# BaseSpace vs Zotero

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Zotero at 78% against BaseSpace's 25%. Zotero also leads on rating (4.6 vs 2.7) and ratings volume (435 vs 12). BaseSpace's advantage is iOS requirement (8.0 vs 16.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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 2.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Zotero has 435 ratings behind it against 12, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 25% of BaseSpace's written reviews are positive against 78% of Zotero's.

BaseSpace ships an update every 2 months, Zotero every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | BaseSpace | Zotero |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [2.7 (12 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/basespace/id942794217/reviews) | **[4.6 (435 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/zotero/id1513554812/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 12 | **435** |
| Positive reviews | 25.0% of reviews | **77.9% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 11 MB | 237 MB |
| Requires iOS | **8.0** | 16.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Illumina, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/414049987) | [Zotero](https://appshunter.io/developer/1513554811) |

## What reviewers say

### BaseSpace

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/basespace/id942794217)

Monitor your sequencing Runs and Analyses from anywhere. Receive push notifications for completion and track the status of your projects with key metrics and charts.

**Highlights:** Real-time progress monitoring, Push notifications for completion, Status tracking for Runs and Analyses, View metrics and SAV charts, Detailed analysis status

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


### 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 BaseSpace free?

BaseSpace 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, BaseSpace or Zotero?

Zotero is rated higher. BaseSpace averages 2.7 out of 5 from 12 ratings, while Zotero averages 4.6 from 435 ratings.

### Do BaseSpace or Zotero have ads?

Neither BaseSpace nor Zotero shows ads.

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

BaseSpace ships an update every 2 months, and Zotero every 3 weeks. Most recently, BaseSpace was updated on October 20, 2026 and Zotero on October 27, 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.*