Best Zotero Alternatives in 2026
Updated
20 apps from reference management software ranked against Zotero on the same published basis.
- 2Zotero vs Mendeley Reference Manager
- 3Zotero vs refbase
- 4Zotero vs Sciwand
- 5Zotero vs JabRef
- 6Zotero vs Jurism
- 7Zotero vs Lean Library Workspace
- 8Zotero vs Paperite
- 9Zotero vs Papis
- 10Zotero vs Petal
- 11Zotero vs BibSonomy
- 12Zotero vs Pybliographer
- 13Zotero vs EndNote
- 14Zotero vs Bookends
- 15Zotero vs Citavi
- 16Zotero vs Pramaana
- 17Zotero vs RefWorks
- 18Zotero vs ReadCube Papers
- 19Zotero vs KDE Keysmith
- 20Zotero vs Paperpile
- 21Zotero vs CiteDrive BibTeX Studio
Zotero alternatives compared
| # | App | Score | Free plan | From | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Mendeley Reference Manager | 6.7 | Free plan | $4.58/mo | Browser, Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 3 | refbase | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | API, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 4 | Sciwand | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | iOS, Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 5 | JabRef | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Browser, Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 6 | Jurism | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Browser, Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 7 | Lean Library Workspace | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Android, Browser, iOS, Web |
| 8 | Paperite | 6.4 | Free plan | $15/mo | Web |
| 9 | Papis | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | API, Linux, self-hosted, Web |
| 10 | Petal | 6.4 | Free plan | $2.55/mo | Browser, Web |
| 11 | BibSonomy | 6.3 | Free plan | Free | API, Web |
| 12 | Pybliographer | 6.3 | Free plan | Free | Linux |
| 13 | EndNote | 5.7 | No | — | Browser, iOS, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 14 | Bookends | 5.5 | No | $1.25/mo | Browser, iOS, Mac |
| 15 | Citavi | 5.5 | No | — | Browser, Web, Windows |
| 16 | Pramaana | 5.5 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 17 | RefWorks | 5.5 | No | — | API, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 18 | ReadCube Papers | 5.4 | No | $7.92/mo | Android, API, Browser, iOS, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 19 | KDE Keysmith | 5.3 | No | — | Linux |
| 20 | Paperpile | 5.3 | No | $4.15/mo | Android, Browser, iOS, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 21 | CiteDrive BibTeX Studio | 5.1 | No | — | Web |
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Questions about Zotero alternatives
What is the best alternative to Zotero?
Mendeley Reference Manager, number 2 in reference management software with a score of 6.7 out of 10. The others here: refbase, Sciwand, JabRef and 16 more.
What is the best free alternative to Zotero?
Mendeley Reference Manager 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.