Direct comparison
Zenodo vs. OSF: Repository or Workspace?
Zenodo mints DOIs for finished data/software deposits; OSF manages projects and preregistration. Compare storage limits, GitHub integration, and DOIs.
Side-by-side comparison
| Dimension | Zenodo | OSF |
|---|---|---|
| What it fundamentally is | A generalist, discipline-agnostic deposit repository for finished research outputs — datasets, software, posters, papers — with a DOI minted at deposit. | A project-management and collaboration platform for the whole research lifecycle, closer to a lab notebook with a publish button than a repository. |
| Operator, governance & funding | Operated by CERN on the open-source InvenioRDM framework, funded by CERN, OpenAIRE, and the European Union. Launched 2013 out of the OpenAIRE project. | Built and operated by the Center for Open Science (COS), a US 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded January 2013 in Charlottesville, VA by Brian Nosek and Jeffrey Spies. Funded by foundation grants (Arnold Ventures among them), federal grants, and institutional/publisher partnerships — not subscription revenue. |
| Core use case | Archiving a completed, citable output — upload it, get a DOI, done. Minimal account friction and no requirement to use the platform beforehand. | Managing an active project before anything is finished: private file storage with version control, collaborator permissions, a wiki-style description, and preregistering a study's hypotheses and analysis plan before data collection. |
| Free storage limits | Up to 50GB per record (capped at 100 files), plus an additional 150GB allowance distributable across a user's uploads; larger quotas can be requested case by case. | OSF Storage caps private projects/components at 5GB and public projects/components at 50GB; larger deposits are handled by connecting an add-on (Dropbox, Google Drive, Box, figshare) rather than raising the OSF Storage ceiling itself. |
| GitHub integration | Native, one-click GitHub-release archiving: connect a repo and every tagged release is automatically archived with its own DOI — the established pattern for satisfying software-citation expectations. | OSF connects to GitHub as one of several external add-ons (alongside Dropbox, Google Drive, Box, and figshare), letting a project reference existing GitHub content without migrating it — not the same automatic release-to-DOI workflow Zenodo runs. |
| DOIs and persistent identifiers | Mints a DOI via DataCite on every deposit, with a concept DOI that always resolves to the latest version alongside version-specific DOIs for each revision. | Assigns a GUID to every object (projects, components, files, registrations, preprints) and registers DOIs with DataCite for projects/components/registrations and with Crossref for OSF Preprints content — identifier minting is a feature of the platform, not its primary purpose the way it is for Zenodo. |
| Preregistration and study registration | No dedicated preregistration feature. | OSF Registries is the infrastructure most Registered Report workflows and journal preregistration badges actually run on — a study's design and analysis plan can be time-stamped and optionally held under embargo before automatic public release. |
| Curation and versioning | No pre-publication curation review — a deposit is immediately public and citable once uploaded. Supports versioning with a persistent concept DOI. | No pre-publication curation review for standard projects; a project can move between fully private and fully public at any stage, and registrations are frozen, time-stamped snapshots rather than a versioned publication record. |
| Certification / long-term preservation status | Not listed on CoreTrustSeal's public certificate database as a certified repository in its own right (check the live database for current status). | Explicitly not positioned as a CoreTrustSeal-certified, long-term preservation repository — COS's own guidance frames OSF as a workspace used alongside, not instead of, a certified repository for final data archiving. |
| Cost model | Free, with no institutional affiliation required; larger storage quotas negotiated case by case. | Free core functionality with no license negotiation or per-seat cost, since COS is a nonprofit rather than a commercial vendor. |
| Best for | A finished dataset, tagged software release, or other completed output that needs a permanent DOI and a citable public record, especially anything tied to a GitHub release. | Planning and managing a study while it's underway, preregistering hypotheses and analysis plans, and coordinating a multi-collaborator project before deciding what becomes public. |
Common questions
FAQ
Can I use Zenodo and OSF together on the same project?+
Yes, and it's a common pattern: manage the active project, preregister the study design, and coordinate collaborators in OSF, then deposit the finished dataset or software release in Zenodo (or another repository) once the work is complete and ready to be permanently citable.
Does OSF mint DOIs like Zenodo does?+
OSF assigns a GUID to every object on the platform and registers DOIs with DataCite for projects, components, and registrations, and with Crossref for OSF Preprints content. Identifier minting is a feature OSF supports, but unlike Zenodo, it isn't primarily a DOI-minting deposit repository — most OSF use is project management and preregistration, not final archiving.
Is OSF a substitute for a certified data repository?+
No. The Center for Open Science's own guidance is explicit that OSF is not a substitute for a CoreTrustSeal-certified repository used for long-term data preservation. It's frequently used alongside one, as the workspace where the research process is documented and preregistered before final data and materials are deposited elsewhere for archiving.
Which has more free storage, Zenodo or OSF?+
Zenodo's free tier goes further for a single deposit: up to 50GB per record plus an additional distributable 150GB allowance. OSF Storage caps public projects/components at 50GB and private ones at 5GB, though OSF projects can also connect external storage add-ons like Dropbox or Google Drive for more room.
Does Zenodo support preregistration?+
No. Zenodo has no dedicated preregistration feature. For preregistering a study's hypotheses, design, or analysis plan, OSF Registries is the standard infrastructure most Registered Report workflows and journal preregistration badges actually use.
Going deeper
