Comparison

Zotero vs Rayyan

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Zotero

This research tool helps you collect, organize, annotate, cite, and share your academic and professional work. Save articles, books, and webpages, add notes and highlights, and generate bibliographies in thousands of styles. Collaborate with others and sync your library across devices.

Highlights
  • Collect research from various sources
  • Organize with collections and tags
  • Annotate PDFs and webpages
  • Generate citations and bibliographies
  • Collaborate in group libraries
  • Sync across devices
Features
Read full description

Zotero is a free, easy-to-use research tool that helps you collect, organize, annotate, cite, and share your work. COLLECT • Save journal articles, newspaper articles, books, webpages, and more via the Share button in Safari and other apps • Automatically download article PDFs to read • Quickly add physical books and articles to your Zotero library by scanning book barcodes or article DOIs with your iPhone or iPad camera ORGANIZE • Use collections and tags to organize your research • View and edit bibliographic information for your research items ANNOTATE • Read PDFs, EPUBs, and webpage snapshots and add highlights and notes, or use an Apple Pencil to make freehand annotations CITE • Instantly generate citations and bibliographies in over 10,000 formats and journal styles including APA, Chicago, IEEE, MLA, Turabian, and Vancouver SHARE • Collaboratively collect sources and mark up PDFs in group libraries with your colleagues • Synchronize your personal and group research libraries to access them via Zotero’s desktop app and the Zotero website • Use the Zotero desktop app to insert your annotations into Word, LibreOffice, and Google Docs documents and automatically generate bibliographies from the sources you used Visit zotero.org to learn more about everything you can do with Zotero. Having trouble? Have an idea? Post bug reports and feature requests to the Zotero Forums at forums.zotero.org to talk directly to Zotero developers. ZOTERO AND PRIVACY Since 2006, the Zotero team has been committed to creating the best research software, and we believe that includes putting you in full control of your own work. We’re an independent, nonprofit organization, and we’ll never sell your data.

About

Rayyan

This app streamlines systematic literature reviews for researchers, enabling quick article screening and decision-making on mobile devices. It supports offline work and real-time collaboration, significantly reducing review time.

Highlights
  • Offline article screening
  • Real-time collaboration
  • Quick inclusion decisions
  • Reference labeling
  • Article filtering
  • Configurable settings
Features
Read full description

The Most Advanced Systematic Literature Review App If you conduct research, Rayyan is the app for you. It accelerates systematic literature reviews in support of all types of evidence-based research. Developed by researchers, for researchers, Rayyan offers a quick and easy way to screen articles on the go, and it even works offline! Key Features: - Work online for real-time collaboration. - Download your reviews to work on the go or offline. - Swipe left or right to make inclusion decisions quickly. - Label references by selecting or adding labels. - Filter references with the touch of a button. - Configure and save your settings to work however you like. Save Your Valuable Time, Reduce Your Frustration, and Increase Your Productivity Rayyan is designed to guide you through article screening by enabling quick decisions and label applications on each article. You won’t believe how easy it is to use! Researchers report reducing the time spent on their reviews by 50%-80% or more using Rayyan. Enjoying real-time collaboration with fellow researchers has never been easier. Rayyan records every decision for you. The app even functions when you’re offline, so you can always rely on Rayyan to make the most of your valuable time. We welcome your feedback about the app. You can contact us anytime via email at support@rayyan.ai or on Twitter @rayyanapp. Terms of Use: https://www.rayyan.ai/terms-of-service Privacy Policy: https://www.rayyan.ai/privacy_policy/

Screenshots

Zotero2 screens
Rayyan4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Zotero at 4.6 against Rayyan's 3.9. Zotero also leads on review sentiment (78% vs 37%) and in-app purchases (none vs 10). On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Rayyan sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Zotero asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Zotero holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Zotero has 436 ratings behind it against 25, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 78% of Zotero's written reviews are positive against 37% of Rayyan's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Zotero ships an update every 3 weeks, Rayyan every 5 weeks. Both last shipped on November 3, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Zotero versus Rayyan: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterZoteroRayyan
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (436 ratings) — better3.9 (25 ratings)
Positive reviews77.9% of reviews — better37.1% of reviews
Number of ratings436 — better25
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.615.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size237 MB36 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperZoteroRayyan Systems, Inc.

Customer experience

Zotero

All ratings431 ratings
Positive89.6%
Neutral4.9%
Negative5.6%
Written reviews263 reviews
Positive77.9%
Neutral10.3%
Negative11.8%

Rayyan

All ratings23 ratings
Positive73.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative26.1%
Written reviews35 reviews
Positive37.1%
Neutral14.3%
Negative48.6%

Bugs and requests

Zotero

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Unable to unzip PDF snapshots
  • Annotations disappearing or moving unexpectedly
  • Dark mode not working as expected
  • Inability to add citations directly from the app

Requested features

6 requests
  • Eraser tool for annotations
  • More color options for pen and highlighter
  • Ability to open PDFs in external apps
  • Bookmarking and table of contents support
  • Improved search functionality
Show 1 more
  • Offline access to downloaded PDFs

Rayyan

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Zotero

No in-app purchases

10 purchases

Rayyan

Subscriptions10
  • Student Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Professional Monthly$14.991 Month
  • Student Quarterly$24.993 Months
Show 7 more
  • Essential Quarterly$24.993 Months
  • Professional Quarterly$39.993 Months
  • Advanced Quarterly$39.993 Months
  • Student Annual$59.991 Year
  • Essential Annual$59.991 Year
  • Professional Annual$99.991 Year
  • Advanced Annual$99.991 Year

Questions

Is Zotero free?
Zotero is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Rayyan free?
Rayyan is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Zotero or Rayyan?
Zotero is rated higher. Zotero averages 4.6 out of 5 from 436 ratings, while Rayyan averages 3.9 from 25 ratings.
Do Zotero or Rayyan have ads?
Neither Zotero nor Rayyan shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Zotero or Rayyan?
Zotero ships an update every 3 weeks, and Rayyan every 5 weeks. Most recently, Zotero was updated on November 3, 2026 and Rayyan on November 3, 2026.

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