Zotero
A free tool to collect, organise and cite your research sources in any citation style.
What is Zotero?
Zotero is a free, open-source reference manager. Save articles, books and web pages with one click, organise them into folders, highlight PDFs and insert citations and bibliographies into Word or Google Docs automatically.
Think of it as a personal research library that also writes your references.
What you can do with it
- Save sources: one-click browser connector
- Organise: folders and tags
- Cite automatically: APA, MLA, Chicago and more
- Read and annotate PDFs: highlights and notes
Get started in 3 steps
- Go to zotero.org and download Zotero and the browser connector
- Save a source by clicking the connector icon
- Install the Word or Google Docs plugin to add citations
Try this today
- Save 5 sources for an assignment
- Insert a citation into a document
- Create a bibliography in APA style
Good to know
- Free and open source: small fee only for extra cloud storage
- Works with AI tools: many research tools sync with Zotero
- Check citations: fix missing details
Quick challenge
Build a reference list for your next assignment using Zotero!
Picked by the Scrollwell team · updated 25 Oct 2026. Zotero is run by its own company — read its privacy terms before you add learners' names or marks.