The Best Open Source Zotero AlternativesTop Research Managers and other similar apps like Zotero

The best open source alternative to Zotero is Qiqqa. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to Zotero and 18 is open source so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source alternatives to Zotero are JabRef, Paperwork, BibSonomy and MyBib.

filter to find the best alternatives

Zotero alternatives are mainly Research Managers, but if you're looking for Document Managers or PDF Readers 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.
Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard
Zotero alternatives page was last updated

Alternatives list

  1. Qiqqa icon
     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
     
    |
    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
  2. JabRef icon
     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
     
    |
    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
  3. Paperwork icon
     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
     
    |
    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
  4. BibSonomy icon
     45 likes

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

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
     
  5. MyBib icon
     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
     
  6. ZoteroBib icon
     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
     
  7. KBibTeX icon
     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
     
    |
    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
  8. I, Librarian icon
     2 likes

    I, Librarian is an online service that will organize your collection of PDF and office files. The service focuses on central management of PDF documents suitable for real-time collaboration in research teams and companies.

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    • Software as a Service (SaaS)
     
  9. BibDesk icon
     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
     
  10. SCIENTILLA icon
     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
     
  11. Paperlib icon
     3 likes

    An open-source and simple academic paper management tool.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Google Chrome
    • Mozilla Firefox
    • Safari
     
  12. bibus icon
     5 likes

    Bibus is a bibliographic database. It uses a MySQL or SQLite database to store references. It can directly insert references in OpenOffice.org and MS Word and generate the bibliographic index.

    22 bibus alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
12 of 18 Zotero alternatives