Direct comparison
Zotero vs. Mendeley Reference Manager
Compare Zotero and Mendeley on cost, storage, PDF handling, citation styles, Word/Google Docs support, and group libraries.
Side-by-side comparison
| Dimension | Zotero | Mendeley |
|---|---|---|
| Ownership / cost model | Free, open-source; maintained by the nonprofit Corporation for Digital Scholarship, no commercial vendor | Free to use, but proprietary software owned by Elsevier (the commercial academic publisher) |
| Free storage | 300 MB (item metadata syncs free/unlimited; only attached files count against this) | Commonly reported around 2 GB free (confirm current figure directly with Elsevier/Mendeley) |
| Paid storage pricing | 2 GB for $20/year, 6 GB for $60/year, unlimited for $120/year (per zotero.org/storage) | Additional storage available; current pricing set by Elsevier and subject to change |
| PDF reading & annotation | Built-in reader: highlighting, underlining, sticky notes, drawing; annotations extractable to a note | Built-in reader with highlighting, sticky notes, full-text search; PDF-annotation was the product's original core feature |
| Citation style support | Thousands of CSL styles in its own public repository; styles are human-readable and editable/creatable | Thousands of CSL-compatible styles; in-app style editing tools are less developed than Zotero's |
| Word processor integration | Native plugins for Word, LibreOffice/OpenOffice, and Google Docs | Mendeley Cite officially supports Microsoft Word only; no official Google Docs support (per Elsevier support documentation) |
| Item capture | Browser Connector, DOI/ISBN/PubMed/arXiv lookup, PDF drag-and-drop, RSS feeds, manual entry | Web Importer browser extension, manual PDF import with metadata extraction, manual entry |
| Organization | Collections (multi-membership), Tags, saved searches, built-in Duplicate Items merge view | Folder-based organization with tagging; exact tooling varies by app version |
| Group / shared libraries | Three group-visibility types (Private, Public closed, Public open) with member/admin/owner roles | Shared/group libraries supported, rooted in Mendeley's original reference-sharing and academic-networking design |
| Platform availability | Desktop app (Windows/Mac/Linux), browser connector, mobile apps, web library | Desktop app (Windows/Mac/Linux), web library, mobile app |
| Best fit | Researchers who want an independent, non-publisher tool, use Google Docs, or need custom citation styles | Researchers already in an Elsevier-centered ecosystem, Word-only workflows, or who want more free storage out of the box |
Common questions
FAQ
Can I switch between Zotero and Mendeley later without losing my library?+
Both support standard export formats (RIS, BibTeX), so a library can be exported from one and imported into the other. Test the migration with a small subset first if the library has extensive PDF annotations, since attachment and annotation migration is more likely to need manual cleanup than plain bibliographic metadata.
Does Mendeley work with Google Docs?+
Not officially. Mendeley Cite, Elsevier's citation add-in, supports Microsoft Word only, per Elsevier's own support documentation. Unofficial third-party browser extensions exist to bridge the gap but are not Elsevier-supported. Zotero has an official, native Google Docs plugin.
Is Zotero really free, with no catch?+
The software itself is free with no paid tier, and item metadata syncs for free without limit. The only thing Zotero charges for is optional cloud storage for attached files (PDFs, etc.) beyond the free 300 MB allotment.
Which has better PDF annotation, Zotero or Mendeley?+
Both now support highlighting, notes, and full-text search across stored PDFs. Mendeley's PDF-and-annotation workflow was the product's original core feature before reference management was added, so it has historically had more design attention there, but current versions of both are close on core annotation functionality.
Going deeper
