Zotero
Verified working Sep 22, 2026
A free research manager for saving sources and building citations.
Zotero is a research management tool for collecting sources, organizing notes and references, and generating citations. It works across desktop and mobile platforms, integrates with common word processors, and supports shared libraries for group projects and courses.
Why it stands out
- Combines source capture, reference management, annotation, and citation output in one workflow.
- Supports over 9,000 citation styles, making it useful across many disciplines and publishers.
- Integrates directly with Word, LibreOffice, and Google Docs rather than only exporting static bibliographies.
- Open-source and nonprofit-backed, with an explicit emphasis on user control of research data.
- Group libraries can include unlimited collaborators at no cost.
Good to know
- Large synced file libraries may require paid storage beyond the free core tool.
- The main value depends on using the Zotero apps and word-processor integrations, not just the website.
- Citation output still needs human review for unusual sources or incomplete metadata.
Under the radar: For quick one-off bibliographies, ZoteroBib is linked from the homepage and can be faster than setting up a full Zotero library.
Photos
Researchers, students, and instructors who need to manage sources and citations across long writing projects. Save articles, books, preprints, and webpages while browsing. Organize a literature review with collections, tags, and saved searches. Insert citations and bibliographies in Word, LibreOffice, or Google Docs. Share a reading list or collaborative bibliography with a class or research team.
Web capture for research materials; collections, tags, notes, annotations, and saved searches; citation and bibliography generation in thousands of styles; word processor integrations; optional syncing across devices; group libraries for collaboration; open-source desktop and mobile apps.
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Similar sites elsewhere
- Mendeley — mendeley.com
- EndNote — endnote.com
- Paperpile — paperpile.com
- JabRef — jabref.org
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