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

The best free alternative to Zotero is Mendeley. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to Zotero and loads of them is free so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting free alternatives to Zotero are Qiqqa, JabRef, Paperwork and BibSonomy.

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

    81 Mendeley alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    Generate Bibliographies in Word and OpenOffice
     
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    45
    Comments about Mendeley as an Alternative to Zotero
    John Fastman
    Positive
    26

    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.

    Nick Scientist
    Positive
    2

    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 icon
    Mendeley icon

    • Most users think Mendeley is a great Zotero alternative.

    • Mendeley is Freemium and ProprietaryZotero is Freemium and Open Source
  2. 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
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Qiqqa screenshot 1
     
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    4
    23
    Comments about Qiqqa as an Alternative to Zotero
    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 icon
    Qiqqa icon

    • Most users think Qiqqa is a great Zotero alternative.

    • Qiqqa is Freemium and Open SourceZotero is also Freemium and Open Source
  4. 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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    2
    15
    Comments about JabRef as an Alternative to Zotero
    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 icon
    JabRef icon

    • Almost everyone thinks JabRef is a great Zotero alternative.

    • JabRef is Free and Open SourceZotero is Freemium and Open Source
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    AnswerThis

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  6. Paperwork icon

    Paperwork

     41 likes

    Paperwork is a personal document manager for scanned documents (and PDFs).

    33 Paperwork alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    Paperwork screenshot 1
     
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    1
    Comments about Paperwork as an Alternative to Zotero
    Guest
    Negative
    1

    Paperwork is for personal documents, Zotero is for research

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

    BibSonomy

     45 likes

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

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
    BibSonomy screenshot 1
     
  8. 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.
     
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    1
    6
    Comments about Citavi as an Alternative to Zotero
    altenativeto
    Negative
    0

    It is sadly unstable software. It has of course more professional functions than zotero but also problems with stability. For Example: when I had my computer in standby, I have to restart the software.

    Citavi icon
    Citavi icon

    • Most users think Citavi is a great Zotero alternative.

    • Citavi is Freemium and ProprietaryZotero is Freemium and Open Source
  10. DocsBoard icon

    DocsBoard

     6 likes

    Solve your documentation problems with a single platform that integrates all document formats, enhances collaboration, and maintains real-time updates.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Software as a Service (SaaS)
    DocsBoard screenshot 1
     
  11. MyBib icon

    MyBib

     16 likes

    A new FREE citation generator. Automatically create bibliographies, references, and citations in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and over 8000 more styles with a totally free and no-ads citation generator.

    19 MyBib alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Google Chrome
    MyBib screenshot 1
     
  12. 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
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Mac
    • Linux
    Research screenshot 1
     
  13. SciSpace icon

    SciSpace

     6 likes

    Search the largest scientific corpus in the world Discover and study research papers better with SciSpace copilot.

    14 SciSpace alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Online
    SciSpace screenshot 1
     
  14. ZoteroBib icon

    ZoteroBib

     12 likes

    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
     
  15. KBibTeX icon

    KBibTeX

     9 likes

    KBibTeX is a reference management software primarily for BibTeX which is typically used in conjunction with TeX/LaTeX.

    31 KBibTeX alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    KBibTeX screenshot 1
     
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    1
    Comments about KBibTeX as an Alternative to Zotero
    superluminar
    0

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

    KBibTeX icon
    KBibTeX icon
    • KBibTeX is Free and Open SourceZotero is Freemium and Open Source
12 of 58 Zotero alternatives