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Best Citation Search Apps

157+ iOS apps curated and reviewed

4.2 avg rating
19 free apps
Updated June 2026

Finding the right citation search app can be overwhelming with so many options. We've analyzed 157+ apps to bring you the best choices for 2026, from free options to premium solutions with advanced features.

Top Picks for Citation Search

Microsoft Bing Search#1

Microsoft Bing Search by Microsoft Corporation

AI search & answer engine
Editor's Choice
📊 Productivity
4.7😐(290K ratings)
FreeAdsIn-App Purchases
#100in Productivity
Microsoft Bing Search screenshot 1
Microsoft Bing Search screenshot 2
Microsoft Bing Search screenshot 3
Microsoft Bing Search screenshot 4
Microsoft Bing Search screenshot 5
Microsoft Bing Search screenshot 6

This app provides fast, AI-powered search results with curated answers and summaries. It helps users discover information more efficiently, explore topics deeper with suggested follow-ups, and create images from text. It also offers features like visual search, voice search, and rewards.

What We Love

  • 🚀 Smooth and efficient
  • 🔒 Secure and private
  • 👍 Useful features and tools
  • 🤖 Impressive AI capabilities

Room to Improve

  • 🐛 Inconsistent and buggy
  • 📉 Declining user experience
  • 🔍 Cluttered and confusing interface
Zotero#2

Zotero by Corporation for Digital Scholarship

Your research assistant
Strong Contender
📊 Productivity
4.6😊(420 ratings)
Free
Zotero screenshot 1
Zotero screenshot 2

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.

What We Love

  • 👍 Simple and powerful
  • 🚀 Convenient and useful
  • 🚀 Seamless syncing across devices
  • 🚀 Excellent reference management

Room to Improve

  • 🐛 Crashes frequently
  • 🐛 Syncing issues with WebDAV
  • 🐛 Metadata not automatically extracted from PDFs

More Citation Search apps to explore

4
Freespoke - Perspective Search
Freespoke - Perspective Search
Freespoke - Perspective Search
Private & Unbiased AI Answers
Free

Discover unbiased AI-powered answers to your questions with a focus on privacy. This app indexes independent and non-mainstream sources, including podcasts, to provide a more complete picture. It offers a kid-safe mode and an optional premium version for enhanced features and an ad-free experience.

Private AI searchUnbiased resultsIndependent source indexing
🔧 Utilities
(4.5K)
free with in-app purchases
5
Cite It Now: Easy referencing
Cite It Now: Easy referencing
Cite It Now: Easy referencing
APA, MLA end text citations
Free

Simplify academic referencing with this app. It offers features for citing books, webpages, and journal articles, supporting multiple styles like APA and MLA. Manage citations in projects and export to popular reference managers.

APA and MLA citation supportBook, webpage, and journal article citation lookupBarcode scanning for book citations
🔍 Reference
(217)
free with in-app purchases
6
Citation Generator Lite
Citation Generator Lite
Citation Generator Lite
Supports APA™ 7th Edition!
Free

Easily create APA 7th edition in-text citations and references from various sources like books, websites, and software. The app works offline and provides templates and guidance for document setup.

APA 7th Edition formattingIn-text citation generationReference list creation
📚 Education
(4)
ad-supported
7
Felo - Search the world
Felo - Search the world
Felo - Search the world
Search engine in your language
Free

This app acts as a multilingual answer engine, allowing users to ask questions in their native language and receive accurate, sourced answers from global information. It utilizes AI-powered agents to scan multiple platforms for up-to-date and relevant content, breaking down language barriers for a smarter search experience.

Cross-language search and readingAI-powered agent searchMulti-platform support
🔧 Utilities
(20)
free with in-app purchases
8
TrueSearch - AI People Search
TrueSearch - AI People Search
TrueSearch - AI People Search
AI-Powered Deep Search Tool
Free

This AI-powered tool consolidates public online information, allowing you to quickly find social profiles, links, and background details about individuals. It streamlines the process of gathering information, saving you time by avoiding multiple website searches.

AI-powered people searchFind public social profilesDiscover public links and mentions
🔧 Utilities
(48)
free with in-app purchases
9
PDF Search
PDF Search
PDF Search
AI Search for Documents
Free

This app uses AI to quickly search through multiple documents, finding information in seconds. It features NLP for smarter searches, OCR for text recognition in scanned documents and images, and allows for unified searching across devices.

AI-powered document searchNatural Language Processing (NLP)Built-in OCR for text recognition
📊 Productivity
(119)
subscription
10
Cit - MLA Citation Generator
Cit - MLA Citation Generator
Cit - MLA Citation Generator
EasyBib MyBib Alternative
Free
📊 Productivity
(0)
11
Citations
Citations
Citations
Lightweight reference creation
Free

Effortlessly create website citations with a clean, intuitive interface. This tool offers quick formatting without requiring an internet connection, prioritizing user privacy and simplicity for academic or professional work.

Simple and easy-to-use interfaceQuick website citation formattingOffline functionality
📊 Productivity
(16)
free
12
Academia.edu
Academia.edu
Academia.edu
Accelerating research
Free

Access a vast library of open-access research papers on your mobile device. Discover new studies, track mentions and readership of your work, and connect with fellow scholars. Explore millions of academic papers on diverse topics.

Discover and read researchSave research papersTrack mentions and readership
📚 Education
(16K)
free with in-app purchases
13
Cited
Cited
Cited
by Spade Apps, LLC
Free

Easily create citations for academic papers with a wide range of templates. Select your format, input information, and generate citations. Save multiple citations for future use.

Multiple citation formats (MLA, APA, Chicago)Extensive template librarySave and manage multiple citations
📚 Education
(11)
free
14
Bookends
Bookends
Bookends
Reference management on the go
Free
$10.99 | 100% OFF

Manage your research references and PDFs on your mobile device. Search online databases, import metadata, annotate PDFs, and organize your library. Offers basic functionality for free with optional one-time purchase and yearly subscription for advanced features like cloud sync and unlimited imports.

Search online reference databasesImport metadata and PDFsPDF annotation and markup
📊 Productivity
(392)
free with in-app purchases
15
Essayist: Academic Writing App
Essayist: Academic Writing App
Essayist: Academic Writing App
APA, MLA, Chicago & More
Free

This app simplifies academic writing by automatically formatting essays in various styles like APA, MLA, and Chicago. It includes a universal reference manager, citation tools, and equation support, allowing for distraction-free writing and easy export to PDF or Word.

Automatic essay formattingUniversal reference managerIn-text citation and footnote insertion
📊 Productivity
(378)
subscription
16
Citation Generator - Citova
Citation Generator - Citova
Citation Generator - Citova
APA, MLA & Chicago References
Free

This AI-powered tool generates accurate citations in various academic formats, including APA, MLA, and Chicago. It supports multiple input methods like URL pasting, ISBN scanning, and title searches, and allows for easy export to popular document editors.

AI-powered citation generationSupports APA, MLA, Chicago, and 10+ formatsInput via URL, DOI, ISBN, or camera scan
📊 Productivity
(2)
free with in-app purchases
17
APA Citation Generator - Solon
APA Citation Generator - Solon
APA Citation Generator - Solon
Bibliography & Reference Maker
Free

Effortlessly create APA 7 or MLA 9 citations with this tool. It supports autofill from URLs, combining multiple sources, and generating in-text citations. Organize and back up your references securely in iCloud.

APA 7 and MLA 9 citation generationAutofill from URLsCombine multiple sources
📊 Productivity
(9)
freemium
18
PubMed On Tap
PubMed On Tap
PubMed On Tap
Search PubMed while on the go
$2.99

Access and manage biomedical literature from PubMed and PubMed Central. Find, display, and import reference information and full-text articles. Organize your references and share them easily.

Search PubMed and PubMed CentralImport reference information and PDFsOrganize references in groups
🏥 Medical
(1K)
free
19
Rayyan
Rayyan
Rayyan
Intelligent Systematic Review
Free

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.

Offline article screeningReal-time collaborationQuick inclusion decisions
📊 Productivity
(23)
free with in-app purchases
20
EndNote
EndNote
EndNote
by Clarivate Analytics (US) LLC
Free

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.

Sync research library across devicesSearch academic databasesAnnotate PDFs
📊 Productivity
(162)
free with in-app purchases