Best Software for 2025 is now live!

Compare Mendeley and Reference Manager

Save
    Log in to your account
    to save comparisons,
    products and more.
At a Glance
Mendeley
Mendeley
Star Rating
(244)4.3 out of 5
Market Segments
Enterprise (48.7% of reviews)
Information
Entry-Level Pricing
No pricing available
Learn more about Mendeley
Reference Manager
Reference Manager
Star Rating
(12)3.7 out of 5
Market Segments
Enterprise (58.3% of reviews)
Information
Entry-Level Pricing
No pricing available
Learn more about Reference Manager
AI Generated Summary
AI-generated. Powered by real user reviews.
  • Users report that Mendeley excels in its "Ease of Setup" with a score of 9.2, making it a preferred choice for those who want a quick and straightforward installation process, while Reference Manager lacks this clarity, resulting in a less favorable user experience.
  • Reviewers mention that Mendeley's "Quality of Support" is rated at 7.9, which is higher than Reference Manager's 7.3, indicating that users find Mendeley's support team more responsive and helpful when issues arise.
  • G2 users highlight Mendeley's "Product Direction" score of 8.0, suggesting a positive outlook on future updates and features, whereas Reference Manager's score of 3.5 raises concerns about its ongoing development and innovation.
  • Users on G2 appreciate Mendeley's "Meets Requirements" score of 8.6, indicating that it effectively fulfills user needs, while Reference Manager's score of 8.0 shows it may not meet all user expectations as effectively.
  • Reviewers say that Mendeley's "Ease of Use" is rated at 8.7, which is slightly higher than Reference Manager's 8.5, suggesting that Mendeley offers a more intuitive interface that users find easier to navigate.
  • Users report that Mendeley has a significantly larger number of reviews (242) compared to Reference Manager (12), which may indicate a more established user base and a broader range of feedback on its features and performance.
Pricing
Entry-Level Pricing
Mendeley
No pricing available
Reference Manager
No pricing available
Free Trial
Mendeley
No trial information available
Reference Manager
No trial information available
Ratings
Meets Requirements
8.6
217
8.0
9
Ease of Use
8.7
217
8.5
9
Ease of Setup
9.2
11
Not enough data
Ease of Admin
9.6
9
Not enough data
Quality of Support
7.9
140
7.3
8
Has the product been a good partner in doing business?
8.9
6
Not enough data
Product Direction (% positive)
8.0
210
3.5
9
Categories
Categories
Shared Categories
Mendeley
Mendeley
Reference Manager
Reference Manager
Mendeley and Reference Manager are categorized as Reference Management
Unique Categories
Mendeley
Mendeley has no unique categories
Reference Manager
Reference Manager has no unique categories
Reviews
Reviewers' Company Size
Mendeley
Mendeley
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
30.3%
Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.)
21.0%
Enterprise(> 1000 emp.)
48.7%
Reference Manager
Reference Manager
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
25.0%
Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.)
16.7%
Enterprise(> 1000 emp.)
58.3%
Reviewers' Industry
Mendeley
Mendeley
Higher Education
42.9%
Research
23.1%
Education Management
7.1%
Hospital & Health Care
2.5%
Mechanical or Industrial Engineering
2.1%
Other
22.3%
Reference Manager
Reference Manager
Higher Education
41.7%
Research
8.3%
Public Policy
8.3%
Photography
8.3%
Pharmaceuticals
8.3%
Other
25.0%
Most Helpful Reviews
Mendeley
Mendeley
Most Helpful Favorable Review
M. Serhat D.
MD
M. Serhat D.
Verified User in Information Technology and Services

Cross-platform support is the biggest advantage of Mendeley. It supports Windows, OSx, Linux, iOS and Anroid. Most of the smilar software doesn't support Linux operating systems, but mendeley does. The second biggest advantage for me was ready-to-use...

Most Helpful Critical Review
Morgan R.
MR
Morgan R.
Verified User in Research

Everything great about Mendeley, from before the Elsevier acquisition, is gone. The application used to be entirely functional for creating in-text citations with the Word plug-in offline. Now, you must be signed in to your Mendeley account to use the Word...

Reference Manager
Reference Manager
Most Helpful Favorable Review
Verified User in Higher Education
GH
Verified User in Higher Education

Reference Manager (now Endnote) offers 30 days free trial includes desktop and web access. I can also run it on either Mac or Windows.

Most Helpful Critical Review
Verified User in Higher Education
GH
Verified User in Higher Education

No better than other resources I have used.

Alternatives
Mendeley
Mendeley Alternatives
EndNote
EndNote
Add EndNote
ReadCube
ReadCube
Add ReadCube
EasyBib.com
EasyBib.com
Add EasyBib.com
Zotero
Zotero
Add Zotero
Reference Manager
Reference Manager Alternatives
EndNote
EndNote
Add EndNote
Zotero
Zotero
Add Zotero
EasyBib.com
EasyBib.com
Add EasyBib.com
ReadCube
ReadCube
Add ReadCube
Discussions
Mendeley
Mendeley Discussions
Why is Mojave not supported after a year of release?
1 comment
Antonio G.  Z.
AZ
I use Mojave and it is totally supported. Let download the mac os version of mendeley desktop.Read more
Why Elsevier is insisting on changing Mendeley functionalities
1 comment
FH
I think this is an awful move. The reference manager is clunky, slow, and user hostile. The good news is that (for now) it is possible to import your library...Read more
What is the function of software Mendeley?
1 comment
Rafael S.
RS
Its main uses are: reading texts and organizing academic referencesRead more
Reference Manager
Reference Manager Discussions
Monty the Mongoose crying
Reference Manager has no discussions with answers