# Alternatives to Citationsy Citationsy is a subscription citation manager built around iOS/Android apps, letting users generate citations by scanning a book barcode or searching integrated book/paper/podcast databases, then export bibliographies in 10,000+ styles. It's aimed at students who work primarily from a phone rather than a desktop reference-manager library. Citationsy ranks #10 of 12 in Citation managers, with an Alt Score of 55. It is proprietary, sold by subscription from €49/year and available on iOS, Android, Web and Browser extension. 9 of 10 checklist rows are verified against a public source. Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/citationsy/ Category: Citation managers ## Where Citationsy stands out - **Mobile app** — 5 of 10 apps with a verified answer have this ## Overview - **Who it's for**: Students, researchers, and academics who need to build and format bibliographies for essays, theses, and papers. Citationsy also markets a collaborative option for co-authors working on a shared bibliography, and offers institutional licences for schools, colleges, and universities. - **What you get**: A cloud-based reference manager that generates citations and in-text references in over 10,000 citation styles, with mobile apps for iOS and Android (including book barcode scanning), a browser extension for citing web pages and papers while browsing, a Magic Import tool for pasting in existing reference lists, BibTeX import/export, optional Archive.org snapshotting of cited web sources, and export to Word, RTF, EndNote, RefWorks, and CSL-JSON. Projects can be shared with collaborators, and data is backed up automatically every 10 minutes. - **How it works**: Users create a project and add references by searching for a book, paper, or website (or by scanning a book's barcode in the mobile app, pasting existing citations into Magic Import, or using the browser extension while on a page), and Citationsy fetches the source details and formats them in the chosen citation style. References can be reordered into an in-text citation and bibliography, shared with invited collaborators, and exported into other word-processing or reference-management formats. ## Profile - **License**: Proprietary (verified 2026-07-30) - **Pricing model**: Subscription (verified 2026-07-30) - **Starts at**: €49/year (verified 2026-07-30) - **Platforms**: iOS, Android, Web, Browser extension - **Status**: active (verified 2026-07-30) ## Ranked alternatives | # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms | |---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------| | 1 | [Zotero](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/zotero.md) | 100 | AGPL-3.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS | | 2 | [EndNote](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/endnote.md) | 86 | ? | Windows, macOS, iOS, Web | | 3 | [Paperpile](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/paperpile.md) | 82 | Proprietary | Web, Browser extension, iOS, Android | | 4 | [ReadCube Papers](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/readcube-papers.md) | 82 | ? | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android | | 5 | [JabRef](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/jabref.md) | 78 | MIT | Windows, macOS, Linux | | 6 | [Citavi](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/citavi.md) | 73 | ? | Windows, Web, Browser extension | | 7 | [Mendeley](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/mendeley.md) | 68 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, Linux, Web | | 8 | [BibDesk](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/bibdesk.md) | 60 | BSD-3-Clause | macOS | | 9 | [Lean Library Workspace](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/lean-library-workspace.md) | 60 | ? | Web, Browser extension | | 10 | [RefWorks](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/refworks.md) | 55 | ? | Web, Browser extension | | 11 | [WIKINDX](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/wikindx.md) | 50 | ISC License | Windows, macOS, Linux, Web | Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/ ## Feature comparison Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified). | Citation managers checklist | Citationsy | Zotero | EndNote | Paperpile | ReadCube Papers | JabRef | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Pricing model | Subscription | Freemium | One-time | Subscription | Subscription | Free | | Starts at | €49/year | $20/year | ? | $4.15/month | $7/user/mo | Free | | License | Proprietary | AGPL-3.0 | ? | Proprietary | ? | MIT | | Platforms | iOS, Android, Web, Browser extension | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Browser extension | Windows, macOS, iOS, Web, Browser extension | Web, Browser extension, iOS, Android | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Web, Browser extension | Windows, macOS, Linux | | Browser capture | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | PDF annotation | No | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | Partial | | Citation styles count | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Word / Docs plugins | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Group libraries | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Open source | No | Yes | No | No | ? | Yes | | Storage limits (free) | ? | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | | BibTeX support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Deduplication | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Mobile app | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | ## Sources Sources for Citationsy. Each alternative is sourced on its own page. - **Starts at**: €49/year — (verified 2026-07-30) - Note: Cheapest advertised tier is Annual at €49/year. Other tiers on the same page: Monthly €9.99/month, Monthly (student, 50% off) €4.99/month. - Quote: “Annual Get 2 months free €49/year Billed yearly. Cancel anytime.” - **License**: Proprietary — (verified 2026-07-30) - Quote: “We are the owner or the licensee of all intellectual property rights in our Services, including all source code, databases, functionality, software, website designs...” - **Pricing model**: Subscription — (verified 2026-07-30) - Note: Pricing page shows only paid Monthly, Monthly (student), and Annual subscription tiers, each gated by a 3-day free trial; no permanently free plan was found on the pricing page. - Quote: “Monthly ... Billed monthly. Cancel or suspend anytime. Start Free Trial 3 Day Free Trial” - **Platforms**: iOS, Android, Web, Browser extension — (verified 2026-07-30) - Note: iOS/Android confirmed on this page (download links to apps.apple.com/app/citationsy/id1335116120 and play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.citationsy.citationsy). Browser extension confirmed via t - Quote: “Create citations from your book by just scanning the barcode with our iPhone and Android apps.” - **Status**: active — (verified 2026-07-30) - Note: Pricing page also advertises a current 'Limited Time Deal', consistent with an actively maintained/marketed product as of research date. - Quote: “Used by 528,208 students, researchers, and scholars at thousands of universities and institutions” - **Browser capture**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-30) - Note: Chrome extension 'Citationsy - Cite Websites and Papers', linked from citationsy.com's own homepage via a chrome-webstore-item tag. - Quote: “Reference websites and papers with a single click, powered by Citationsy” - **PDF annotation**: No — (verified 2026-07-30) - Note: This page enumerates Citationsy's full feature set (Cite Books, Cite Websites, Collaborate, Mobile Apps, Cite Papers, Archive.org, Referencing styles, Share bibliographies, Magic Import, Privacy, Impo - Quote: “Citationsy comes with a bunch of features – see an overview here, and click a feature to read more about it” - **Citation styles count**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-30) - Note: 10,000+ citation styles. Full browsable list at https://citationsy.com/styles. - Quote: “10 000+ Referencing styles → Cite and export references in over 10 000 citation styles” - **Word / Docs plugins**: No — (verified 2026-07-30) - Note: Citationsy exports bibliography files (including a Word Doc format) for manual import; no live Microsoft Word or Google Docs plugin/add-in was found on the site. - Quote: “Export formats available include: EndNote, Refworks, BibTex, Word Doc, RTF, CSL-JSON” - **Group libraries**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-30) - Quote: “Citationsy is the only reference manager that allows collaborative referencing. Invite your co-authors to your Citationsy project and work on the bibliography together.” - **Open source**: No — (verified 2026-07-30) - Note: No public source code repository was found for Citationsy (no GitHub/GitLab link anywhere on the site); Terms of Service assert ownership of all source code. - Quote: “We are the owner or the licensee of all intellectual property rights in our Services, including all source code, databases, functionality, software, website designs...” - **BibTeX support**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-30) - Quote: “Yes! Citationsy supports importing and exporting your references in BibTeX/LaTeX format. We also support importing and exporting to a variety of other platforms as well such as Word and more.” - **Deduplication**: No — (verified 2026-07-30) - Note: This page enumerates Citationsy's full feature set (Cite Books, Cite Websites, Collaborate, Mobile Apps, Cite Papers, Archive.org, Referencing styles, Share bibliographies, Magic Import, Privacy, Impo - Quote: “Citationsy comes with a bunch of features – see an overview here, and click a feature to read more about it” - **Mobile app**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-30) - Quote: “Create citations from your book by just scanning the barcode with our iPhone and Android apps. It's never been easier to reference a book!” --- Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/