# EndNote vs Zotero

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Zotero at 78% against EndNote's 28%. Zotero also leads on rating (4.6 vs 2.6) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 4 months). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Zotero holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 2.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 165 and 425 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 28% of EndNote's written reviews are positive against 78% of Zotero's.

EndNote ships an update every 4 months, Zotero every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | EndNote | Zotero |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [2.6 (165 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/endnote/id593994211/reviews) | **[4.6 (425 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/zotero/id1513554812/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 165 | **425** |
| Positive reviews | 27.6% of reviews | **77.9% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | **Every 2 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 91 MB | 197 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 16.6 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Clarivate Analytics (US) LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1291059975) | [Zotero](https://appshunter.io/developer/1513554811) |

## What reviewers say

### EndNote

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/endnote/id593994211)

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:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 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

**What reviewers complain about**

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

**Reported bugs**

- 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**

- 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


### 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


## Frequently asked questions

### Is EndNote free?

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

### Is Zotero free?

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

### Which has better reviews, EndNote or Zotero?

Zotero is rated higher. EndNote averages 2.6 out of 5 from 165 ratings, while Zotero averages 4.6 from 425 ratings.

### Do EndNote or Zotero have ads?

Neither EndNote nor Zotero shows ads.

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

EndNote ships an update every 4 months, and Zotero every 2 weeks. Most recently, EndNote was updated on September 22, 2026 and Zotero on September 24, 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.*