The Best Zotero AlternativesTop Research Managers and other similar apps like Zotero
Zotero is described as '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' and is a very popular research manager in the news & books category. There are more than 50 alternatives to Zotero for a variety of platforms, including Web-based, Windows, Mac, iPhone and iPad apps. The best Zotero alternative is Mendeley, which is free. Other great apps like Zotero are Qiqqa, JabRef, TheBrain and Paperwork.
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Zotero alternatives are mainly Research Managers but may also be Note-taking Tools or Todo List Managers. Filter by these or use the filter bar below if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of Zotero.- Research Manager
- Freemium • Open Source
- 289 likes77 Mendeley alternatives
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...
License model
- Freemium • Proprietary
Application types
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Online
Mendeley Features
Mendeley VS Zotero
Is Mendeley a good alternative to Zotero? - 414 likes55 Qiqqa alternatives
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.
License model
- Freemium • Open Source
Application types
Platforms
- Windows
Top Qiqqa Features
Qiqqa VS Zotero
Is Qiqqa a good alternative to Zotero?Comments about Qiqqa as an Alternative to Zotero
phytographerQiqqa does not have:
- Chrome connector for gathering citations
- Google Docs integration
- LibreOffice Integration
3Alternative User929Not like Zotero or Mendeley.
0They both manage PDFs and allow you to do reference management and bilbiographies.
1 - 102 likes45 JabRef alternatives
Bibliography reference manager. The native file format used by JabRef is BibTeX, the standard LaTeX bibliography format.
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application type
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Microsoft Edge
- Vivaldi
- Google Chrome
- Mozilla Firefox
JabRef Features
JabRef VS Zotero
Is JabRef a good alternative to Zotero?Comments about JabRef as an Alternative to Zotero
Open source, clean, robust. Works best with BibTex/Latex environment.
3Screen 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.
0 - 138 likes127 TheBrain alternatives
TheBrain helps you organize all your Web pages, contacts, documents, emails and files in a context-driven visual map.
License model
- Freemium • Proprietary
Application types
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
TheBrain Features
TheBrain VS Zotero
Is TheBrain a good alternative to Zotero?Comments about TheBrain as an Alternative to Zotero
InfinitlyZeroSimply not a viable alternative.
1TheBrain is a non-linear visual mapping tool. It is not first and foremost a reference manager. I own it, and use it, and it's never struck me as a good alternative to Zotero.
1It is not a simple research management tool like Zotero. At least it is for me.
0 - 35 likes29 Paperwork alternatives
Paperwork is a personal document manager for scanned documents (and PDFs).
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
Platforms
- Windows
- Linux
- Flathub
Paperwork Features
Paperwork VS Zotero
Is Paperwork a good alternative to Zotero? - 5 likes24 DocsBoard alternatives
Solve your documentation problems with a single platform that integrates all document formats, enhances collaboration, and maintains real-time updates.
License model
- Free • Proprietary
Application types
Platforms
- Online
- Software as a Service (SaaS)
DocsBoard Features
DocsBoard VS Zotero
Is DocsBoard a good alternative to Zotero? - 44 likes44 EndNote alternatives
A reference management software, used for searching online publication databases, & managing publications / bibliographies, with the ability to insert the references into a word processor.
License model
- Paid • Proprietary
Application type
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Online
- iPhone
- iPad
EndNote Features
EndNote VS Zotero
Is EndNote a good alternative to Zotero?Comments about EndNote as an Alternative to Zotero
John FastmanUnfortunately, 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.
6this is the program that the journals ask to make references using it
0 - 39 likes295 MyInfo alternatives
MyInfo is a personal information manager for Windows. It will help you capture, organize, edit and share ideas, documents, tasks, and web pages.
MyInfo VS Zotero
Is MyInfo a good alternative to Zotero? - 41 likes74 BibSonomy alternatives
BibSonomy is a system for sharing bookmarks and lists of literature (BibTex format).
BibSonomy Features
BibSonomy VS Zotero
Is BibSonomy a good alternative to Zotero?
Comments about Mendeley as an Alternative to Zotero
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.
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.