Reference Manager vs Mendeley

Struggling to choose between Reference Manager and Mendeley? Both products offer unique advantages, making it a tough decision.

Reference Manager is a Office & Productivity solution with tags like academic, citations, bibliographies, research.

It boasts features such as Import references from online databases, Organize references into folders/groups, Annotate PDFs, Generate bibliographies and citations in Word docs, Collaborate with other researchers, Access references from multiple devices and pros including Saves time organizing and citing references, Integrates well with Word, Helps ensure accuracy of citations, Good search and duplicate finding tools, Can sync libraries across devices.

On the other hand, Mendeley is a Office & Productivity product tagged with reference-manager, citation-manager, pdf-annotation, collaboration, research-sharing.

Its standout features include Reference management, PDF organization and annotation, Collaboration tools, Citation plugins for Word and LibreOffice, Web importer browser extension, Suggested papers based on library, Mobile apps, and it shines with pros like Free basic plan with 2GB storage, Intuitive interface, Large academic user base, Good collaboration features, Many citation style options.

To help you make an informed decision, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison of these two products, delving into their features, pros, cons, pricing, and more. Get ready to explore the nuances that set them apart and determine which one is the perfect fit for your requirements.

Reference Manager

Reference Manager

Reference Manager is software designed to help researchers organize, manage, and cite their references when writing academic papers. It allows importing references from online databases and PDFs, organizing references into folders, annotating PDFs, and creating bibliographies and citations in Word docs.

Categories:
academic citations bibliographies research

Reference Manager Features

  1. Import references from online databases
  2. Organize references into folders/groups
  3. Annotate PDFs
  4. Generate bibliographies and citations in Word docs
  5. Collaborate with other researchers
  6. Access references from multiple devices

Pricing

  • Free Trial
  • Subscription-Based

Pros

Saves time organizing and citing references

Integrates well with Word

Helps ensure accuracy of citations

Good search and duplicate finding tools

Can sync libraries across devices

Cons

Steep learning curve

Costly subscription after free trial

Limited styles for bibliographies

Not compatible with Google Docs

Can be slow with large libraries


Mendeley

Mendeley

Mendeley is a free reference manager and academic social network that can help you organize your research, collaborate with others online, and discover the latest research. It provides tools to manage references and citations, read and annotate PDFs, and create online groups and networks to share research papers and collaborate.

Categories:
reference-manager citation-manager pdf-annotation collaboration research-sharing

Mendeley Features

  1. Reference management
  2. PDF organization and annotation
  3. Collaboration tools
  4. Citation plugins for Word and LibreOffice
  5. Web importer browser extension
  6. Suggested papers based on library
  7. Mobile apps

Pricing

  • Freemium

Pros

Free basic plan with 2GB storage

Intuitive interface

Large academic user base

Good collaboration features

Many citation style options

Cons

Limited storage in free version

No offline access in free version

Less citation style options than competitors

Collaboration requires all users to have accounts