Endnote |
Mendeley |
Zotero |
Refworks |
|
| Ease of use | Harder to learn initially | Easy to use | Easy to use | Moderate level |
| Cost | Free to UniMelb users | Free (for first 2GB) | Free | Free |
| Institutional access | Yes | Yes - create an account then upgrade | N/A | Yes |
| Currently supported by the Library | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Library training available | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Open source | No | No | Yes | No |
| Operating system | Windows, Mac |
Windows, Linux, MAC not recommended *doesn't support OS after 10.13 (High Sierra) |
Windows, Mac, Linux | Windows, Mac (Write-N-Cite not yet available) |
| Browser | N/A | Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari |
Firefox, Chrome, Edge. Safari version 13 onwards in beta |
Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, |
| Work offline | Desktop (yes), Web (no) | Yes | Yes | Yes (old version) |
| Maximum number of records per folder | Unlimited | Limited only by storage | 30,000 | Unlimited |
| Folder levels | 2 | Multiple | Multiple | 2 |
| Number of source types | 45 | 20 | 33 | 31 |
| Support of special characters | No | Yes | Yes | Yes (old version) |
| Link to PDFs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (old version) |
| Work with word processor to create formatted bibliographies, in-text citations and footnotes |
Yes (Word, Pages) |
Yes (Word, Libre Office, Open Office) |
Yes (Word, Libre Office, Open Office, Google Docs) |
Yes (old version) Yes (new version Word, Google Docs) |
| Number of referencing styles available | Over 6000 | Over 9000 | over 9000 | Over 3000 |
| Can create a formatted list of charts, figures etc. | Yes | No | No | No |
| Collaboration features | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sharing references | Difficult | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile device applications | iOS | iOS, Android | Possible with add ons | |
| Export to BibTeX | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Ease of use in ShareLaTeX | Possible but difficult | Easy integration | Easy integration | |
| Languages available | Language set from operating system settings | 50 available | Language set from operating system settings | English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Chinese |
| Attachment storage | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (limited) |
| Spell-check | Yes | No | No | No |
| Duplicate detection | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Field searching | Yes, author | Yes | Yes - plain text and RegEx searching | Yes, selected |
| Save search strategies | Yes, desktop | No | Yes | Yes |
| Can you edit/create styles | Yes, desktop | Must edit Citation Style Language file | Must edit Citation Style Language file | Must edit Citation Style Language file |
| Create a subject bibliography | Yes, desktop | Yes | Yes | No |
| Importing citations from: | ||||
| ~ library databases | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ~ library catalogue | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ~ from websites | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Arts | Zotero, EndNote |
| Architecture/Design | Zotero |
| Business and Economics | EndNote, Mendeley |
| Education | Zotero, EndNote |
| Law | Zotero |
| MDHS/FVAS | EndNote |
| Science/Engineering | JabRef (for LaTex users), Zotero, EndNote, Mendeley |
| Fine Arts and Music | Zotero, EndNote |