# Zotero vs Researchist

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Zotero at none against Researchist's 1. Zotero also leads on iOS requirement (16.6 vs 27.0). On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Researchist sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $39.99 per year. Zotero asks for nothing beyond the download.

Zotero ships an update every 3 weeks, Researchist fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Zotero | Researchist |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.6 (435 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/zotero/id1513554812/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **435** | — |
| Positive reviews | 77.9% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Size | 237 MB | 113 MB |
| Requires iOS | **16.6** | 27.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, Mac** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Zotero](https://appshunter.io/developer/1513554811) | [Essayist Software Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1537845386) |

## What reviewers say

### Zotero

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/zotero/id1513554812)

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:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Simple and powerful
- 🚀 Convenient and useful
- 🚀 Seamless syncing across devices
- 🚀 Excellent reference management
- 👍 Great annotation and PDF reading experience

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes frequently
- 🐛 Syncing issues with WebDAV
- 🐛 Metadata not automatically extracted from PDFs
- 🐛 Annotation tools could be improved
- 🐛 Limited sorting and filtering options

**Reported bugs**

- 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**

- 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


### Researchist

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/researchist-pdf-reader/id6749282472)

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Researchist Pro (Yearly) | $39.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Zotero free?

Zotero is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Researchist free?

Researchist is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Do Zotero or Researchist have ads?

Neither Zotero nor Researchist shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Zotero or Researchist?

Zotero ships an update every 3 weeks, and Researchist fortnightly. Most recently, Zotero was updated on October 29, 2026 and Researchist on October 28, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*