Citavi vs RefWorks

CCitavi8.8Visit RefWorks8.6Visit

Higher score C Citavi #4 in Citation Management Software 8.8/10 Paid ✓ 3 of 3 features Visit Citavi

vs

RefWorks #5 in Citation Management Software 8.6/10 Pricing on request ✓ 3 of 3 features Visit RefWorks

• Citavi fits best

  Teams needing advanced research workflows

• RefWorks fits best

  Institutions needing administration and integrations

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Side by side

Feature	CCitavi 8.8/10 Visit ↗	RefWorks 8.6/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.8	8.6
Ranking	#4 in Citation Management Software	#5 in Citation Management Software
Best for	Teams needing advanced research workflows	Institutions needing administration and integrations
Pricing model	Paid	Paid
Starting price	—	Pricing on request
Free plan	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted, Desktop	Cloud, Browser extension
Platforms	Web, Windows	Web, Chrome extension
Support	Community, Docs	Phone, Live chat, Email, Docs
Integrations	3 integrations	15 integrations
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Citavi 3/3 · RefWorks 3/3
PDF annotation	✓	✓
Browser extension	✓	✓
Team collaboration	✓	✓
Specs
Citation styles	11000 styles	Not checked yet
Word processor support	Both	Both
Mobile apps	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Import formats	BibTeX, RIS, EndNote Tagged, CSV, Excel, Access, OpenOffice Calc, OvidSP, Zotero, Mendeley	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Captures references, quotations, and images from browsers, PDFs, and databases Supports PDF annotation, quotation extraction, comments, and AI summaries Offers 11,000-plus citation styles and Microsoft Word integration	Supports PDF annotation, highlighting, and full-text organization Works with Microsoft Word and Google Docs for citations Offers broad research-database and library-system integrations
Cons	Desktop access is presented separately from the browser-based Web offering Mac access is available through Citavi Web rather than the desktop software The product is proprietary rather than open source	Pricing is handled through institutional sales conversations Its administration features may exceed individual researchers' needs The RefWorks name is expected to change later in 2026
Our verdict	Citavi is reference management and knowledge organization software for students, researchers, faculty, librarians, and research teams. It combines reference importing, browser capture, PDF annotation, quotation and note management,… Read the review →	RefWorks is a cloud-based reference management service for students, researchers, faculty, and academic institutions. It supports reference collection and organization, attached full-text documents, annotation, highlighting, shared… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Citavi — where it wins

  • Captures references, quotations, and images from browsers, PDFs, and databases
  • Supports PDF annotation, quotation extraction, comments, and AI summaries
  • Offers 11,000-plus citation styles and Microsoft Word integration

  Where it doesn't

  • Desktop access is presented separately from the browser-based Web offering
  • Mac access is available through Citavi Web rather than the desktop software
  • The product is proprietary rather than open source

• RefWorks — where it wins

  • Supports PDF annotation, highlighting, and full-text organization
  • Works with Microsoft Word and Google Docs for citations
  • Offers broad research-database and library-system integrations

  Where it doesn't

  • Pricing is handled through institutional sales conversations
  • Its administration features may exceed individual researchers' needs
  • The RefWorks name is expected to change later in 2026

• CCitavi8.8/10 · Paid

  A deep research workspace for teams managing references, PDFs, notes, and citations.

  Visit CitaviFull verdict →
• RefWorks8.6/10 · Pricing on request

  A strong institutional reference manager with broad integrations and administration tools.

  Visit RefWorksFull verdict →