Comparison of reference management software

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Template:Short description The following tables compare notable reference management software. The comparison includes older applications that may no longer be supported, as well as actively-maintained software.

General

In the "notes" section, there is a difference between:

  • web-based, referring to applications that may be installed on a web server (usually requiring MySQL or another database and PHP, Perl, Python, or some other language for web applications), and;
  • a centrally hosted website.
Software Developer First public release Latest stable release date Latest stable version Cost (USD) Free software License Notes
BibBase Christian Fritz 2005 2024-06-06 ? Free for students / Paid plan for others No Proprietary Centrally hosted website, intended for publication pages
BibDesk BibDesk developers 2002-04 2024-10-18 1.9.6 Free Yes Template:BSD-lic BibTeX front-end + repository; Cocoa-based; integration with Spotlight
BibSonomy University of Kassel 2006-01 2024-01-08 4.1.0 Free Yes AGPL, GPL, LGPL[1] Centrally hosted website
Bookends Sonny Software 1988 (Mac) / 1983 (Apple II+) 2023-05-06 14.2[2] US$59.99Template:Efn No Proprietary Desktop & iOS synced via iCloud, integrated web search, PDF download, auto-completion, Word plugin, BibTex support, PDF annotations stored as notes
Citavi Lumivero 2006-02-13 2023-08-15 6.17.0.0 US$89-1947Template:Efn No Proprietary Data can be saved locally on the computer, or, for team access, in the Citavi Cloud or an intranet Microsoft SQL Server;[3] search databases from interface[4]
EndNote Clarivate Analytics 1988 2025-04-22 2025 US$299.95Template:Efn No Proprietary The web version EndNote basic (formerly, EndNote Web) is free of charge
JabRef JabRef developers 2003-11-29 2023-10-21 5.11 Free Yes MIT license Java BibTeX and BibLaTeX manager
KBibTeX KBibTeX developers 2005-08 2020-04-26 0.9.2 Free Yes Template:GPL-lic BibTeX front-end, using the KDE Software Compilation
Mendeley Elsevier 2008-08 2025-06-05 2.135.0 Free / Online storage free up to 2 GB / Additional storage space available No Proprietary with public API Account required, app versions for web, Windows, Linux, macOS. Data synced automatically between clients and server. Usable offline.
Paperpile Stefan Washietl, Gregorgy Jordan, Andreas Gruber 2013 Continually updated online US$2.99/month for academics, 9.99/month otherwise No Proprietary Web-app, integrates with Google Docs, collaboration & sharing features, currently only on Google Chrome
Papers ReadCube 2011-10 2023-04-04 v.4.35.2224 US$ 3/month for students, 5/month academics No Proprietary Web-app, Desktop (MacOS, Windows), Mobile (iOS and Android). Microsoft Word and Google Docs add-in. Browser extension (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari)
refbase refbase developers 2003-06-03 2014-02-28 0.9.6 Free Yes Template:GPL-lic Web-based for institutional repositories/self-archiving[5]
RefDB refdb developers 2001-04-25 2022-02-13 1.0.3 Free Yes Template:GPL-lic Network-transparent; XML/SGML bibliographies
RefWorks Ex Libris / ProQuest / Clarivate 2001 2024-07-09 4.6 Institutional subscription No Proprietary Web-based, browser-accessed, Word & Google Docs
Zotero Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at GMU 2006 2024-08-26 7.0.3[6] Free / Online storage free up to 300 MB / Additional storage space available Yes AGPL Multi-platform desktop version with connectors for Firefox, Chrome and Safari. Web-based access to reference library also available through Zotero.org or through a personal cloud-based database folder on a user's computer (Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.).

Operating system support

In the case of web applications, this describes the server OS. For centrally hosted websites that are proprietary, this is not applicable. Any client OS can connect to a web service unless stated otherwise in a footnote.

Software Windows macOS Linux ChromeOS BSD Unix iOS App Android App Windows App
Bebop Yes Yes Yes ? Yes Yes No No No
BibBase — — — — — — ? ? ?
BibDesk No Yes No No No No No No No
BibSonomy — — — — — — ? ? ?
Bookends No Yes No ? No No Yes ? ?
Citavi Yes No No No No No No No No
EndNote Yes Yes No No No No Yes No No
JabRef Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No No No
KBibTeX Experimental Experimental Yes ? Yes Yes No No No
Mendeley Yes Yes Yes No No No No
(phased out as of March 15, 2021)[7] 		No
(phased out as of March 15, 2021)[7] 		No
Paperpile Yes Yes Yes Yes No
(requires Chromium) 		No
(requires Chromium) 		Yes[8] Yes[9] No
Papers Yes Yes No Yes No No Yes Yes Yes
Pybliographer PartialTemplate:Efn PartialTemplate:Efn Yes ? Yes Yes No No No
refbase Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No
RefDB Yes Yes Yes ? Yes Yes No No No
RefWorks[10] Yes Yes No Yes Yes ? No ? No
Zotero Yes Yes Yes Intel only No Yes Yes Third party[11] No

Export file formats

This table lists the machine-readable file formats that can be exported from reference managers. These are typically used to share data with other reference managers or with other people who use a reference manager. To exchange data from one program to another, the first program must be able to export to a format that the second program may import. Import file formats are in a table below this one.

Software BibTeX Endnote/Refer/BibIX Medline MODS XML RIS Other
Bebop Yes No No No No unAPI
BibBase Yes No No No No None
BibDesk Yes No Yes Yes Yes Endnote XML, user customizable
BibSonomy Yes Yes No No Yes Various[12]
Bookends Yes Yes Yes No Yes Various user-customizable
Citavi Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes NVivo and various others
EndNote Yes Yes Yes No Yes Various[13]
JabRef Yes Yes No Yes Yes BibTeXML, DocBook, HTML, OpenDocument for OO.o, RTF, SQL database, user-customizable
KBibTeX Yes Yes No DependsTemplate:Efn Yes PDF, PostScript, HTML, XML, RTF
Mendeley Yes Yes No No Yes Endnote XML
Paperpile Yes No No No Yes CSV,JSON
Papers Yes Yes No No Yes None
Pybliographer Yes Yes Yes No No Ovid
refbase Yes Yes No Yes Yes COinS, OpenDocument for OO.o, SRW XML via SRU, unAPI, Word XML
RefDB Yes Yes No Yes Yes SRW XML via SRU web service, DocBook, TEI
RefWorks Yes Yes No Yes Yes RIS, BibTeX, Tab delimited or XML metadata
Zotero Yes Yes As of version 4.0[14] Yes Yes COinS, CSV, Several RDF format standards, TEI, Wikipedia citation templates, Endnote XML, CSL JSON, Refer/BiblX, RefWorks tagged

Import file formats

This table lists the file formats which may be manually imported into the reference managers without needing to connect to one particular database. Many of these database companies use the same name for their file format as they do for their database (including Copac, CSA, ISI, Medline, Ovid, PubMed, and SciFinder). For the ability to retrieve citations from the particular databases (rather than the file format), please refer to the database connectivity table that is below this table.

since January 2021Template:Dated maintenance category (articles)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., CSL YAML is not supported by any reference management system.[15]

Software BibTeX Copac CSA Endnote/Refer/BibIX ISI Medline MODS XML Ovid PubMed RIS SciFinder Other
Bebop Yes No No No No No No No No No No None
BibBase Yes No No No No No No No No No No None
BibDesk Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes MARC, JSTOR, Reference Miner
BibSonomy Yes No No Yes No No No No No No No Firefox bookmarks
Bookends Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Various user-customizable
Citavi Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Various
EndNote No No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Various[16]
JabRef Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes BibTexML, Biomail, Inspec, JSTOR, MSBib, PDF widh XMP annotations, REPEC (NEP), SilverPlatter, SixPack
KBibTeX Yes No No Yes No No DependsTemplate:Efn No Yes Yes No None
Mendeley Yes No No Yes No No No No No Yes No Browser bookmarks
Paperpile Yes No No Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes No PDF, MARC
Papers Yes No No Yes No No No No Yes Yes No PDF
Pybliographer Yes No No Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No No None
refbase Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes RefWorks
RefDB Yes YesTemplate:Efn No YesTemplate:Efn YesTemplate:Efn Yes Yes No Yes Yes YesTemplate:Efn MARC, risx
RefWorks Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Various[17]
Zotero Yes NoTemplate:Efn NoTemplate:Efn Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No COinS, MARC, RDF, unAPI, Browser bookmarks, Endnote XML, others[18]

Citation styles

Software APA Chicago/Turabian Harvard MLA Other Extension method
Bebop No No No No No No
BibBase Yes No No No No No
BibDesk Yes Yes Yes Yes Various[19] BibTeX style files (use Template:Slink for CSL[20]) or BibDesk export templates[19]
BibSonomy Yes No Yes No No No
Bookends Yes Yes Yes Yes VariousScript error: No such module "Unsubst". ?
Citavi Yes Yes Yes Yes Various[21] Citavi format (through GUI), includes conditions and programmable components;[21] BibTeX or BibLaTeX when used with LaTeX (use Template:Slink for CSL[20])
EndNote Yes Yes Yes Yes Various[13] EndNote format (through GUI)[13]
JabRef Yes Yes Yes Yes Various BibTeX style files or BibLaTeX (use Template:Slink for CSL[20])
KBibTeX Yes Yes Yes Yes Various BibTeX style files (use Template:Slink for CSL[20])
Mendeley Yes Yes Yes Yes Various[22] CSL[22]
Paperpile Yes Yes Yes Yes Various[22] CSL[22]
Papers Yes Yes Yes Yes Various[22] CSL; BibTeX or BibLaTeX when used with LaTeX[23]
Pybliographer Yes No No No None Pybliographer XML
refbase Yes Yes Yes Yes Various polar & marine journals PHP
RefDB Yes Yes Yes Yes 21 biomedical & law journals[24] XML (citestylex.dtd), interactive script
RefWorks Yes Yes Yes Yes Various RefWorks format (through GUI);[25] CSL[22]
Zotero Yes Yes Yes Yes Various[22] CSL;[22] BibTeX or BibLaTeX when used with LaTeX[26]

Reference list file formats

EndNote is incompatible with LaTeX. Among other things, it does not provide for robust citation keys.

Software HTML LaTeXTemplate:Efn RTF Plain text RSS Other
Bebop Yes No No No Yes unAPI
BibBase Yes No No No Yes No
BibDesk Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Atom, DOC, PDF, XML,
BibSonomy Yes No Yes Yes Yes OpenOffice-CSV
Bookends Yes No Yes Yes No Clipboard
Citavi Yes YesTemplate:Efn Yes Yes No Clipboard, DOC, ODT, PDF, HTML
EndNote Yes No Yes Yes No Clipboard, XML
JabRef Yes Yes Yes Yes No Clipboard
KBibTeX Yes No Yes No No PDF, PS
Mendeley Yes YesTemplate:Efn Yes Yes Yes Clipboard, embeddable HTML widget, RSS
Paperpile Yes Yes Yes Yes No Clipboard
Papers Yes No No No No PDF
Pybliographer Yes ? No Yes No No
refbase Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Markdown, PDF, unAPI
RefDB Yes ? Yes Yes No DocBook, TEI
RefWorks Yes No Yes Yes No DOC, ODT
Zotero Yes Possible via plugin[27] Yes Possible via plugins[28] Yes Clipboard

Word processor integration

Some reference management software include support for automatic embedding and (re)formatting of references in Word processor programs. This table lists this type of support for Microsoft Word, Pages, Apache OpenOffice / LibreOffice Writer, the LaTeX editors Kile and LyX, and Google Docs. Other programs are able to scan RTF or other textual formats for inserted placeholders which are subsequently formatted. Most reference management programs support copy/paste or drag-and-drop of references into any editor, but this is not meant here.

Software Word for Windows Word for Mac Word Online Pages Apache OpenOffice / LibreOffice Kile/LyX Google Docs RTF scanTemplate:Efn Other
Bebop No No No No No No No No None
BibBase No No No No No No No No None
BibDesk No No No No No Yes No Yes User-created scripts
BibSonomy No No No No No No No No None
Bookends Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No Yes Mellel, Nisus
Citavi Yes Yes No No Only versions prior to 6.0 Yes[29] No Only versions prior to 6.0 LaTeX editors Texmaker, TeXnicCenter, TeXstudio, TeXworks, WinEdt, WinShell
EndNote Yes Yes Yes[30] Yes No[31] No Yes[32] Yes No
JabRef Yes[33] ? ? ? Yes[34] Yes No ? Emacs, Texmaker, TeXstudio, Vim, WinEdt
KBibTeX No ? ? ? No Yes No ? None
Mendeley Yes PartialTemplate:Efn Yes[35] No Yes No No ? NeoOffice
Paperpile Yes Yes No No No No Yes No No
Papers Yes Yes Yes[36] Yes[37] Yes No Yes No Manuscripts app, Scrivener, Ulysses
Pybliographer No ? ? ? Yes Yes No ? None
refbase No ? ? ? Yes[38] No No Yes PIRA, MediaWiki, SPIP
RefDB No ? ? ? No No No No None
RefWorks Yes Yes No No No No Yes Yes None
Zotero Yes Yes No No Yes (with LyZ)[39] Yes Yes Various[40]

Database connectivity

This table lists the academic databases and search engines which reference managers can import from. In some cases, a search and retrieval can be conducted directly in the reference manager. In others, a bookmarklet or Firefox extension will allow a site to be scraped.

Software ArXiv CiteSeer IEEE Xplore PubMed UnpaywallTemplate:Efn Other
Bebop No No No No No No
BibBase No No No No No DBLP, Zotero, BibSonomy, Mendeley
BibDesk Yes Yes No Yes No ACM portal, Jstor, DBLP, Google Scholar, Web of Science, any Z39.50 or Entrez, and others
BibSonomy Yes Yes Yes Yes No Various[41]
Bookends Yes No No Yes No Web of Science, Amazon, Google Scholar, Z39.50
Citavi Yes Yes Yes Yes No WorldCat/OCLC, Ovid, EBSCO, ProQuest, Web of Science, Z39.50 (4500+ online resources), SRU. Further catalogs are added upon request. Browser plugins (Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer) support DOI lookup, ISBN lookup, PubMed ID lookup, PMCID lookup, arXiv ID lookup, COinS and import from Wikipedia.
EndNote Yes No Yes Yes No Various,[42] any Z39.50
JabRef Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes[43] ACM Portal, CrossRef, DBLP, DOAJ, DOI, GVK, Google Scholar, INSPIRE-HEP, Medline, MathSciNet, SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System, Springer, and zbMATH
KBibTeX Yes Yes Yes Yes No BibSonomy, CiteBase, CSB, DBLP, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, INSPIRE-HEP, Z MATH, Z39.50
Mendeley Yes Yes Yes Yes No Various[44]
Paperpile Yes No Yes Yes Yes Google Scholar, INSPIRE-HEP, ACM portal, Jstor, Web of Science
Papers Yes No Yes Yes No Microsoft Academic, Google Scholar
Pybliographer No No No Yes No None
refbase Yes No No Yes No DOI lookup
RefDB Yes No No Yes No Any Z39.50
RefWorks No No No Yes No Various
Zotero Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes[45] Various[46]

Password "protection" and network versions

Some reference managers provide network functionality (N/A, not available, means the product has no networking, while "No" indicates it does but lacks an implemented feature). The Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) is an open, vendor-neutral, industry standard application protocol for accessing and maintaining distributed directory services over an Internet Protocol (IP) network.Template:Ref RFC

Software Passworded LDAP Networking
User-specific permissionsTemplate:Efn Simultaneous write access
Bebop No ? — —
BibBase — ? — —
BibDesk Yes ? No No
BibSonomy Yes ? Yes Yes
Bookends ? ? ? ?
Citavi YesTemplate:Efn ? Yes Yes
EndNote Yes ? NoTemplate:Efn NoTemplate:Efn
JabRef No ? No Partial
KBibTeX No ? — —
Mendeley YesTemplate:Efn ? Yes Yes
Paperpile YesTemplate:Efn ? Yes Yes
Papers Yes ? Yes Yes[47]
Pybliographer ? ? ? ?
refbase Yes ? Yes Yes
RefDB Yes ? Yes Yes
RefWorks Yes ? ? Yes
Zotero YesTemplate:Efn ? Yes Yes

Discontinued software

Software Developer First public release Latest stable release date Latest stable version Cost (USD) Free software License Notes
Bebop ALaRI Institute 2007-11-08 2009-11-10 1.1 Free Yes Template:BSD-lic Web-based BibTeX front-end (Apache, PHP, MySQL)
Biblioscape CG Information 1997 2015-06-22 10.0.3.6 US$79-299Template:Efn No Proprietary ODBC; web access in Pro ed; optional client/server; discontinued?
CiteULike Oversity Limited 2004-11 Shut down on 2019-03-30[48] Free No ProprietaryTemplate:Efn Centrally hosted website
colwiz colwiz Ltd 2011 2016-05-09 Free / Online storage free up to 3 GB / Additional storage space available No Proprietary Now combined with wizdom.ai
Pybliographer pybliographer developers 1998-10-30 (0.2) 2018-04-03 1.4.0 Free Yes Template:GPL-lic Python/GTK2
Qiqqa Qiqqa 2010-04 2020-10-04 v80 Free Yes Template:GPL-lic From end 2020, Open Source
Reference Manager Thomson Reuters 1984 2010 12.0.3 Not for sale anymore, sales ceased December 31, 2015 No Proprietary Network version; built-in web publishing tool; discontinued
Referencer Referencer developers 2008-03-15 Discontinued 1.2.2 Free Yes Template:GPL-lic BibTeX front-end
RefME RefME 2014 Shut down in 2017 Free No Proprietary Web, iOS and Android; Chrome and Safari Extensions available; discontinued
SciRef Scientific Programs 2012 2020-07-30 1.6.2 US$38.90 / Free trial version No Proprietary
WizFolio WizPatent 2008-06 Shut down in 2017 Avatara US$25 / Free Basic version No Proprietary Centrally hosted website; discontinued

Notes

Template:Notelist

References

<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

  1. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  2. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  3. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ A centrally-hosted website is available at refbase.net.
  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  15. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  16. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  17. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  18. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  19. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". Or: Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  20. ↑ a b c d Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  21. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". Other styles can be requested and are centrally corrected; and any BibTeX style can be used with LaTeX.
  22. ↑ a b c d e f g h Over 10,000 CSL style files are available at: Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". Or: Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". CSL styles can be edited or requested.
  23. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". And: Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  24. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  25. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". See also: Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  26. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  27. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  28. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  29. ↑ Detailed setup guide "Citavi + LyX"Script error: No such module "Unsubst".. Citavi. Retrieved 2014-07-10.
  30. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  31. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  32. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  33. ↑ See JabRef FAQ: Field Mapping between MS-Office and JabRef.
  34. ↑ See JabRef FAQ: OpenOffice/LibreOffice integration.
  35. ↑ Requires the Mendeley Cite Add-in
  36. ↑ Requires the SmartCite for Papers Add-in
  37. ↑ Can be used with SmartCite for Citekeys
  38. ↑ Refbase can create a spreadsheet for import into an OO.o database to use the native OO.o bibliography tool. Refbase's MySQL database can additionally be used directly by OO.o [1].
  39. ↑ The LyZ extension integrates Zotero with Lyx/Kile
  40. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  41. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  42. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  43. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  44. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  45. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  46. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  47. ↑ via Shared library
  48. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

Further reading

  • Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  • Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  • Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".

Template:Reference management software

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