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Best Mendeley Reference Manager Alternatives in 2026

Updated

20 apps from reference management software ranked against Mendeley Reference Manager on the same published basis.

  1. 1
    Zotero Free plan AndroidapiextensioniOSLinux $1.67/mo6.8
    Mendeley Reference Manager vs Zotero
  2. 3
    refbase Free plan apiLinuxMacself-hostedWeb Free6.6
    Mendeley Reference Manager vs refbase
  3. 4
    Sciwand Free plan iOSLinuxMacWin Free6.6
    Mendeley Reference Manager vs Sciwand
  4. 5
    JabRef Free plan extensionLinuxMacWin Free6.5
    Mendeley Reference Manager vs JabRef
  5. 6
    Jurism Free plan extensionLinuxMacWin Free6.5
    Mendeley Reference Manager vs Jurism
  6. 7
    Lean Library Workspace Free plan AndroidextensioniOSWeb Free6.5
    Mendeley Reference Manager vs Lean Library Workspace
  7. 8
    Paperite Free plan Web $15/mo6.4
    Mendeley Reference Manager vs Paperite
  8. 9
    Papis Free plan apiLinuxself-hostedWeb Free6.4
    Mendeley Reference Manager vs Papis
  9. 10
    Petal Free plan extensionWeb $2.55/mo6.4
    Mendeley Reference Manager vs Petal
  10. 11
    BibSonomy Free plan apiWeb Free6.3
    Mendeley Reference Manager vs BibSonomy
  11. 12
    Pybliographer Free plan Linux Free6.3
    Mendeley Reference Manager vs Pybliographer
  12. 13
    EndNote Free trial extensioniOSMacWebWin 5.7
    Mendeley Reference Manager vs EndNote
  13. 14
    Bookends Free trial extensioniOSMac $1.25/mo5.5
    Mendeley Reference Manager vs Bookends
  14. 15
    Citavi Free trial extensionWebWin 5.5
    Mendeley Reference Manager vs Citavi
  15. 16
    Pramaana LinuxMacWin 5.5
    Mendeley Reference Manager vs Pramaana
  16. 17
    ReadCube Papers Free trial AndroidapiextensioniOSMac $7.92/mo5.4
    Mendeley Reference Manager vs ReadCube Papers
  17. 18
    KDE Keysmith Linux 5.3
    Mendeley Reference Manager vs KDE Keysmith
  18. 19
    Paperpile Free trial AndroidextensioniOSMacWeb $4.15/mo5.3
    Mendeley Reference Manager vs Paperpile
  19. 20
    RefWorks Web 5.2
    Mendeley Reference Manager vs RefWorks
  20. 21
    CiteDrive BibTeX Studio Web 5.1
    Mendeley Reference Manager vs CiteDrive BibTeX Studio

Mendeley Reference Manager alternatives compared

#AppScoreFree planFromRuns on
1Zotero6.8Free plan$1.67/moAndroid, API, Browser, iOS, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows
3refbase6.6Free planFreeAPI, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows
4Sciwand6.6Free planFreeiOS, Linux, Mac, Windows
5JabRef6.5Free planFreeBrowser, Linux, Mac, Windows
6Jurism6.5Free planFreeBrowser, Linux, Mac, Windows
7Lean Library Workspace6.5Free planFreeAndroid, Browser, iOS, Web
8Paperite6.4Free plan$15/moWeb
9Papis6.4Free planFreeAPI, Linux, self-hosted, Web
10Petal6.4Free plan$2.55/moBrowser, Web
11BibSonomy6.3Free planFreeAPI, Web
12Pybliographer6.3Free planFreeLinux
13EndNote5.7No—Browser, iOS, Mac, Web, Windows
14Bookends5.5No$1.25/moBrowser, iOS, Mac
15Citavi5.5No—Browser, Web, Windows
16Pramaana5.5No—Linux, Mac, Windows
17ReadCube Papers5.4No$7.92/moAndroid, API, Browser, iOS, Mac, Web, Windows
18KDE Keysmith5.3No—Linux
19Paperpile5.3No$4.15/moAndroid, Browser, iOS, Mac, Web, Windows
20RefWorks5.2No—Web
21CiteDrive BibTeX Studio5.1No—Web
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Questions about Mendeley Reference Manager alternatives

What is the best alternative to Mendeley Reference Manager?

Zotero, number 1 in reference management software with a score of 6.8 out of 10. The others here: refbase, Sciwand, JabRef and 16 more.

What is the best free alternative to Mendeley Reference Manager?

Zotero is the best-ranked alternative with a free plan. 11 of the 20 alternatives here publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.

How are these alternatives ranked?

Ranked free-and-open first: a usable free tier and open-source code, then the platforms it runs on and its documentation.