How Does Papers Compare to Zotero?

Papers revolutionizes your research experience by dramatically enhancing how you discover, annotate, collaborate, and cite research. With the addition of our new AI Assistant, finding relevant papers and deriving insights from your research has never been easier. Check out the comparison chart below to see how Papers stacks up against Zotero.

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Papers reference management user interface with AI assistant.

Papers vs Zotero Comparison

Are you looking for a reference manager that allows you to use advanced AI to chat with you PDFs, understand your research better or search for new articles? See how Papers compares to Zotero below.

Zotero

Organization

Import references & PDFs

Import other file types

Automatic metadata extraction and article identification

Merge duplicate articles

Bulk import references through CSV

Enhanced CSV import functionality

Export references to XLSX

Full-text search, including annotations

Advanced search filters

Customizable lists

Smart Lists

Labels and article ratings

Watch folders for automatic PDF import

File management

Custom Fields

Reading

AI Chat with PDF

Clickable enhancements for PDFs

Inline references

Full reference lists

Linked author names

Automatic attachment of supplemental information

Full screen PDF viewer

Article outline

PDF annotation, highlight tools & drawing tools

High resolution figure & video viewer

Easily open articles in various places (publisher website, PubMed, etc.)

Finding New Papers

Built-in search

1-click PDF downloads

Extensions supporting 1-click downloads & PDF streaming across the web

Institutional Proxy integration

Crossref integration

Dimensions.ai integration

Advanced Discovery and Metrics

Query Article Sets with AI Assistant

AI Assisted Query Builder

Personalize paper recommendation engine

Customizable recommendations based on publication time frame

Constantly-updated stream of recommendations

Citation count metrics

Relative citation ratio (article level impact)

Field citation ratio

Visualization and clickable lists of citation articles

Contextual citations

Altmetric integration

Advanced Search

Save Searches

Full Text Search

Sharing

Private collaboration groups

Shared metadata

Shared PDFs

Shared public lists

Shared tagging

Shared annotations

Shared Smart List

Shared Libraries

Multiple Users

Transferable License

Citing

Word-compatible citation tool

Google Docs-compatible citation tool

Instant bibliography insertion and style formatting

Included citation styles

8,000+

Add and create custom styles

Custom CSL styles

Marking favorite styles

Integrated web search within the plugin

Quickly copy formatted citations

Export to other citation file formats (.bib, .ris)

Access to references in both personal and shared libraries

EndNote citation converter

Article Acquisition

Institutional Proxy support

Direct importing of Open Access Papers (Gold/Green OA)

Supported Platform/Devices

Desktop app (Windows, Mac)

Web reader with enhanced PDFs

Web-based library

Compatibility with all modern web browsers

Mobile apps (smartphone, tablet)

iOS (including Apple Pencil support)

Android

Theme support (dark mode)

Cloud Storage and Sync

Sync library across platforms and devices

Cloud storage space for library metadata & PDFs

Support

24/7 Customer Support

Extensive knowledge hub

How to switch to Papers

Switching your reference manager to Papers is easier than pi.

Migrate

Move your existing research, including tags, lists, and folders, into Papers with our simple upload functionality.

Launch

Ensure your library is set up exactly as you want, with Papers experts just a click away to help.

Optimize

Explore Papers' various features designed to make your research life easier - including the AI Assistant, Smart Lists, and collaboration tools

Success

Enjoy your new reference management system and continue making world-changing discoveries.

FAQ

Check out some of the common questions we receive regarding Papers.

How do I import from another reference manager?

How do I set up my institutional/library proxy?

With Papers you are able to connect your institutional proxy to your account, enabling you to download content directly into your Papers library. In Papers, simply head into My Account and select “Edit” next to “Institution”. Then, search for your institution via our database and select. Once your proxy is enabled, you can search across your favorite sites via our browser extensions or using our internal search and recommendations.

Can I use Papers on my phone?

How do I import PDFs into Papers?

How does the browser extension work?

How much does Papers cost?

Have more questions? Visit our Knowledge Hub.