Guides: Citation Management Software: Choosing A Citation Management System (CMS)

Citation Management System (CMS): A tool that allows you to collect and organize articles, generate citations, and compile works cited/bibliography.	Endnote	Mendeley	Zotero
Product name	EndNote Basic/Online	Mendeley Reference Manager (MRM)	Zotero
Where to get it	https://endnote.com/	https://www.mendeley.com/	https://www.zotero.org/
Costs	Free (for Basic only)	Free up-front (cost to upgrade storage)	Free up-front (cost to upgrade storage)
Main access (web/cloud or desktop/laptop)	Web/cloud only	Desktop/Laptop and web/cloud. Can sync with multiple computers.	Desktop/laptop and web/cloud. Can sync with multiple computers.
Registration/account required?	Yes	Yes	Only for cloud sync and collaborator sharing. Can use locally without an account.
Manuals, How-to, Tutorials, FAQ	Yes	Yes	Yes
Reference Management Features
Storage (references and file attachments)	50,000 references or 2GB	Unlimited on local computer, 2GB in cloud (can pay to upgrade)	Unlimited on local computer, 300MB in cloud (can pay to upgrade)
Reference import methods	Manual RIS file Direct from many databases PubMed OCLC (library Catalog)	Manual RIS file Direct from some Elsevier databases PDF drag & drop Identifier (e.g., DOI)	Manual RIS file PDF drag & drop Identifier (e.g., DOI, ISBN)
Exporting records	Yes, but doesn't transfer attachments	Yes, in desktop version, but doesn't transfer attachments	Yes, but doesn't transfer attachments
Browser/Web importer *	Endnote Click- full text articles and documents Capture- Websites, etc. -Chrome -Firefox -Safari (?)	Mendeley Web Importer- webpages, Documents, etc. -Chrome -Firefox -Edge	Zotero Connector -Chrome -Firefox -Safari -Edge
* Browser/Web Importer:(add-on/feature) that allows you to upload papers, web pages and other documents (not just the citations) into the CMS. This is helpful if you want to review the articles you cited. It also means that the CMS can be used to store and organize your research in one place; CMS are not just for organizing citations.
PDF Annotations *	Yes	Yes	Yes
* PDF Annotation: You're able to highlight and take notes on imported pdfs
Control overall organizing citation projects	Yes	Yes	yes
Collaboration tools *	Yes	Yes	Yes
* Collaboration Tools: Allow you to share citations and uploaded documents with co-authors and/or groups who are also able to add content to share with co-authors.
Write & Cite/Citation Plug-in *	Yes	Yes	Yes
*Write & Cite: (add-on/feature) that allows you to directly impute “in-text” citations into your documents.
Compatible with ...	Microsoft Word Macintosh Pages	Word LibreOffice (not Google Docs)	Word LibreOffice Google Docs
Citation Generation Feature	yes	yes	yes
Name of CG tool	NA	Mendeley Cite	NA
Compatible with ...	Word LibreOffice (not Google Docs)	Word LibreOffice (not Google Docs)	Windows Word Macintosh Word LibreOffice Google Docs (automatically installed with Zotero Connector plugin)
Special Features
Pros & Cons
Pros:	Compatible with Windows 7 or later, Mac OS, Linux Mobile version available with iOS only. Can share EndNote data with other EndNote users.	Compatible with Windows 7 or later, Mac OS, Linux Can work from multiple computers Can create public and private groups to share data.	Compatible with Windows 7 or later, Mac OS or later including Catalina and Big Sur 1, Linux, Chromebook Mobile version available in Beta or through 3rd party options Can create public and private groups to share data.
Cons:	Mobile version not available with Android OS Citation storage is limited.	Can not use with Mac OS 11 Big Sur Mobile version not available Additional storage upgrade requires purchase.	Zotero Chrome extension may interfere with proxy settings. Zotero is primarily a desktop application that requires you to download the program. Additional storage upgrade requires purchase.