Zotero AlternativesOnly apps categorised as Document Managers

The best Document Manager alternative to Zotero is Mendeley, which is free. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to Zotero and 17 are Document Managers so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Document Manager alternatives to Zotero are Qiqqa, Paperpile, Paperwork and MyInfo.

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Zotero alternatives are mainly Document Managers, but if you're looking for Research Managers or Document Scanners 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. Mendeley icon

    Mendeley

     295 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...

    97 Mendeley alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    Generate Bibliographies in Word and OpenOffice
     
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    2
    Mendeley vs Zotero Comments
    John Fastman
    Positive
    27

    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 is Freemium and ProprietaryZotero is Freemium and Open Source
  2. Qiqqa icon

    Qiqqa

     426 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.

    70 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.

    altenativeto
    Negative
    -1

    The open source transparency and the WebDav sync make Zotero a better option for Users with a certain degree of Data control/ privacy needs.

    3 of 4 comments
    • Qiqqa is Freemium and Open SourceZotero is also Freemium and Open Source
  4. Paperpile icon

    Paperpile

     59 likes

    Organize your research papers in a Gmail-like web app, sync your PDFs to Google Drive and cite your references in Google Docs.

    52 Paperpile alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Google Chrome
    • Microsoft Office Word
    • Google Drive
    • Google Drive - Docs
    • Google Scholar
    Paperpile screenshot 1
     
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    1
    Paperpile vs Zotero Comments
    Guest
    Positive
    0

    It is an amazing software and has many great features when compared to Zotero

    • Paperpile is Paid and ProprietaryZotero is Freemium and Open Source
  5. Paperwork icon

    Paperwork

     42 likes

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

    42 Paperwork alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    Paperwork screenshot 1
     
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    1
    Paperwork vs Zotero Comments
    Guest
    Negative
    1

    Paperwork is for personal documents, Zotero is for research

    • Paperwork is Free and Open SourceZotero is Freemium and Open Source
    • Paperwork is a Document Manager Zotero is a Research Manager
  7. MyInfo icon

    MyInfo

     40 likes

    MyInfo is a personal information manager for Windows. It will help you capture, organize, edit and share ideas, documents, tasks, and web pages.

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    MyInfo screenshot 1
     
  8. I, Librarian icon

    I, Librarian

     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)
    Organize PDFs.
     
  9. Nexlit icon

    Nexlit

     1 like

    AI-powered research paper library. Upload research papers, get AI summaries, search semantically, and ask questions with cited answers.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
    Nexlit screenshot 1
     
  10. dox2U icon

    dox2U

     Like

    dox2U is one of the best low-cost document management systems for all your documented information, allowing you to organize, retrieve and manage your documents seamlessly.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Software as a Service (SaaS)
    This is the product dashboard.
     
  11. EazyFormat icon

    EazyFormat

     1 like

    EazyFormat allows professional-looking documents creation in seconds with Google Docs add-on using format templates and custom style presets that applies on the entire document in one click.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Google Drive
    • Google Docs
    • Google Workspace
    Style Formattin & Citation Management
     
  12. DeepDyve icon

    DeepDyve

     6 likes

    DeepDyve is the company behind LitHub, an AI-powered literature-management platform offering researchers affordable, publisher-licensed access to scientific, technical, and medical research. Users can read 35M+ paywalled and 25M+ open-access papers and search a discovery index...

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Internet Explorer
    • Google Chrome
    • Mozilla Firefox
     
  13. BibKit icon

    BibKit

     1 like

    A better way to manage BibTeX.

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • iPad
    BibKit screenshot 1
     
  14. UbikReader icon

    UbikReader

     5 likes

    UbikReader is the new way to organize your documents. Multitask while you read, annotate, write notes and share your documents with ease. No more worrying about how to manage your large, cluttered library of documents.

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • iPhone
    • iPad
    UbikReader screenshot 1
     
12 of 17 Zotero alternatives