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Citation Management

What is a Citation Manager?

A citation manager is a software program or online tool that allows you to collect and organize citations from a variety of sources. Most citation managers allow you to:

  • Organize citations in folders
  • Quickly create citations and bibliographies in different citation styles
  • Save full-text PDFs (subject to storage availability) 
  • Connect your citation manager with your word processor so you can insert citations while you write 
  • Share citations with others in a public or private group

Why use a citation manager?

Using a citation manager can take some getting used to, but it can save you a lot of time locating and formatting references when writing papers.

Comparing Citation Managers

Memorial University Libraries does not recommend one particular citation management software. This guide provides a comparison of the features of Zotero, Mendeley, and EndNote. If you are interested in other citation management options, you may wish to consult Wikipedia's Comparison of Reference Management Software.
  Zotero Mendeley EndNote Basic Online EndNote Desktop
Website

https://www.zotero.org

Zotero compatibility information

https://www.mendeley.com

Note: Mendeley Desktop is not supported in macOS 10.15 (Catalina) or macOS 11 (Big Sur).

 

See also: Mendeley compatibility information

https://my.endnote.com

Note: If you receive a captcha error when trying to register, please follow these instructions.

https://endnote.com

EndNote compatibility information

 

Developer Open source

Developed by the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University

Elsevier Clarivate Clarivate
Cost Free
Charges for adding extra storage space
Free
Charges for adding extra storage space
Free Purchase required
Student pricing available
Web-based or desktop Website and desktop application Website and desktop application Website only Desktop application
Can sync with EndNote basic (not recommended for very large libraries)
Installation required? Yes Yes No Yes
Browser compatibility Google Chrome
Firefox
Safari
Google Chrome
Firefox
Safari
Microsoft Edge
Google Chrome
Firefox
Safari
Internet Explorer 8-
Not applicable
Browser add-ons Zotero Connector Mendeley Web Importer Capture Reference bookmarklet

Download from EndNote Basic Online, under the Downloads menu

Capture Reference bookmarklet

Download from EndNote Basic Online, under the Downloads menu

Privacy Does not share or sell data
Privacy Policy
May disclose personal information to agents, suppliers, service providers and affiliates within the Elsevier group of companies
Privacy Policy
"Your data will be transferred to countries with different privacy and data protection laws than your own, including to countries, such as the United States."
Privacy Statement
"Your data will be transferred to countries with different privacy and data protection laws than your own, including to countries, such as the United States."
Privacy Statement
Word processor compatibility MS Word plugin (Win/Mac)
LibreOffice plugin (Win/Mac/Linux)
Google Docs (when using Zotero Connector for Chrome or Firefox)
MS Word plugin (Win/Mac)
LibreOffice plugin (Win/Mac/Linux)
MS Word plugin (Win/Mac)
OpenOffice (Win)
MS Word plugin (Win/Mac)
OpenOffice (Win)
Sharing citations Zotero Groups:
Unlimited groups with unlimited members;
Private groups can share files;
Public groups can share citations only;
Group discussions available
Mendeley Groups:
Private groups can have up to 25 members and can share files;
Public groups can have unlimited members and can  share citations only;
Group discussions available
Up to 50,000 references
No public groups, only private; no article sharing in groups
 
Share entire library with up to 100 other users who have EndNote X7.2 or later
Can I save PDFs to my account? Yes: 300MB of storage Yes: 2GB of storage Yes: 2GB of storage Yes (stored on your computer)
Can I add notes to entries in my account? Write notes and add tags Write notes and add tags Write notes Write notes and add labels
Access after leaving Memorial Yes Yes Yes, but some style options and filters will no longer be available. Yes
Mobile app

Zotero for iOS
3rd party Android apps
Zotero website is mobile-friendly

N/A iOS app iOS app
Security and server location Cloud storage is optional (mandatory for collaboration)
Cloud data stored on US servers
Cloud storage is mandatory
Data stored on UK servers
Cloud storage is mandatory
Data stored on US servers
Data stored on your computer. Can sync with EndNote basic (data stored on US servers).
Pros & cons Pros: Free and open-source; can drag-and-drop PDFs to add them to your library; notifications about papers in your library that have been retracted (must have DOI)

Cons: Desktop installation required; syncing across multiple computers can be problematic; not great at removing duplicates. Cloud data stored on US servers.
Pros: 2GB of storage space; can drag-and-drop PDFs to add them to your library.

Cons: Desktop installation required; syncing across multiple computers can be problematic; not great at removing duplicates.
Pros: No desktop installation required; 2GB of storage space.


Cons: no offline-access, no public groups, only private; no article sharing in groups. Data stored on US servers. No ability to manually edit existing citation styles (i.e. to edit the CSL code).

Pros: Data stored on your own computer; excellent for removing duplicates (recommended for systematic reviews for this reason); good for large libraries.

Cons: Expensive; not ideal for sharing citations with a group.

This table is adapted from Comparing Citation Management Services by the Western Libraries Citation Management Working Group, licensed under CC BY 4.0.