Zotero AlternativesOnly Open Source apps categorised as Research Managers

The best open source Research Manager alternative to Zotero is Qiqqa. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to Zotero and five of them are open source Research Managers so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source Research Manager alternatives to Zotero are JabRef, BibSonomy, KBibTeX and Paperlib.

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Zotero alternatives are mainly Research Managers, but if you're looking for Social Bookmarking Tools or Academic Research Tools you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Mac, Open Source, 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. Qiqqa icon

    Qiqqa

     424 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.

    63 Qiqqa alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Qiqqa screenshot 1
     
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    4
    Qiqqa vs Zotero Comments
    phytographer
    Negative
    3

    Qiqqa does not have:

    1. Chrome connector for gathering citations
    2. Google Docs integration
    3. LibreOffice Integration
    Alternative User929
    Negative
    0

    Not like Zotero or Mendeley.

    Guest
    Positive
    1

    They both manage PDFs and allow you to do reference management and bilbiographies.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    3 of 4 comments
    • Qiqqa is Freemium and Open SourceZotero is also Freemium and Open Source
  2. JabRef icon

    JabRef

     105 likes

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

    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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    2
    JabRef vs Zotero Comments
    Guest
    Positive
    3

    Open source, clean, robust. Works best with BibTex/Latex environment.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Positive
    0

    Screen 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.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    • JabRef is Free and Open SourceZotero is Freemium and Open Source
  4. BibSonomy icon

    BibSonomy

     45 likes

    BibSonomy is a system for sharing bookmarks and lists of literature (BibTex format).

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online
    BibSonomy screenshot 1
     
  5. 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
     
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    1
    KBibTeX vs Zotero Comments
    superluminar
    0

    Only an alternative if you use BibTeX/TeX/LaTeX.

    • KBibTeX is Free and Open SourceZotero is Freemium and Open Source
  6. Paperlib icon

    Paperlib

     3 likes

    An open-source and simple academic paper management tool.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Google Chrome
    • Mozilla Firefox
    • Safari
    Paperlib screenshot 1
     
5 of 5 Zotero alternatives