The State Library previously offered classes and support for Zotero, a free reference management tool. The class is not being offered at this time and we cannot offer support for specific tools.
If you have general questions about reference managers or would like help identifying an appropriate tool, please reach out to the librarian embedded at your agency.
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 Health Sciences Library, Citation Management Tools, accessed July 26, 2023