Citavi: What It Is, Pricing & Alternatives

Citavi

Citavi is a commercial reference-management application, originally from Swiss Academic Software and now owned by QSR International (distributed under the Lumivero brand since the 2021 acquisition), that combines three tools inside one project file: a Reference Editor for citation capture and bibliography formatting, a Knowledge Organizer for PDF annotation and note-filing by topic, and a Task Planner for tracking source-linked to-dos. The full Citavi Desktop application is Windows-only; a lighter, separately licensed Citavi Web product runs in a browser on any OS. Citavi Free, the no-cost tier, was discontinued after the 2021 acquisition -- current access is trial-then-paid only.

ByCASRAI Editorial Board

· Last updated 1 Sept 2026

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Worked examples

Is an instance

A doctoral student writing a dissertation in Citavi Desktop uses the Knowledge Organizer to file annotated PDF excerpts by chapter topic, then uses the Task Planner to flag which sources still need a full read before the literature-review chapter is drafted -- all inside the same project file that also generates the bibliography.

Is an instance

A German university library recommends Citavi as its supported reference manager and provides students a discounted institutional license for Citavi Desktop, since the software has a long-established base in German-speaking academic libraries and the library already runs Windows-based support documentation for it.

Citavi is a commercial Windows reference-management application that bundles three linked tools into one project file: a Reference Editor for capturing and formatting citations, a Knowledge Organizer for annotating PDFs and filing notes and quotations by topic, and a Task Planner for tracking to-dos tied to individual sources. What makes something “Citavi” rather than a generic citation tool is that combination running against a single shared project — a researcher who only needs to generate a bibliography can do that with a lighter tool; Citavi’s actual niche is holding the reading, the notes, and the writing task list together in one place across a long project such as a thesis or monograph.

Where it came from and who maintains it

Citavi was originally built by Swiss Academic Software and grew a large following in German-speaking university libraries, where it is still commonly the recommended reference manager. In February 2021, Swiss Academic Software was acquired by QSR International, which now distributes Citavi under its Lumivero data-analytics brand alongside QSR’s other product, NVivo. That ownership change had a direct, practical consequence for new users: Citavi Free, the no-cost tier that let students manage small projects, was discontinued after the acquisition. Citavi today is trial-then-paid only — there is no free tier to fall back to once a trial period ends.

What it actually runs on

The full-featured Citavi Desktop application is Windows-only; there is no native macOS or Linux build. QSR/Lumivero also offers Citavi Web, a browser-based version usable from any OS, but it is a lighter product than Desktop and the two are licensed separately (an organization or individual can hold Desktop, Web, or both). Anyone on Mac or Linux who wants the full Reference Editor / Knowledge Organizer / Task Planner combination needs to run Windows, whether natively or through virtualization — Citavi Web does not simply substitute for it feature-for-feature.

Citavi vs. EndNote

The two are aimed at a similar buyer — an individual researcher or an institution willing to pay for a managed reference tool, as opposed to a free open-source one — but they split the same features differently. EndNote is cross-platform (Windows and macOS natively) and is the more common institutional standard outside German-speaking Europe, with wide direct integration across journal submission systems. Citavi’s differentiator is the Knowledge Organizer layer: it treats note-taking, PDF annotation, and task assignment as first-class citizens of the same project file, not an add-on to a citation list, which suits long-form writing (theses, monographs, systematic literature reviews) where organizing what a source *said* matters as much as citing it. Neither is objectively better; the platform constraint (Citavi Desktop’s Windows-only requirement) is often the deciding factor by itself for a Mac-based researcher, and beyond that the decision usually comes down to whether the knowledge-organization layer or broader cross-platform/journal-integration support matters more for the work in question.

Free alternatives to Citavi

Since Citavi Free no longer exists, researchers on a limited budget typically look at three genuinely free, actively maintained options instead: Zotero (free, open-source, cross-platform, strong browser-capture and Word/LibreOffice integration), Mendeley (free tier from Elsevier, cross-platform, built-in PDF viewer and social/discovery features), and JabRef (free, open-source, BibTeX-native, aimed more at LaTeX users than the general humanities/social-science audience Citavi and EndNote serve). None of the three reproduces Citavi’s integrated task-planning layer out of the box, so a researcher choosing a free alternative is usually trading that specific feature away in exchange for zero licensing cost and, in Zotero’s and JabRef’s case, an open codebase.

Citavi review: strengths and real limitations

Fairly summarized from what the product actually does rather than its marketing: Citavi’s strength is genuinely combining reference management, PDF/note organization, and task tracking in one project — for a long, source-heavy writing project managed mostly by one person or a small team, that combination reduces context-switching in a way a bare citation manager does not. Its real limitations are the Windows-only Desktop requirement, the lack of any current free tier (a meaningful change from its earlier reputation as a free-for-students tool), and a smaller ecosystem of third-party integrations than EndNote or Zotero have built up. It is a reasonable choice for someone already inside a Windows/German-academic-library environment where it is the supported standard; it is a harder sell for a Mac-based researcher starting from zero with no institutional site license already in place.

Frequently asked questions

Is Citavi free?

No, not anymore. Citavi Free was discontinued after QSR International’s 2021 acquisition of Swiss Academic Software. Current access is trial-then-paid, with individual and institutional licensing tiers for Citavi Desktop and Citavi Web.

Is Citavi available on Mac?

Citavi Desktop, the full-featured application, is Windows-only. QSR/Lumivero’s separate Citavi Web product runs in any browser and so is usable from macOS, but it is a lighter tool than Desktop, not a full substitute.

How does Citavi compare to EndNote?

Both are paid, professionally supported reference managers. Citavi’s distinguishing layer is its built-in Knowledge Organizer and Task Planner for note-taking and to-do tracking inside the same project; EndNote is cross-platform natively and has broader direct integration with journal submission systems. See the fuller side-by-side on CASRAI’s Zotero vs. Citavi comparison for how Citavi’s model differs from a free tool’s as well.

What’s a good free alternative to Citavi?

Zotero is the closest free, open-source match for general research use; Mendeley is a free alternative with a built-in PDF reader and discovery features; JabRef is free and BibTeX-native, better suited to LaTeX-based workflows than to the humanities/social-science use case Citavi is best known for.

Related CASRAI pages

Use in your systems

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