Is Mendeley or Zotero cheaper?

Mendeley has the lower entry price — Mendeley starts at $0/mo and Zotero at $0/mo.

Does Mendeley or Zotero support HIPAA?

HIPAA support — Mendeley: —; Zotero: —. Confirm current scope with the vendor.

Mendeley vs Zotero

A sourced, side-by-side comparison for citation manager. Mendeley has the lower entry price. Every figure links to the vendor's own page and the date we captured it.

Mendeley has the lower entry price — Mendeley starts at $0/mo, Zotero at $0/mo. Free tier: Mendeley Yes, Zotero Yes. HIPAA: Mendeley —, Zotero —.

As of 2026-06-18 · figures link to their source below

Side by side

Mendeley

$0/mo entry

Entry price$0/mo (Free)

Free tierYes

HIPAA (BAA)—

SOC 2—

GDPR—

Best forstudents

Zotero

$0/mo entry

Entry price$0/mo (Free (300MB Storage))

Free tierYes

HIPAA (BAA)—

SOC 2—

GDPR—

Best forstudents

Sources — Mendeley: mendeley.com (verified 2026-06-18) · Zotero: zotero.org (verified 2026-06-18)

Key features

Mendeley: Free tier with 2GB storage and Word/LibreOffice plugins; AI Reading Assistant (PDF chat); Elsevier ScienceDirect integration for content recommendations; Owned by Elsevier — deep publisher integration

Zotero: Fully free and open-source (AGPL); Native Word, LibreOffice, and Google Docs plugins; 9,000+ citation styles; Non-profit — no advertising or data monetization

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