| Features |
EndNote Basic |
Mendeley |
Zotero |
|---|---|---|---|
| Add notes to references | Yes, in “notes” field | Yes, via “notes” tab in desktop version | Yes, notes can stand alone or be attached to references |
| Annotate PDFs | No | Yes in PDF viewer | Yes, with new built in PDF viewer |
| Attachment limits |
No limit on attachments per citation; no limit on file size; total attachment storage limited to 2GB |
No limit on attachments per citation; attachment file size limited to 250MB; total (free) attachment cloud storage limited to 2GB |
No limit on attachments per citation; no limit on file size; total (free) attachment cloud storage limited to 300MB |
| Auto-complete data entry | No | Yes, for journal title, tags, keywords | Yes, for author(s), journal title, tags |
| Collaboration and sharing |
Share EndNote Web account with other EndNote Web users (cannot share file attachments) Create shared groups that all users can edit |
Create public and private groups Automatic synchronization of collections among multiple computers One private group of 3 members free (costs for private groups) |
Create public and private groups Automatic synchronization of collections among multiple computers |
| Cost | Paid by UA Libraries | Free; option to pay for additional cloud storage or additional private groups | Free; option to pay for additional cloud storage |
| Creates formatted bibliographies and in-text citations in a word processor | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Direct export from online databases | Yes, via Capture Reference importer | Yes, via web importer | Yes, via browser connectors |
| Direct search of online databases | Yes: List | Can search the Mendeley database (papers in the libraries of other users) | No; only identifiers such as DOI or ISSN |
| Duplicate detection | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Edit or create citation styles | No, must request from EndNote support | Yes, via the Mendeley CSL | Yes, via Citation Style Editor |
| Export data between citation managers | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Field searching | No - searches entire record only | Yes, by author, title, publication names, year & notes | Yes, any field |
| Filters for importing from online databases | Yes | Import from supported websites and databases via web importer. | Importing is based on browser connectors; works on web pages as well as database records |
| Full-text PDF search | No | Yes | Yes |
| Global find/replace editing | Yes | No | No |
| Journal abbreviation lists | None | Abbreviations based on citation style selected; can be edited | Version 4.0 and later can automatically abbreviate journal titles in Index Medicus/MEDLINE format |
| Mobile device applications | No | iPad/iPhone app, Android app | iOS app; 3rd party apps for Android |
| Number of reference types | 51 pre-defined | 20 pre-defined | 38 pre-defined |
| Operating System Requirements (for most recent version) | Web-based | Windows; Mac; Linux | Windows; Mac; Linux |
| Read-only sharing | Yes (Read-only share “group” with anyone who has an EndNote Web account) | Yes (By “follow” option through web interface) | Yes (via member settings within groups) |
| Retrieve citation information from PDF | No | Yes- PDF text analyzed for information, DOI, Arxiv, PubMed, Crossref ids all used; Mendeley also uses it's own database to check citations | Yes - uses DOI or other extracted information from PDF; matches in Unpaywall and Google Scholar |
| RSS feeds | No | Yes | Yes |
| Screen capture webpages | No | No | Yes |
| Sorting capabilities | Author, title, year, and more | Any field | Any field |
| Spell check | No | No | No (words in notes highlighted with red squiggle - English only) |
| Storage in cloud and maximum number of records |
2GB cloud storage 10,000 records/library |
2GB cloud storage Unlimited records/library |
300MB cloud storage free; add more for annual subscription Unlimited records/library |
| Support | EndNote Support via email or chat | Help Guides and Groups | User forums with Zotero developers often answering |
NOTE: This chart is adapted from one found on the University of Wisconsin- Madison libraries website: https://www.library.wisc.edu/research-support/collecting-organizing-analyzing-information/citation-managers/comparison-chart/
