[Bebop](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bebop_(software) "Bebop (software)") | [ALaRI Institute](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Learning_and_Research_Institute "Advanced Learning and Research Institute") | 2007-11-08 | 2009-11-10 | 1.1 | Free | Yes | [BSD](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BSD_licenses "BSD licenses") | web-based BibTeX front-end (Apache, PHP, MySQL) |
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[BibBase](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BibBase "BibBase") | Christian Fritz | 2005 | 2013-07 | v3 | Free | No | [Proprietary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proprietary_software "Proprietary software") | centrally hosted website, intended for publication pages |
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[BibDesk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BibDesk "BibDesk") | BibDesk developers | 2002-04 | 2021-08-15 | 1.8.3 | Free | Yes | [BSD](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BSD_licenses "BSD licenses") | [BibTeX](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BibTeX "BibTeX") front-end + repository; [Cocoa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocoa_(API) "Cocoa (API)")-based; integration with [Spotlight](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotlight_(software) "Spotlight (software)") |
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[Biblioscape](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblioscape "Biblioscape") | CG Information | 1997 | 2015-06-22 | 10.0.3.6 | [US$](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US%24 "US$")79-299[\[1\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_reference_management_software#cite_note-MSRP-1) | No | [Proprietary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proprietary_software "Proprietary software") | [ODBC](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ODBC "ODBC"); web access in Pro ed; optional client/server; discontinued? |
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[BibSonomy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BibSonomy "BibSonomy") | [University of Kassel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Kassel "University of Kassel") | 2006-01 | 2019-12-11 | 3.9.2 | Free | Yes | [AGPL](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Affero_General_Public_License "GNU Affero General Public License"), [GPL](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_General_Public_License "GNU General Public License"), [LGPL](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Lesser_General_Public_License "GNU Lesser General Public License")[\[2\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_reference_management_software#cite_note-2) | centrally hosted website |
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[Bibus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibus "Bibus") | Bibus developers | 2004-06-03 | 2013-05-23 | 1.5.1 | Free | Yes | [GNU GPL](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_General_Public_License "GNU General Public License") | discontinued? |
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[Bookends](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bookends_(software) "Bookends (software)") | Sonny Software | 1988 (Mac) / 1983 (Apple II+) | 2021-01-23 | 13.5.1[\[3\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_reference_management_software#cite_note-3) | [US$](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US%24 "US$")59.99[\[1\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_reference_management_software#cite_note-MSRP-1) | No | [Proprietary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proprietary_software "Proprietary software") | Desktop & iOS synced via iCloud, integrated web search, PDF download, auto-completion, Word plugin, BibTex support, PDF annotations stored as notes |
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[Citavi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citavi "Citavi") | QSR International[\[4\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_reference_management_software#cite_note-4) | 2006-02-13 | 2022-01-05 | 6.11.0.0 | [US$](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US%24 "US$")89-1947[\[5\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_reference_management_software#cite_note-5) | No | [Proprietary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proprietary_software "Proprietary software") | data can be saved locally on the computer, or, for team access, in the Citavi Cloud or an intranet [Microsoft SQL Server](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_SQL_Server "Microsoft SQL Server");[\[6\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_reference_management_software#cite_note-6) search databases from interface[\[7\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_reference_management_software#cite_note-7) |
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[CiteULike](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CiteULike "CiteULike") | Oversity Limited | 2004-11 | Shut down in 2019-03-30[\[8\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_reference_management_software#cite_note-8) |
| Free | No | [proprietary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proprietary_software "Proprietary software")[\[9\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_reference_management_software#cite_note-9) | centrally hosted website |
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[colwiz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colwiz "Colwiz") | colwiz Ltd | 2011 | 2016-05-09 |
| Free / Online storage free up to 3 GB / Additional storage space available | No | [Proprietary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proprietary_software "Proprietary software") | Now combined with wizdom.ai |
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[EndNote](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EndNote "EndNote") | [Clarivate Analytics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarivate_Analytics "Clarivate Analytics") | 1988 | 2021-11-30 | 20.2.1 | [US$](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US%24 "US$")299.95[\[1\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_reference_management_software#cite_note-MSRP-1) | No | [Proprietary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proprietary_software "Proprietary software") | The web version [EndNote basic](https://endnote.com/basic) (formerly, EndNote Web) is free of charge |
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[JabRef](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JabRef "JabRef") | JabRef developers | 2003-11-29 | 2021-07-05 | 5.3 | Free | Yes | [MIT license](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIT_license "MIT license") | [Java](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_(programming_language) "Java (programming language)") [BibTeX](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BibTeX "BibTeX") and [BibLaTeX](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BibLaTeX "BibLaTeX") manager |
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[KBibTeX](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KBibTeX "KBibTeX") | KBibTeX developers | 2005-08 | 2020-04-26 | 0.9.2 | Free | Yes | [GNU GPL](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_General_Public_License "GNU General Public License") | [BibTeX](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BibTeX "BibTeX") front-end, using the [KDE Software Compilation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KDE_Software_Compilation "KDE Software Compilation") |
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[Mendeley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mendeley "Mendeley") | [Elsevier](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elsevier "Elsevier") | 2008-08 | 2020 | 1.19.8 | Free / Online storage free up to 2 GB / Additional storage space available | No | [proprietary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proprietary_software "Proprietary software") (OS API clients exist) | Account required, Desktop & Web components, Windows, Linux, macOS (not macOS 11 Big Sur) |
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[Paperpile](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paperpile "Paperpile") | Stefan Washietl, Gregorgy Jordan, Andreas Gruber | 2013 | Continually updated online |
| [US$](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US%24 "US$")2.99/month for academics, 9.99/month otherwise | No | [Proprietary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proprietary_software "Proprietary software") | web-application, integrates with Google Docs, collaboration & sharing features, currently only on Google Chrome |
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[Pybliographer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pybliographer "Pybliographer") | pybliographer developers | 1998-10-30 (0.2) | 2018-04-03 | 1.4.0 | Free | Yes | [GNU GPL](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_General_Public_License "GNU General Public License") | [Python](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Python_(programming_language) "Python (programming language)")/[GTK2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GTK2 "GTK2") |
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[Qiqqa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qiqqa "Qiqqa") | Qiqqa | 2010-04 | 2020-10-04 | v80 | Free | Yes | [GNU GPL](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_General_Public_License "GNU General Public License") | From end 2020, Open Source |
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[ReadCube Papers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ReadCube "ReadCube") (now [Papers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papers_(software) "Papers (software)")) | ReadCube | 2011-10 | 2021-03-09 | v.4.23.3 | [US$](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US%24 "US$") 3/month for students, 5/month academics | No | [Proprietary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proprietary_software "Proprietary software") | Web-app, Desktop (MacOS, Windows), Mobile (iOS and Android). Microsoft Word and Google Docs add-in. Browser extension (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari) |
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[refbase](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refbase "Refbase") | refbase developers | 2003-06-03 | 2014-02-28 | 0.9.6 | Free | Yes | [GNU GPL](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_General_Public_License "GNU General Public License") | web-based for [institutional repositories](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institutional_repository "Institutional repository")/[self-archiving](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-archiving "Self-archiving")[\[10\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_reference_management_software#cite_note-10) |
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[RefDB](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RefDB "RefDB") | refdb developers | 2001-04-25 | 2007-11-05 | 0.9.9 | Free | Yes | [GNU GPL](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_General_Public_License "GNU General Public License") | network-transparent; [XML](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XML "XML")/[SGML](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SGML "SGML") bibliographies |
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[Reference Manager](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reference_Manager "Reference Manager") | [Thomson Reuters](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomson_Reuters "Thomson Reuters") | 1984 | 2010 | 12.0.3 | Not for sale anymore, sales ceased December 31, 2015 | No | [Proprietary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proprietary_software "Proprietary software") | network version; built-in web publishing tool; discontinued |
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[Referencer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Referencer "Referencer") | Referencer developers | 2008-03-15 | 2014-02-27 | 1.2.2 | Free | Yes | [GNU GPL](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_General_Public_License "GNU General Public License") | [BibTeX](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BibTeX "BibTeX") front-end |
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[RefME](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RefME "RefME") | RefME | 2014 | Shut down in 2017 |
| Free | No | [Proprietary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proprietary_software "Proprietary software") | Web, iOS and Android; Chrome and Safari Extensions available; discontinued |
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[RefWorks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RefWorks "RefWorks") | Ex Libris / ProQuest | 2001 | 2018 | 3 | Institutional subscription | No | [Proprietary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proprietary_software "Proprietary software") | web-based, browser-accessed, Word & Google Docs |
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[SciRef](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SciRef "SciRef") | Scientific Programs | 2012 | 2020-07-30 | 1.6.2 | [US$](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US%24 "US$")38.90 / Free trial version | No | [Proprietary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proprietary_software "Proprietary software") |
|
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[Sente](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sente_(software) "Sente (software)") | Third Street Software, Inc. | 2004 | Shut down in 2017 | 6.7.9 | [US$](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US%24 "US$")60–80[\[1\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_reference_management_software#cite_note-MSRP-1) / Free for libraries up to 100 refs | No | [Proprietary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proprietary_software "Proprietary software") | Desktop and iPad, centralized backup/synching; discontinued |
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[Wikindx](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikindx "Wikindx") | Mark Grimshaw | 2004-02 | 2021-07-07 | 6.4.10 | Free | Yes | [ISC license](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISC_license "ISC license") | web-based |
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[WizFolio](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WizFolio "WizFolio") | WizPatent | 2008-06 | Shut down in 2017 | Avatara | US$25 / Free Basic version | No | [Proprietary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proprietary_software "Proprietary software") | centrally hosted website; discontinued |
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[Zotero](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zotero "Zotero") | [Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Rosenzweig_Center_for_History_and_New_Media "Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media") at [GMU](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Mason_University "George Mason University") | 2006 | 2021-01-11 | 5.0.95 [\[11\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_reference_management_software#cite_note-11) | Free / Online storage free up to 300 MB / Additional storage space available | Yes | [AGPL](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affero_General_Public_License "Affero General Public License") | Multi-platform desktop version with connectors for [Firefox](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozilla_Firefox "Mozilla Firefox"), [Chrome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Chrome "Google Chrome") and [Safari](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safari_(web_browser) "Safari (web browser)"). Web-based access to reference library also available through Zotero.org or through a personal cloud-based database folder on a user's computer (Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.). |
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