# Best Citation Manager (2026) — ranked by entry price, every figure sourced and dated

8 citation manager on the record, median entry price $0/mo. Each price links to the public page it came from — the vendor's own wherever the vendor publishes the number, otherwise the named public source — and the day we captured it. No guesses. 5 offer a free tier. 1 publish a price this field cannot carry (usage rates, non-USD, annual-only). Current as of 2026-09-27.

Lowest entry price: BibGuru — $0/mo (Free).

Full comparison: https://frontdeskreview.com/best/citation-manager/

| # | Vendor | Entry plan | $/mo | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [BibGuru](https://frontdeskreview.com/software/citation-manager/bibguru/) | Free | $0 (free) | bibguru.com |
| 2 | [Citationsy](https://frontdeskreview.com/software/citation-manager/citationsy/) **STALE** | Free | $0 (free) | spotsaas.com |
| 3 | [Mendeley](https://frontdeskreview.com/software/citation-manager/mendeley/) | Free | $0 (free) | mendeley.com |
| 4 | [Sciwheel (Lean Library Workspace)](https://frontdeskreview.com/software/citation-manager/sciwheel/) | Free | $0 (free) | sciwheel.com |
| 5 | [Zotero](https://frontdeskreview.com/software/citation-manager/zotero/) **STALE** | Free (300MB Storage) | $0 (free) | zotero.org |
| 6 | [Paperpile](https://frontdeskreview.com/software/citation-manager/paperpile/) **STALE** | Regular | $4.15 | paperpile.com |
| 7 | [ReadCube Papers](https://frontdeskreview.com/software/citation-manager/readcube-papers/) **STALE** | Essentials | $10 | about.readcube.com |
| 8 | [EndNote](https://frontdeskreview.com/software/citation-manager/endnote/) **STALE** | — | not priced monthly | endnote.com |

STALE marks a row with at least one plan not re-checked at its source in over 30 days: 5 of 8 rows above — we flag rather than silently retain.

Cite: Per The Front Desk Review, the cheapest citation manager ranked by sourced, dated entry price — https://frontdeskreview.com/best/citation-manager/

License: CC BY 4.0. Every row links to its source; rows marked STALE have at least one plan not re-checked at its source in over 30 days.