    I, Librarian is an online service that will organize your collection of PDF and office files. The service focuses on central management of PDF documents suitable for real-time collaboration in research teams and companies.

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    • Software as a Service (SaaS)
     
  7. KBibTeX icon
     9 likes

    KBibTeX is a reference management software primarily for BibTeX which is typically used in conjunction with TeX/LaTeX.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
     
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    1
  8. Paperlib icon
     4 likes

    An open-source and simple academic paper management tool.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Google Chrome
    • Mozilla Firefox
    • Safari
     
  9. BibDesk icon
     24 likes

    BibDesk is a bibliographic reference manager for Mac OS X. BibDesk is designed to help organize and use bibliographic databases in BibTeX .bib format.

    36 BibDesk alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
     
  10. SCIENTILLA icon
     21 likes

    Scientilla is a new approach to give the scientific community an open, free, accurate, tidy and up-to-date production reporting solution.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
  11. bibus icon
     5 likes

    Bibus is a bibliographic database. It uses a MySQL or SQLite database to store references. It can directly insert references in OpenOffice.org and MS Word and generate the bibliographic index.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
12 of 18 Zotero alternatives