Compare referencing software

Use referencing management software for storing and managing references long term.

Check our Referencing Software and Tools page to decide if you need full software or a more basic tool

The popular reference management tools are:

Access

Table comparing the different access features and capabilities of EndNote, Zotero and Mendeley
Features and capabilities	EndNote 2025 (institutional subscription)	Zotero	Mendeley (institutional subscription)
Cost and support	Free with unlimited online storage. Fully supported by Massey Library (classes and individual help).	Free for the first 300MB of online storage, paid plans available. Fully supported by Massey Library (classes and individual help).	Free 100GB storage for Massey users (2GB for free accounts). No library support or training.
Ease of use	Steep learning curve, but most powerful features.	Fairly intuitive.	Fairly intuitive.
Access after leaving Massey	Yes. Includes 2GB free online storage. You can keep using your installed desktop version.	Yes. Access is unaffected because your accounts are not linked to Massey.	Yes. Includes 2GB of free online storage.
Available on Massey PCs and Macs	Yes, installed on all student lab and library computers.	Yes, but not installed on student lab computers.	Yes, but not installed on student lab computers.

Using the software

Table comparing the different software capabilities of EndNote, Zotero and Mendeley
Software capabilities	EndNote 2025	Zotero	Mendeley (Reference Manager)
Exports references from databases	Yes, direct export from library databases.	Yes, including some databases not compatible with EndNote (for example, Factiva).	Yes, direct export from many databases.
Exports references from web	No single‑click browser tool.	Yes, via Zotero Connector.	Yes, via Mendeley Web Importer.
Sync across devices	Yes, via EndNote Online..	Yes, via Zotero Online	Yes, via Mendeley Online
Full-text attachment s (PDFs)	Unlimited storage. Import PDFs or folders. “Find Full Text” feature to download and attach PDFs.	First 300MB free storage. Import PDFs or PDF folders. “Find Full Text” feature to download and attach PDFs	100 GB storage for Massey users (2GB free account). Import PDFs or PDF folders. No “Find Full Text” feature.
Sharing and collaboration	Share the entire library (PDFs included) or selected groups (PDFs not included).	Share groups of references (PDFs not included). Free accounts limited to 300MB, large PDF sharing may require paid storage.	Institutional accounts can share references and PDFs with up to 100 people, free accounts up to 25 people.
AI integration	Free AI features: key takeaways for PDF summaries, ask a question about the document.	No built-in AI, third-party plugins available.	Paid AI features: summarises sections or full papers, answers document-based questions, compares study designs, methods, and results across papers.
Citation style range	Over 6,000 styles, editable.	Over 9000 styles, limited editing options.	Over 8000 styles, editable..
Summary	Powerful for long documents and large reference collection, well-suited for systematic reviews.	Strong for users who rely on websites and want one-click citation capture.	Useful for researchers working with LaTeX or Overleaf.

Technical requirements

Table comparing the different technical requirements of EndNote, Zotero and Mendeley
Requirement	EndNote 2025	Zotero	Mendeley (Reference Manager)
Supported browsers	Windows: Chrome, Firefox, Edge. macOS: Firefox generally the most reliable.	Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge (via Zotero Connector).	Current versions of major browsers; JavaScript must be enabled.
Operating systems	Windows 10+ macOS 10.14+ Check EndNote website for updates.	Windows 10+ macOS 10.14+ Check Zotero website for updates.	Windows 10+ macOS 10.14+ Check Mendeley website for updates.
Word processor compatibility	EndNote Desktop: MS Office 365, Word 2010+ (Windows), Word 2016+ (Mac), Apple Pages EndNote Online: MS Word, Word Online, Google Docs	Word 2010+ (Windows), Word 2016+ (Mac), Office 365, LibreOffice, Google Docs, LaTeX Cite While You Write with desktop library	Word 2016+, Office 365 (Windows), not working on Apple Pages (Mac) Cite While You Write with desktop library

See details and updates about each software at:

Help

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Do not share PDFs obtained through Massey University Library with anyone outside of the Massey University community.

Ask a librarian

We're here to help you find the resources you need for your study. Ask a librarian by email, over the phone, or at a service point in any campus library.

Auckland campus library

Hours: Get library opening hours information
Email: Library@massey.ac.nz
Free phone inside New Zealand: 0800 468 542
Phone outside New Zealand: +64 6 951 6399
Location: Postal address
Library
Private Bag 102904
North Shore Mail Centre
Auckland 0745
Physical address
Library
Gate 1, East Precinct
Albany Expressway (SH17)
Albany
Auckland 0632

Manawatū campus library, Palmerston North

Hours: Get library hours information
Email: Library@massey.ac.nz
Free phone inside New Zealand: 0800 468 542
Phone outside New Zealand: +64 6 951 6399
Location: Postal address
Private Bag 11054
Palmerston North 4442
Physical address
Tennent Drive
Palmerston North 4410

Wellington campus library

Hours: Get library hours information
Email: Library@massey.ac.nz
Free phone inside New Zealand: 0800 468 542
Phone outside New Zealand: +64 6 951 6399
Location: Postal address
Massey University Library
Private Bag 756
Wellington 6140

Physical address
Massey University Library
Block 5
63 Wallace Street
Wellington 6021

Online and distance contacts

Hours: Get library hours information
Email: Library@massey.ac.nz
Free phone inside New Zealand: 0800 468 542
Phone outside New Zealand: +64 6 951 6399

Compare referencing software - Te whakataurite tohutoro pūmanawa