Citation management software, or citation managers, allow you to save and organize your citations, and insert them into word processors when writing papers. They are powerful tools for managing research and writing.
Some common features of citation managers include:
![]() |
![]() |
Price/Storage | |
300 MB Free 2 GB $20/year 6GB $60/year Unlimited $120/year |
2GB Free 5GB $55/year 10GB $110 /year Unlimited $165/year |
Saving Citations | |
Browser plugin | Browser plugin |
Word Processor Integration | |
Microsoft Word, Word for Mac, and LibreOffice | Microsoft Word, Word for Mac, and LibreOffice |
Google Docs Integration | |
Yes | No |
Organizing Citations | |
Folders and Tags | Folders |
Save PDF | |
Yes | Yes |
Annotate PDF | |
Annotate PDF in native Zotero software | Annotate PDF in native Mendeley software |
Sharing/Groups | |
Private: Invitation-only and hidden from searches. Public, Closed Membership: Viewable by the public, but ability to add and edit by invitation only. Public, Open Membership: Anyone can view and join. |
Private: Unlimited number of groups, but with a maximum of three members Invitation-only: anyone can see the citations, but cannot add them unless invited. Public: Anyone can join and add references. |
Offline Use | |
Desktop version | Desktop version |
Origin | |
Open source from the Roy Rosenwig Center for History and New Media | Elsevier Publishing |
Duplicate Detection | |
Yes | Yes |
Retrieve citation information from PDF | |
Will look for the presence of a DOI to extract information. | Will look for DOI, Arxiv, PubMed, and Crossref to extract information. |
Links
© Coastal Carolina University | P.O. Box 261954, Conway, SC 29528-6054 USA | +1 843-347-3161