Best Citation Manager · head-to-head
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.
At a glance
- Price: Mendeley $0/mo vs Zotero $0/mo — Mendeley is cheaper to start.
- Free tier: Mendeley Yes; Zotero Yes.
- HIPAA: Mendeley —; Zotero —.
Side by side
| Mendeley | Zotero | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $0/mo (Free) | $0/mo (Free (300MB Storage)) |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| HIPAA (BAA) | — | — |
| SOC 2 | — | — |
| GDPR | — | — |
| Best for | students | students |
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