VOSviewer
VOSviewer: A free, focused choice for exploring and presenting bibliometric network relationships. Ranked #24 of 28 in Literature Review Software by our editors (6.6/10); pricing: Free plan; best for bibliometric network visualization.
At a glance
- Editor score6.6 / 10
- PricingFree plan
- Best forBibliometric network visualization
- Free planYes
- Paid fromFree
- Discovery toolsSearch
- Facts checked20 Sep 2026
Where it wins
- Builds citation, co-citation, coupling, and co-authorship networks
- Imports data from major bibliographic databases and reference managers
- Offers network, density, overlay, and interactive online visualizations
Where it doesn't
- Does not provide verified screening workflows
- Does not manage systematic reviews
- Requires network-analysis expertise for parameter and clustering choices
Our verdict on VOSviewer
VOSviewer is free software for constructing, visualizing, and exploring bibliometric networks. It is designed for researchers, research groups, institutions, and analysts studying publications, journals, researchers, organizations, countries, or terms. Its core work includes citation, co-citation, bibliographic-coupling, co-authorship, and term co-occurrence analyses, making it particularly suitable for mapping relationships across scientific literature rather than managing an entire review workflow.
The published Free plan allows the software to be used freely for any purpose. VOSviewer imports data from Web of Science, Scopus, Dimensions, Lens, and PubMed, and it can query the Crossref, Europe PMC, and OpenAlex APIs. DOI-based networks can also use Semantic Scholar, OpenCitations, and Wikidata APIs. This gives literature analysts several routes for assembling data, while thesaurus files support data cleaning. The software runs across Windows, macOS, and Linux, and VOSviewer Online adds browser-based exploration, sharing, and embedding of interactive visualizations.
Its strongest capability is the depth of its network-visualization toolkit. Users can adjust layout and clustering parameters, switch among network, density, and overlay views, zoom and scroll through maps, label items, and create high-resolution screenshots. That focus suits users who need to identify and communicate patterns in scholarly communication. It is less suitable for teams seeking verified screening or systematic-review management, because those functions are outside its stated scope. Choose VOSviewer for bibliometric mapping and visual analysis; choose another tool when screening and review administration are central requirements.
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VOSviewer pricing
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VOSviewer fact sheet
| Free plan | Yes |
|---|---|
| Paid from | Free |
| Discovery tools | Search |
| Screening workflow | Not verified |
| Full-text management | Not verified |
| Systematic review tools | Not verified |
| Collaboration | Not verified |
| Evidence mapping | Not verified |
| Citation import limit | Not verified |
| Deployment | Cloud, Desktop |
| Platforms | Web, Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Support | Docs |
| Built for | Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise (editorial estimate) |
| Pricing | Free plan (source) |
| Website | vosviewer.com |
| Facts checked | 20 Sep 2026 |
Alternatives to VOSviewer
- BuhosA free, end-to-end workspace for individual and collaborative systematic reviews.9.4
- RayyanA mobile-first review workspace with free screening, AI tools, and structured extraction.9.3
- PICO PortalA broad web-based workspace for AI-assisted screening, extraction, and reporting.9.2
See all VOSviewer alternatives →
Also Ranked In
VOSviewer is ranked in 2 of our directories.
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Featured on iTechGuides
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Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
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