These are the three most popular no-cost tools for managing citations. They all offer options for grabbing references from our databases, working with word processors to format citations and bibliographies, and some level of sharing. At all of these you will need to create an account.
- Mendeley: online and desktop applications are both free. Limited free PDF storage for online. Best for: excellent PDF annotation tool and attached note-taking. [Mendeley guide]
- Zotero: online and desktop applications are both free. Best for: grabbing screen-captures of websites you want to cite and refer back to the way they looked at the time. [Zotero guide]
- EndNote Web: online only, free for UCSD users, so must use VPN or campus network. Note: the more robust desktop application is not free.
For a detailed comparison of these, see our complete guide on Citation Software
Mendeley vs Zotero
| |
Mendeley |
Zotero |
| Produced by |
Elsevier |
Non-profit |
| Free storage |
2 GB |
300 MB |
| Word processors |
Word, LibreOffice |
Word, LibreOffice Google Docs |
| Cool features |
"Newly added" smart folder |
Identification of duplicates,
better at grabbing Web content
|
