Comparison

EndNote vs Paperpile

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

Head to head
About

EndNote

Manage your research from anywhere with this popular tool. Organize, search, and share academic papers and bibliographies seamlessly across devices. Sync your library and annotate PDFs on the go.

Highlights
  • Sync research library across devices
  • Search academic databases
  • Annotate PDFs
  • Import reference file formats
  • Share references with collaborators
  • Attach files from cloud storage
Features
Read full description

Collect, collaborate, create from anywhere with the EndNote app - the world's most popular research management tool. With flexible tools for searching, organizing, sharing research, and creating bibliographies, the EndNote app extends your ability to stay on top of cutting edge research and connect with your EndNote library on the go. EndNote enables you to easily view, edit, organize, and share research material on your iOS device. By syncing your research library across iOS, online, and desktop, you increase the power of EndNote by gaining seamless access to your reference library from multiple devices and platforms. The EndNote app includes: - Sign up for a free, EndNote online account or sign in to an existing account - Synchronize your library references, attachments, and PDF annotations to your online account and EndNote desktop - Built in web browser to search Clarivate Analytics Web of Science, PubMed, Google Scholar, your library catalog, or any other database you choose - Built in PDF viewer with wide range of annotation features. Annotations made can be synced and edited online and on the EndNote desktop - Importing capabilities for .ris, .nbib, and other popular reference file formats - Email and copy options for sharing references and file attachments with collaborators - EndNote “temporary citation” format support - Attach files from Dropbox, OneDrive or Google Drive to your references (accounts available separately) - Viewing and editing options for references and file attachments - Sorting, searching, and grouping options for references and file attachments - Getting Started Guide documentation

About

Paperpile

Organize and manage your research papers effortlessly. Collect, read, and annotate PDFs from millions of academic journals. Beat paper chaos with a tidy digital library.

Highlights
  • Search millions of academic papers
  • Collect PDFs with one tap
  • Organize with folders and labels
  • Read and annotate PDFs
  • Highlight and add notes
  • Browser integration for saving
Features
Read full description

Get a head start for you research and finally beat the paper chaos on your desk. With Paperpile you have all your research PDFs in one place — nice and tidy. Paperpile makes it easier than ever to collect, manage, read, and annotate your papers. FIND & COLLECT - Search millions of papers from 20,000+ academic journals right in the app. - Add new papers to your collection with one tap and the PDF will be downloaded automatically. - Save directly from your browser to your Paperpile library - User your university's off-campus proxy access to get restricted content behind paywalls. MANAGE & ORGANIZE - Bring structure to your library with folders and subfolders - Organize your library visually with colored labels - Mark important papers with stars. - Search your library to find the paper you need fast. READ & ANNOTATE - Read like on paper with a fast and slick PDF viewer experience - Highlight important sections in different colors - Add notes and never forget an important idea. - Add hand-drawn annotations - with your fingers or your Apple Pencil The Paperpile App requires a Paperpile account.

Screenshots

EndNote4 screens
Paperpile3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Paperpile at 72% against EndNote's 28%. Paperpile also leads on rating (4.5 vs 2.6) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Paperpile holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 2.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 165 and 129 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 28% of EndNote's written reviews are positive against 72% of Paperpile's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

EndNote ships an update every 4 months, Paperpile every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
EndNote versus Paperpile: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEndNotePaperpile
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.6 (165 ratings)4.5 (129 ratings) — better
Positive reviews27.6% of reviews71.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings165 — better129
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size91 MB242 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperClarivate Analytics (US) LLCPaperpile LLC

Customer experience

EndNote

All ratings165 ratings
Positive32.7%
Neutral14.5%
Negative52.7%
Written reviews369 reviews
Positive27.6%
Neutral11.9%
Negative60.4%

Paperpile

All ratings129 ratings
Positive86.8%
Neutral3.9%
Negative9.3%
Written reviews81 reviews
Positive71.6%
Neutral4.9%
Negative23.5%

User reviews

EndNote

From 165 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Syncs well with desktop version
  • 📚 Convenient for reading and annotating papers
  • 💻 Good companion to desktop app
  • 🔍 Useful for managing references on the go
  • 🖋️ Annotation tools work well with Apple Pencil

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes frequently
  • 🔍 Clunky search and organization
  • 📁 Sync issues and lost annotations
  • 🔒 Incompatible with other cloud storage
  • 🔧 Missing key features from desktop version

Paperpile

From 129 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Excellent reference library management
  • 🔄 Seamless cross-device synchronization
  • ✍️ Intuitive PDF annotation and highlighting
  • 🎨 Clean and minimalist user interface
  • 📱 Strong iPad and mobile integration

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and instability
  • ⏱️ Lack of updates for extended periods
  • 📱 Mobile app significantly behind web version features
  • 🔋 High battery drain on iPad
  • 🌙 No dark mode support

Bugs and requests

EndNote

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Crashes when editing references
  • Indexing issues and lost library data
  • Compatibility problems with iOS updates
  • PDF viewer issues (e.g. no rotation, lost page position)
  • Login and authentication problems

Requested features

5 requests
  • Cite while you write functionality
  • Better PDF annotation tools (e.g. eraser, text notes)
  • Support for group sets and nested folders
  • Automatic citation data population from PDFs
  • Improved syncing and offline access

Paperpile

Reported bugs

12 issues
  • App crashes frequently on iPad and iOS devices
  • Highlighting disappears when revisiting papers
  • Overlapping annotations delete together when removing one
  • Sync failures requiring logout/login cycles
  • Annotations not syncing between iPad and web versions
Show 7 more
  • PDF metadata recognition failures when adding papers
  • Settings reset when returning to previously edited files
  • App incompatible with older iOS versions (iOS 12)
  • Login authentication errors with university accounts
  • App crashes without reliable internet connection
  • Search functionality broken after updates
  • Annotations not saving/loading on iOS 14.4.2

Requested features

17 requests
  • Dark mode implementation
  • Edit citation metadata on mobile app
  • Change PDF file functionality
  • Save to downloads feature
  • Dictionary/lookup function for reading
Show 12 more
  • Cite while you write feature
  • BibTeX export capability
  • Ability to upload PDFs directly from mobile app
  • Support for Safari and other browsers
  • Desktop application version
  • Shared library access in mobile app
  • Advanced sorting options (by title, author, date)
  • Custom color options for annotations
  • Paste images into PDFs
  • Shape snapping for drawing tools
  • University email authentication
  • Paper rating system beyond stars

In-app purchases

None

EndNote

No in-app purchases

None

Paperpile

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is EndNote free?
EndNote is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Paperpile free?
Paperpile is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, EndNote or Paperpile?
Paperpile is rated higher. EndNote averages 2.6 out of 5 from 165 ratings, while Paperpile averages 4.5 from 129 ratings.
Do EndNote or Paperpile have ads?
Neither EndNote nor Paperpile shows ads.
Which is updated more often, EndNote or Paperpile?
EndNote ships an update every 4 months, and Paperpile every 2 months. Most recently, EndNote was updated on September 22, 2026 and Paperpile on September 21, 2026.

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