Zotero vs Paperpile

Zotero9.4Visit Paperpile8.9Visit

Higher score Zotero #1 in Reference Management Software 9.4/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 1 of 3 features Visit Zotero

vs

Paperpile #2 in Reference Management Software 8.9/10 30-day trial Free trial✓ 1 of 3 features Visit Paperpile

• Zotero fits best

  Researchers wanting a complete free reference manager

• Paperpile fits best

  Google-centric academic teams

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Side by side

Feature	Zotero 9.4/10 Visit ↗	Paperpile 8.9/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.4	8.9
Ranking	#1 in Reference Management Software	#2 in Reference Management Software
Best for	Researchers wanting a complete free reference manager	Google-centric academic teams
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Paid
Starting price	$20/yr	$4.15/user/mo
Free plan	✓ (best)	—
Free trial	—	30 days
Deployment	Cloud, Desktop, Mobile, Browser extension	Cloud, Mobile, Browser extension
Platforms	Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Chrome extension	Web, iOS, Android, Chrome extension
Support	Community, Docs, Email	Email, Community, Docs
Integrations	7 integrations	9 integrations
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Zotero 1/3 · Paperpile 1/3
PDF annotation	✓	✓
Citation plugins	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Browser capture	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Specs
Storage limit	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Supported platforms	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Team collaboration	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Free, open-source core with collections, tags, searches, and source capture PDF reading, highlighting, underlining, annotations, and citation generation Plugins for Word, LibreOffice, and Google Docs across major platforms	Strong PDF storage, search, highlighting, notes, and annotations Google Docs and Microsoft Word citation plugins Shared libraries, duplicate detection, and research integrations
Cons	The Free plan includes 300 MB of storage Larger file libraries require annual storage subscriptions Its broad feature set may exceed the needs of simple citation tasks	No free plan; paid plans are billed annually Safari and Firefox support is described as beta Enterprise pricing is not displayed in the published plan details
Our verdict	Zotero is a reference-management application for students, researchers, educators, and research teams. It captures bibliographic information from webpages, organizes sources with collections and tags, stores notes and attachments,… Read the review →	Paperpile is a web-based reference management application for researchers, students, and academic teams. It collects references from academic databases and publisher websites, organizes them with folders, labels, search, and duplicate… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Zotero — where it wins

  • Free, open-source core with collections, tags, searches, and source capture
  • PDF reading, highlighting, underlining, annotations, and citation generation
  • Plugins for Word, LibreOffice, and Google Docs across major platforms

  Where it doesn't

  • The Free plan includes 300 MB of storage
  • Larger file libraries require annual storage subscriptions
  • Its broad feature set may exceed the needs of simple citation tasks

• Paperpile — where it wins

  • Strong PDF storage, search, highlighting, notes, and annotations
  • Google Docs and Microsoft Word citation plugins
  • Shared libraries, duplicate detection, and research integrations

  Where it doesn't

  • No free plan; paid plans are billed annually
  • Safari and Firefox support is described as beta
  • Enterprise pricing is not displayed in the published plan details

• Zotero9.4/10 · Free plan

  A broad, open-source reference manager with free core tools and optional paid storage.

  Visit ZoteroFull verdict →
• Paperpile8.9/10 · 30-day trial

  A capable, Google-centric reference manager for academic teams that need shared research libraries.

  Visit PaperpileFull verdict →