# References On Tap — Reference management on the go

> Mobile reference management and academic literature search tool. (iPhone/iPad app by ReferencesOnTap.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/references-on-tap/id1092709557 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [ReferencesOnTap](https://appshunter.io/developer/301316543)
- Category: Productivity, Education
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 4.70/5 from 304 App Store ratings · 12 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 15.0 · 68 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2017-01-30
- Data updated: 2026-09-04
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/references-on-tap/id1092709557/reviews.md

## What is References On Tap?

••• Check out Bookends - References' big brother ••• 

References searches arXiv, Google Books, Google Scholar, JSTOR, the Library of Congress, PubMed, PubMed Central, and Semantic Scholar to find, display, and import reference information and pdfs of the full article (if you have access privileges). You can search your personal reference library, organize your references in groups (static and smart), and share references in a form suitable for reading or importing into desktop reference management applications. Many features are optimized for reference retrieval and management (advanced boolean searches, search for Full Text or Free Full text, recall recent searches, etc.).

Use iCloud to sync all your libraries and attachments across iOS and macOS devices, and have full access to your references and sources when you're on the go.

Standard, one-time purchase ($4.99):

• No limit on searches or importing.

Premium, yearly subscription ($4.99). Requires a Standard purchase.

• Cloud sync with all your iOS and macOS devices.

Subscription is for one year and can be auto-renewable. The subscription can be managed in iOS -> Settings > iTunes & App Store > Subscriptions. The subscription might renew if it wasn't canceled more than 24 hours before the renewal date.
If the subscription is not renewed, Premium will be disabled.

Terms of Service: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

## Key features

- Search academic databases (arXiv, Google Scholar, PubMed, etc.)
- Import reference information and PDFs
- Organize references in static and smart groups
- Advanced boolean and full-text search options
- Sync libraries across iOS and macOS devices via iCloud
- Share references for reading or import

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**Subscriptions**

| Subscription | Price | Period |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium | $4.99 | per year |

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Standard | $4.99 | one-time |


## Recent user reviews (10 of 12)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/references-on-tap/id1092709557/reviews.md

### 3/5 — Can’t access website for user guide

*2026-01-05, version 1.4.1*

It sure would be great to be able to SORT my results.  If there’s a way to do it, it’s not apparent in the app and trying to access the user guide at Referencesontap.com,  the Cloudflare handshake always fails.  Using the free version on my phone that never was an issue since results are limited to 20 hits per search. But now that I paid for the full version,  I have to wade through hundreds of hits. "narrow your search terms” is not always the  best way to discover new information, so ability to SORT would be great.  Heck, just access to the user guide, and I could go from there.

### 1/5 — What Support?

*2023-05-16, version 1.2*

I downloaded the app for my new Mac Mini.  I attempted to initiate a search only to receive notification of an SSL error.  I clicked on their support link. There isn't any active support. Rather, I got information about the iOS app which I do not have. I clicked on the User Manual link and received information about and it was also about the iOS version. I would love to use this app on my Mac but so far that doesn't seem likely.

### 4/5 — Almost perfect but not quite -- Hope the developer adds more functionality

*2022-05-07, version 1.1*

The App is pretty good to find papers on arxiv and quickly organize your reading. There are some serious missing functionalities which can really improve the user experience, such as : 

1. The inability to export the references: Currently there is no way to export the groups to a bib file, you may "share" individual papers via notes and the dialog box shows the bib references. But nothing for bulk export. 

2. Inability to change where the app stores the downloaded pdfs. It is unclear if the pro version allows users to choose the cloud service, i.e., dropbox, google drive, etc. 

3. Inability to add more searchable sites in the basic version. You can only choose to search between the sites listed, there is no way to add more sites. 

4. Sorting function can be made available on the main interface. 

I hope the developer considers these changes, if so I can see myself using this every day. Thanks!

### 1/5 — Not intuative

*2020-05-29*

No "Help". 
So, can't figure out ho to use it.  I understand its concept, but as there isn't any help to get started, for me, it was a waste of time.

### 5/5 — All good

*2019-11-08*

Vert impressive

### 2/5 — New app loses previously paid features

*2018-08-30, version 1.2*

I previously paid $9.99 for PubMed Tap to maximize the app’s features. With the new app, I’ve lost those features and am now relegated to ads, etc, unless I pay more. Those that paid to streamline PubMed Tap should not have to pay again.

### 5/5 — Schnell, breit aufgestellt

*2018-07-28*

und differenziert

### 5/5 — Very useful

*2018-05-29*

Can check publications on the go

### 5/5 — So useful....

*2017-12-27*

A must to have in each iPad.....

### 1/5 — 重复购买？

*2017-12-16*

我在iPad上已经买了30元的无限制的版本，为什么iPhone还提示要买？不应该同一个Apple账号通用吗？

**Developer response:** Please do Restore Purchases from the In-App Purchases screen.

## Frequently asked questions about References On Tap

### What does References On Tap do?

References On Tap allows you to search academic databases like arXiv, Google Scholar, and PubMed to find and import reference information and PDFs. You can also organize your personal reference library, perform advanced searches, and sync your data across devices.

### What are the key features of this app?

Key features include searching multiple academic databases, importing references and PDFs, organizing references into groups, advanced search capabilities, and iCloud syncing for cross-device access. You can also share references in various formats.

### How much does References On Tap cost?

The app offers a Standard version as a one-time purchase for $4.99, which includes unlimited searches and importing. A Premium yearly subscription is available for an additional $4.99, which enables cloud syncing across iOS and macOS devices.

### What devices is References On Tap compatible with?

The app is designed for iOS and macOS devices. It utilizes iCloud to sync your reference libraries and attachments seamlessly between these platforms, allowing you to access your research on the go.

### Who would benefit from using this app?

This app is ideal for researchers, academics, students, and anyone who frequently needs to find, organize, and access academic literature and references. Its mobile-first design makes it convenient for managing research while away from a desktop computer.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.9.1 — 2025-05-06

• Updated the PubMed Central search to deal with changes made by PMC.

### 1.9 — 2025-05-02

• Reference and Smart Groups UIs have been modernized.
• Fixed a text display issue when editing a reference.
• Improved handling of Google Scholar CAPTCHA challenges.
• Fixed a bug where no references were returned from Google Scholar searches.

### 1.8 — 2024-09-13

• Modernized app appearance and menus.
• Search All now searches the text in all fields, not just the few shown under the search bar.
• Internal Web Viewer uses iOS native downloader for PDFs, so more PDFs should be automatically downloaded.
• Selecting an export reference style is now menu-based, so you no longer need to change it in Settings first.
• Fixed a text display issue when editing a reference.
• Fixed a bug that prevented smart groups from searching for references where a field is empty.
• The demo version will no longer show ads.
• Export all library references and attachments to Bookends for iOS. This will allow you to migrate to our more powerful reference management app.

### 1.7 — 2022-12-15

• Improved main library view with new icons.
• Updated PDF component with the focus on compatibility with iOS 16 and modern menu system for annotation creation and annotation selection menus.
• Disabled the behaviour of the PDF engine that merged adjacent highlights of the same color, which then couldn't be dealt with individually later.
• Fixed a problem that prevented Library of Congress searches from working.
• Updated Color labels menu for references.
• Updated Group Management view for both single and multiple references selection.
• This release requires iOS 15 or later.

• If you like References On Tap, please take the time to give us a nice review: it really helps.

### 1.6 — 2022-03-13

• When the iOS native PDF engine is used (when PDF Annotations mode is turned off in Settings), annotations will be stored in the file. Previously this option wasn't available.
• Updated PDF component with the focus on compatibility with iOS 15, like drag and drop of text and images out of documents into other apps.
• The last-viewed state of PDFs will be remembered.
• When fetching Google Books cover art, Bookends will change the URL provided by Google to use “https”, so book covers will be downloaded again automatically.
• Fixed as crash on app launch that occurred with some libraries.
• Dropped iOS 12 support.

• If you like References On Tap, please take the time to give us a nice review: it really helps.

## Apps similar to References On Tap

| App | Rating | Price | Category |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
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| [Citer: Paper Format & Citation](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/citer-paper-format-and-citation/id6480121473) | — | Free | Productivity |
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## More apps by ReferencesOnTap

- [PubMed On Tap](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pubmed-on-tap/id301316540)
- [PDF Noted](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pdf-noted/id6744330375)

All apps by ReferencesOnTap: https://appshunter.io/developer/301316543

## Related topics

[referencesontap](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/referencesontap) · [laboratory references](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/laboratory-references) · [pubmed on tap](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/pubmed-on-tap) · [liner scholar](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/liner-scholar) · [cites](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/cites)

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-04.*