Zotero is a free, open-source research assistant from the nonprofit Digital Scholar that collects, organizes, annotates, cites, and shares research sources. Its official repository is zotero/zotero, its desktop apps cover Mac, Windows, and Linux, and its mobile apps cover iOS and Android.[1][2]
Quick verdict
Zotero is a free, nonprofit-backed research assistant that captures web sources in one click and cites them inside Word, LibreOffice, and Google Docs across 9,000 styles. Sync and unlimited group sharing are built in, with only large file libraries needing paid storage.[1][2][3]
What Zotero does
The browser connector senses research pages as you browse and saves articles, books, preprints, and news stories to the library with one click, on Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari.[1][2]
Citations and bibliographies drop directly into Word, LibreOffice, and Google Docs through bundled plugins, with more than 9,000 citation styles covering practically any style guide or publication.[1][2]
Optional sync keeps files, notes, and records current across desktop, mobile, and the web library, while group libraries let unlimited collaborators share a collection at no cost.[1][2]
Who fits Zotero
Researchers who gather sources from journals, preprint servers, and the general web get the most from one-click capture plus organized collections, tags, and saved searches.[1]
Students and small teams writing cited papers fit well: the app is free, styling covers thousands of guides, and shared group libraries cost nothing extra.[1][2]
Limits to weigh
Hosted file sync starts at 300 MB free, so PDF-heavy libraries outgrow the free tier and need a paid plan, up to Unlimited at $120 per year.[1]
Browser connectors are desktop-only; on mobile, saving runs through the Share button rather than a full connector.[1]
No single sign-on, fixed sync regions, or enterprise support SLA is documented, so larger institutions should verify those requirements before standardizing.[1][2]
Community and trust
Recent threads on the vendor-hosted Zotero support forum, showing active discussion, developer participation, and current Zotero 10 and mobile release topics.
1 cited community source. Single vendor-hosted support forum observed at one point in time; support-seeking threads over-represent problems and are not an independent satisfaction sample.
Zotero is a project of Digital Scholar, an independent nonprofit with no financial interest in users private information, funded by storage subscriptions.[1][2]
Development happens in the open at zotero/zotero under the GNU Affero General Public License v3, with a global community plus official documentation and forums around it.[1][2]
Platforms and integration
Zotero runs on macOS, Windows, and Linux desktops with iOS and Android apps, installed through per-OS installers, mobile app stores, and browser extensions.[1][2]
A documented Web API gives read access to online libraries, and the desktop client exposes the same endpoints as a local API over the local database.[1]
Questions worth asking
Is Zotero really free?
Sources and editorial review
Source research. Reviewed on October 13, 2026. Written by Sanjib Sah. AI assisted; reviewed by a human editor.
We have not run or tested this product.
Recent threads on the vendor-hosted Zotero support forum, showing active discussion, developer participation, and current Zotero 10 and mobile release topics. Single vendor-hosted support forum observed at one point in time; support-seeking threads over-represent problems and are not an independent satisfaction sample.
- Zotero homepage - your personal research assistant
official · Observed October 13, 2026
Official homepage describing features, platforms, citation support, sync, groups, and nonprofit stewardship.
- Zotero download page
official · Observed October 13, 2026
Official download page listing desktop installers, mobile apps, and browser connectors.
- Zotero storage pricing
official · Observed October 13, 2026
Official storage page with free and paid tiers and nonprofit funding model.
- zotero/zotero GitHub repository
official · Observed October 13, 2026
Official repository record confirming identity, homepage, and active status.
- zotero/zotero COPYING license text
official · Observed October 13, 2026
AGPLv3 license text observed in the official repository.
- Zotero cite preferences documentation
official · Observed October 13, 2026
Official docs on automatic word processor plugin installation for Word and LibreOffice.
- Zotero Web API documentation
official · Observed October 13, 2026
Official developer docs for the read-access Web API and local desktop endpoints.
- Zotero forums recent discussions
community · Observed October 13, 2026
Vendor-hosted support forum front page showing active recent threads, developer responses, and Zotero 10 and mobile announcements.
Compared with these products
No explicit proprietary baseline is recorded.