Alternatives to Mendeley
Elsevier's reference manager
Mendeley ranks #7 of 12 in Citation managers, with an Alt Score of 68. It is proprietary, freemium from $4.99/month and available on Windows, macOS, Linux, Web and Browser extension. 9 of 10 checklist rows are verified against a public source.
Researchers, academics, and students who need to collect, organize, and cite scholarly papers across a research project or career.
A reference library with 2GB of free cloud storage for PDFs, organized via collections and tags. Built-in tools for reading, highlighting, and annotating papers. Automatic citation and bibliography generation in various styles, plus AI-assisted search across your library to surface related papers and connections. A profile and network for discovering other researchers' public libraries and publications.
Add papers to your library via the desktop app, browser extension, or Word plug-in, then organize, read, and annotate them from one interface. Citations are generated automatically as you write, and the library syncs across devices.
Where Mendeley stands out
Verified capabilities most alternatives don't have.
Why people leave Mendeley
Dashed reasons are sourced facts; the rest are opinions. Vendors can dispute.
Sign in to add a reason — new reasons go through moderation before appearing.
Ranked alternatives
Ordered by Alt Score. Click any score to see the breakdown.
ReadCube Papers (Digital Science) is a cloud-based reference manager built around an enhanced PDF reader, AI chat over libraries/individual papers, and shared collections for lab collaboration.
Citavi (now owned by Lumivero) is a Windows desktop citation and knowledge-organization tool that pairs reference management with task planning and outlining, and supports local or on-prem server stor.
BibDesk is a free, open-source native Mac application for managing BibTeX/BibLaTeX bibliographies, with PDF linking, autofile, and tight LaTeX/TeXShop integration.
Lean Library Workspace is the 2025 rebrand of Sciwheel (Third Iron), a browser-extension-driven reference manager offering one-click article capture, PDF annotation, shared/group libraries for journal.
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 expo.
RefWorks is ProQuest's cloud-based reference management tool, sold mainly through university and library site licenses.
Feature comparison
Rows come from the Citation managers checklist (14 rows). Human-verified cells only. ? means the value has not been verified.
| Citation managers checklist | Mendeley | Zotero | EndNote | Paperpile | ReadCube Papers | JabRef |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | ||||||
| Starts at | ||||||
| License | ||||||
| Platforms | ||||||
| Browser capture | ||||||
| PDF annotation | ||||||
| Citation styles count | ||||||
| Word / Docs plugins | ||||||
| Group libraries | ||||||
| Open source | ||||||
| Storage limits (free) | ||||||
| BibTeX support | ||||||
| Deduplication | ||||||
| Mobile app |
Every fact and feature listed for Mendeley is verified against its own pages. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.
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Pricing model Freemium verified 2026-07-08
Not interested in an upgrade? Our free plan includes 2GB storage and 5 Reading Assistant questions.
https://www.mendeley.com/pricing -
Starts at $4.99/month verified 2026-07-08
PLUS $4.99 / month Or $55 / year - One month free Reading Assistant (Unlimited) 5GB Storage
https://www.mendeley.com/pricing -
License Proprietary verified 2026-07-08
All content on this site: Copyright © 2025 Elsevier.com, its licensors, and contributors. All rights are reserved
https://www.mendeley.com/pricing -
Status active verified 2026-07-08
Mendeley Reference Manager v2.140.0-beta.0 … Released: 02 December 2025
https://static.mendeley.com/md-stitch/releases/live/20251202_v2.140.0-beta.0.73317858.html -
Platforms Windows, macOS, Linux, Web, Browser extension verified 2026-07-08
Mendeley Reference Manager Download now for Windows Windows 10 and above … Other Systems: Mendeley Reference Manager for MacOS Mendeley Reference Manager for Linux
https://www.mendeley.com/download-reference-manager/windows -
Browser capture Yes verified 2026-07-08
Import references from the web directly to your Mendeley library with Mendeley Web Importer.
https://static.mendeley.com/md-stitch/releases/live/05-importing-content-from-the-web.05a98fc7.html -
PDF annotation Yes verified 2026-07-08
Read, highlight and annotate PDFs … Highlight tool … Sticky Note tool - Use this tool to create sticky notes at specific locations within the document.
https://static.mendeley.com/md-stitch/releases/live/04-reading-and-annotating-documents.7fee624d.html -
Word / Docs plugins Yes verified 2026-07-08
Mendeley Cite add-in for Microsoft® Word allows you to cite seamlessly without leaving your word processor
https://www.mendeley.com/reference-management/mendeley-cite -
Group libraries Yes verified 2026-07-08
Private Groups Share documents and references with small teams.
https://static.mendeley.com/md-stitch/releases/live/09-sharing-references.3db5e2a6.html -
Open source No verified 2026-07-08
All content on this site: Copyright © 2025 Elsevier.com, its licensors, and contributors. All rights are reserved
https://www.mendeley.com/pricing -
Storage limits (free) Yes verified 2026-07-08
Our free plan includes 2GB storage and 5 Reading Assistant questions.
https://www.mendeley.com/pricing -
BibTeX support Yes verified 2026-07-08
use the 'Export All' option found in the File menu and select from BibTeX, EndNote XML or RIS file formats.
https://static.mendeley.com/md-stitch/releases/live/08-exporting-references.8527ec45.html -
Deduplication Partial verified 2026-07-08
Basic duplicate detection/removal; further development in progress.
Mendeley Reference Manager has introduced our initial version of manage duplicate references in version 2.93, with further development currently in progress.
https://service.elsevier.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/36184/supporthub/mendeley/ -
Mobile app No verified 2026-07-08
No standalone iOS/Android reference-manager app; only a Safari web-importer extension.
Is Mendeley Web Importer available for Safari? Yes, Mendeley Web Importer is available on Safari.
https://service.elsevier.com/app/answers/list/search/1/kw/mobile+app/supporthub/mendeley/
FAQ
Yes. Zotero, JabRef and BibDesk have a free tier or are fully free. Free-tier limits in the comparison table are verified and dated.
Zotero, JabRef and BibDesk — every license claim links its source.