There are three popular—and free—tools readily available: EndNote Basic, Mendeley, and Zotero. See the chart below to compare the three.
| EndNote Basic | Mendeley | Zotero | |
| Desktop App | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Supported Operating Systems (Desktop) | Windows, Mac, and Linux | Windows, Mac, and Linux | |
| Web App | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Browser Extension | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Direct Export from UW Libraries Catalog | ✓ | ||
| Microsoft Word Integration | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Google Docs Integration | ✓ | ||
| PDF Annotation | Unshareable outside program | ✓ | |
| Collaboration | 500 Groups of up to 1,000 other users | Free: Five groups of up to 25 members | Unlimited members and groups |
| Web Page Snapshots | ✓ | ||
| Local Storage | ✓ | ||
| Cloud Storage Space | 2GB | $0: 2 GB personal / 100mb shared. $55/year: 5 GB personal $110/year: 10 GB personal $165/year: Unlimited |
$0: 300mb $20/year: 2GB $60/year: 6GB $120/year: Unlimited |
| Pricing | Free: $0 EndNote 20 available for purchase |
Free (2GB): $0 Plus (5GB): $55/year Pro (10GB): $110/year Max: $165/year Can pay per-month or per-year |
300mb: $0 2GB: $20/year 6GB: $60/year Unlimited: $120/year Must pay per-year |
| Code Availability | Proprietary (Clarivate) | Proprietary (Elsevier) | Open Source |
Credit: University of Washington University Libraries Research Guide, Citing Source, accessed June 3, 2024
The University of Washington Libraries offers a flow chart to help you determine which tool to use
Credit: University of Washington University Libraries Research Guide, Citing Source, accessed June 3, 2024