The Best Free EndNote AlternativesTop Research Managers and other similar apps like EndNote

The best free alternative to EndNote is Zotero, which is also Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 25 alternatives to EndNote and many of them is free so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting free alternatives to EndNote are Mendeley, Qiqqa, JabRef and Citavi.

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Alternatives list

  1. Zotero icon

    Zotero

     476 likes

    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.

    79 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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    2
    48
    Comments about Zotero as an Alternative to EndNote
    Guest
    Positive
    8

    Consistent research sources management. No hidden fees. Nice UI.

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

    Probably the best open source alternative to Endnote, even though it does lack some functionality. Most notably, it lacks the ability to make composite references (ie reference 1 a)... b)... c...). However, from a privacy perspective and the fact that its excellent browser plugins can save information conveniently, it's still highly recommended.

    EndNote Icon
    Zotero icon

    • Almost everyone thinks Zotero is a great EndNote alternative.

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

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

    • Zotero is Freemium and Open SourceEndNote is Paid and Proprietary
    • Zotero is Privacy focusedEndNote is not according to our users
  2. Mendeley icon

    Mendeley

     293 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...

    82 Mendeley alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Pay once)
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    Generate Bibliographies in Word and OpenOffice
     
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    1
    45
    Comments about Mendeley as an Alternative to EndNote
    Guest
    Positive
    4

    Large free online storage. Integrates well with Word. Easy to use. Regular email of like-minded articles.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    EndNote Icon
    Mendeley icon

    • Most users think Mendeley is a great EndNote alternative.

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

    • Mendeley is Freemium and ProprietaryEndNote is Paid and Proprietary
  4. Qiqqa icon

    Qiqqa

     422 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.

    60 Qiqqa alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Subscription)
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Qiqqa screenshot 1
     
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    1
    21
    Comments about Qiqqa as an Alternative to EndNote
    Guest
    Positive
    -1

    Much more powerful and flexible

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    EndNote Icon
    Qiqqa icon

    • Almost everyone thinks Qiqqa is a great EndNote alternative.

    • Qiqqa is Freemium and Open SourceEndNote is Paid and Proprietary
  5. JabRef icon

    JabRef

     104 likes

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

    50 JabRef alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Microsoft Edge
    • Vivaldi
    • Google Chrome
    • Mozilla Firefox
    JabRef screenshot 1
     
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    1
    6
    Comments about JabRef as an Alternative to EndNote
    John Fastman
    Negative
    -1

    JabRef is excellent, free and open source. Unfortunately, EndNote is likely to be attractive to those seeking integration with MS Word; JabRef does not do this as it is oriented more towards LaTeX users. There is a work around to this, but it is tedious (based on exporting the bibliography as a Sources.xml file and importing that to Word.)

    EndNote Icon
    JabRef icon

    • Most users think JabRef is a great EndNote alternative.

    • JabRef is Free and Open SourceEndNote is Paid and Proprietary
  6. Citavi icon

    Citavi

     52 likes

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

    39 Citavi alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Simple Navigation on the left, the editing pane in the middle, preview on the right (for PDF and text documents, images, Web pages, etc.). All You Need You can add ratings, quotations, comments, thoughts, tasks, locations, and links to other references and files. Citavi is your complete toolbox for academic writing.
     
  7. KBibTeX icon

    KBibTeX

     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
    KBibTeX screenshot 1
     
  9. BibDesk icon

    BibDesk

     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.

    34 BibDesk alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    BibDesk screenshot 1
     
  10. Research icon

    Research

     5 likes

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

    53 Research alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Subscription)
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Mac
    • Linux
    Research screenshot 1
     
  11. Weava icon

    Weava

     15 likes

    Weava is a collaborative workplace for research offering an easy way to highlight, organize and collaborate on your research articles.

    54 Weava alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Pay once)
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Google Chrome
    Weava screenshot 1
     
  12. wizdom.ai icon

    wizdom.ai

     24 likes

    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
     
  13. Bibliography.com icon

    Bibliography.com

     2 likes

    Bibliography.com is a free, easy-to-use multi-platform bibliography and citation generator that automatically generates accurate citations for students and teachers. It’s the world’s fastest and most accurate citation generator and management tool.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Subscription)
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Online
    • iPhone
    • Chrome OS
    • iPad
    • Software as a Service (SaaS)
    Bibliography.com screenshot 1
     

    • Bibliography.com is the most popular SaaS alternative to EndNote.

    • Bibliography.com is Freemium and ProprietaryEndNote is Paid and Proprietary
  14. SCIENTILLA icon

    SCIENTILLA

     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
     
12 of 31 EndNote alternatives