BibDesk Alternatives

BibDesk is described as 'Bibliographic reference manager for Mac OS X. BibDesk is designed to help organize and use bibliographic databases in BibTeX .bib format' and is an app in the education & reference category. There are more than 25 alternatives to BibDesk for a variety of platforms, including Mac, Windows, Web-based, iPhone and iPad apps. The best BibDesk alternative is Zotero, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like BibDesk are Mendeley, Qiqqa, JabRef and EndNote.

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BibDesk alternatives page was last updated

Alternatives list

  1. Zotero icon

    Zotero

     470 likes
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    Zotero is a free, easy-to-use tool to help you collect, organize, share research and cite your research sources directly in your favourite word processor, with 300 MB free online storage.

    78 Zotero alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Subscription)
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Microsoft Edge
    • Google Chrome
    • Safari
    • Microsoft Word
    • Google Docs
    • LibreOffice
    • Mozilla Firefox
    Zotero screenshot 1
     
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    1
    Comments about Zotero as an Alternative to BibDesk
    Guest
    Negative
    0

    Zotero does not sync with Latex natively and it requires a third party software.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    BibDesk Icon
    Zotero icon

    • Zotero is the most popular Windows, Android, Mac & iPhone alternative to BibDesk.

    • Zotero is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to BibDesk.

    • Zotero is Freemium and Open SourceBibDesk is Free and Open Source
    • Zotero is Privacy focusedBibDesk is not according to our users
  2. Mendeley icon

    Mendeley

     293 likes
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    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...

    81 Mendeley alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Pay once)
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    Generate Bibliographies in Word and OpenOffice
     

    • Mendeley is the most popular Web-based alternative to BibDesk.

    • Mendeley is Freemium and ProprietaryBibDesk is Free and Open Source
  4. Qiqqa icon

    Qiqqa

     422 likes
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    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.

    60 Qiqqa alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Subscription)
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Qiqqa screenshot 1
     
  5. Ad
    Screenshot
    Anara icon
    Anara

    Advanced AI workspace tailored for students, scientists, and teams, enabling academic paper search, passage extraction, citation finding, organizing projects, creating quizzes, flashcards, and ensuring reliable answers from major...

    https://anara.com
    Learn More
  6. JabRef icon

    JabRef

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

    48 JabRef alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Microsoft Edge
    • Vivaldi
    • Google Chrome
    • Mozilla Firefox
    JabRef screenshot 1
     
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    2
    9
    Comments about JabRef as an Alternative to BibDesk
    Guest
    Positive
    1

    portable since in Java, relies only on bib file (no separate database), generates clean bib files (no internal fields)

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Positive
    1

    Works the best with LaTeX documents, as exporting citations is redundant: JabRef's database is a simple .bib file. Available for all major platforms, offers automatic addition of entries via DOI or arXiv-ID, has everything one needs as a citation and reference manager.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    BibDesk Icon
    JabRef icon

    • Almost everyone thinks JabRef is a great BibDesk alternative.

    • JabRef is Free and Open SourceBibDesk is also Free and Open Source
  7. EndNote icon

    EndNote

     44 likes
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    A reference management software, used for searching online publication databases, & managing publications / bibliographies, with the ability to insert the references into a word processor.

    46 EndNote alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Pay once
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Online
    • iPhone
    • iPad
    EndNote screenshot 1
     

    • EndNote is the most popular commercial alternative to BibDesk.

    • EndNote is Paid and ProprietaryBibDesk is Free and Open Source
  8. Research icon

    Research

     4 likes
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    The Research app is designed to streamline your workflow, offering a minimalist yet powerful platform for collecting, organizing, and analyzing research materials.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Subscription)
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Mac
    • Linux
    Research screenshot 1
     
  10. Paperpile icon

    Paperpile

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

    45 Paperpile alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Pay once
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Google Chrome
    • Microsoft Office Word
    • Google Drive
    • Google Drive - Docs
    • Google Scholar
    Paperpile screenshot 1
     
  11. ReadCube Papers icon

    ReadCube Papers

     71 likes
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    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.

    42 ReadCube Papers alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Subscription
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Microsoft Edge
    • Google Chrome
    • Safari
    • Firefox
    ReadCube Papers screenshot 1
     
  12. Web Highlights icon

    Web Highlights

     4 likes
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    This Chrome Extension is a productivity highlighter for websites and PDFs, allowing easy organization and access to highlighted research, notes, and bookmarks.

    57 Web Highlights alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Subscription)
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Google Chrome
    Highlight any Webpage or PDF
     
  13. ZoteroBib icon

    ZoteroBib

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

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Online
    ZoteroBib screenshot 1
     
  14. EasyBib icon

    EasyBib

     17 likes
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    Automatic works cited and bibliography formatting for MLA, APA and Chicago/Turabian citation styles. Now supports 7th edition of MLA.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Pay once)
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Chrome OS
    • Google Drive - Docs
    Homepage
     
  15. wizdom.ai icon

    wizdom.ai

     24 likes
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    wizdom.ai (formerly colwiz) is a free and comprehensive research management software for researchers, academics and students. With the wizdom.ai android app, you can search, add and manage publications in your wizdom.ai library on the go. Sync instantly across wizdom.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Pay once)
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    wizdom.ai screenshot 1
    wizdom.ai screenshot 2
    wizdom.ai screenshot 3
     
12 of 34 BibDesk alternatives