# ReadCube vs Zotero Comparison

| | ReadCube | Zotero | 
|---|---|---|
| **Star Rating** | 4.4 out of 5 | 4.4 out of 5 | 
| **Total Reviews** | 174 | 99 | 
| **Largest Market Segment** | Small-Business (52.7% of reviews) | Small-Business (39.2% of reviews) | 
| **Entry Level Price** | Starting at $7.00 Per Month | No pricing available | 


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## Ratings Comparison
| Rating | ReadCube | Zotero | 
|---|---|---|
  | **Meets Requirements** | 8.4 (134 reviews) | 9.1 (81 reviews) | 
  | **Ease of Use** | 8.5 (142 reviews) | 8.5 (81 reviews) | 
  | **Ease of Setup** | 8.7 (57 reviews) | 9.3 (9 reviews) | 
  | **Ease of Admin** | 9.4 (6 reviews) | Not enough data | 
  | **Quality of Support** | 8.7 (106 reviews) | 7.8 (56 reviews) | 
  | **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?** | 8.3 (5 reviews) | Not enough data | 
  | **Product Direction (% positive)** | 8.4 (125 reviews) | 7.7 (76 reviews) | 

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## Pricing

### ReadCube

#### Entry-Level Pricing

Plan: Papers by ReadCube - Individual Licenses 

Price: Starting at $7.00 Per Month

Description: Papers, by ReadCube, simplifies your research life by dramatically enhancing how you discover, annotate, collaborate and cite research. Eliminate wasted hours manually wrangling information and get back to research with the Papers reference manager.

With Papers across all of your devices (web, desktop & mobile), you can unlock a powerful suite of features that will streamline your research life and keep you one step ahead. 

Academics take 40% off (academic email or ID required for discount).

Papers Essentials is $7/month, or $65/year if billing annually.

Papers Pro is $14/month, or $130/year if billing annually.



Key Features:
- Search & Download: Built-in search engines. Personalized recommendations. Related article feeds. Institutional proxy support. Web importing via browser. 1-click PDF downloads. Advanced search filters.
- Stay Organized: Easy importing tools from your desktop/other reference managers. Auto article meta-data matching. Full text library search. Advanced sorted & filtering. Manual & Smart Lists. #keyword tagging, labels & article ratings.
- Read & Annotate: Enhanced PDF viewing. Hyperlinked inline references, high-res figure browsers & auto-fetched supplements. Advanced article metrics (incl. citations, field & relative citation ratio, and Altmetric) Inline and sticky notes, highlighting and drawing tools. Text to speech tool.

[Browse all 2 editions](https://www.g2.com/products/readcube/pricing)

#### Free Trial

Yes

### Zotero

#### Entry-Level Pricing

No pricing available

#### Free Trial

No information available


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## Categories
**Shared Categories (1):** [Reference Management Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/reference-management)




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## Reviewer Demographics

### By Company Size

| Segment | ReadCube | Zotero | 
|---|---|---|
| **Small-Business** | 52.7% | 39.2% | 
| **Mid-Market** | 13.2% | 26.8% | 
| **Enterprise** | 34.1% | 34.0% | 

### By Industry

#### ReadCube

- **Research:** 39.6%
- **Higher Education:** 20.7%
- **Biotechnology:** 7.7%
- **Hospital & Health Care:** 4.7%
- **Mechanical or Industrial Engineering:** 4.1%
- **Medical Practice:** 3.6%
- **Primary/Secondary Education:** 2.4%
- **Computer Software:** 1.8%
- **Education Management:** 1.8%
- **Pharmaceuticals:** 1.2%
- **Other:** 12.4%

#### Zotero

- **Higher Education:** 38.1%
- **Research:** 27.8%
- **Education Management:** 8.2%
- **Biotechnology:** 3.1%
- **Hospital & Health Care:** 3.1%
- **Marketing and Advertising:** 2.1%
- **Non-Profit Organization Management:** 2.1%
- **Writing and Editing:** 2.1%
- **Oil & Energy:** 1.0%
- **Online Media:** 1.0%
- **Other:** 11.3%

---
## Alternatives

### Alternatives to ReadCube

- [Mendeley](https://www.g2.com/products/mendeley/reviews) — 4.3/5 stars (249 reviews)
- [EndNote](https://www.g2.com/products/endnote/reviews) — 4.1/5 stars (183 reviews)
- [EasyBib.com](https://www.g2.com/products/easybib-com/reviews) — 4.6/5 stars (152 reviews)
- [Sciwheel](https://www.g2.com/products/sciwheel/reviews) — 4.7/5 stars (48 reviews)
- [Paperpile](https://www.g2.com/products/paperpile/reviews) — 4.5/5 stars (26 reviews)
- [Citavi](https://www.g2.com/products/citavi/reviews) — 4.9/5 stars (17 reviews)
- [RefWorks](https://www.g2.com/products/refworks/reviews) — 3.9/5 stars (29 reviews)
- [JabRef](https://www.g2.com/products/jabref/reviews) — 4.7/5 stars (12 reviews)
- [Article Galaxy](https://www.g2.com/products/article-galaxy/reviews) — 4.7/5 stars (26 reviews)
- [Cite This For Me (formerly RefME)](https://www.g2.com/products/cite-this-for-me-formerly-refme/reviews) — 4.6/5 stars (22 reviews)

### Alternatives to Zotero

- [Mendeley](https://www.g2.com/products/mendeley/reviews) — 4.3/5 stars (249 reviews)
- [EndNote](https://www.g2.com/products/endnote/reviews) — 4.1/5 stars (183 reviews)
- [EasyBib.com](https://www.g2.com/products/easybib-com/reviews) — 4.6/5 stars (152 reviews)
- [Sciwheel](https://www.g2.com/products/sciwheel/reviews) — 4.7/5 stars (48 reviews)
- [RefWorks](https://www.g2.com/products/refworks/reviews) — 3.9/5 stars (29 reviews)
- [Paperpile](https://www.g2.com/products/paperpile/reviews) — 4.5/5 stars (26 reviews)
- [Cite This For Me (formerly RefME)](https://www.g2.com/products/cite-this-for-me-formerly-refme/reviews) — 4.6/5 stars (22 reviews)
- [Citavi](https://www.g2.com/products/citavi/reviews) — 4.9/5 stars (17 reviews)
- [JabRef](https://www.g2.com/products/jabref/reviews) — 4.7/5 stars (12 reviews)
- [Biblioscape](https://www.g2.com/products/biblioscape/reviews) — 4.3/5 stars (10 reviews)

---
## Top Discussions

### ReadCube

- Title: [How can I see pdf while editing bibliographic data?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/40201-how-can-i-see-pdf-while-editing-bibliographic-data) — 2 comments, 1 upvote
  > **Top comment:** "You can use the Preview button in the bottom left of the app to see a preview of the PDF while you are editing metadata fields"
- Title: [How do identify articles that are not grouped](https://www.g2.com/discussions/30106-how-do-identify-articles-that-are-not-grouped) — 2 comments
  > **Top comment:** "I do a search in my general library."
- Title: [Does Papers easily replace EndNote for the generation bibliographies, within Word documents?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/29607-does-papers-easily-replace-endnote-for-the-generation-bibliographies-within-word-documents) — 2 comments
  > **Top comment:** "Yes it does. The SmartCite plugin supports Word & Google Docs and supported 9000+ preset styles. Custom styles can also be used."
- Title: [How do I improve the integration of ReadCube with Linux and LibreOffice?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/29438-how-do-i-improve-the-integration-of-readcube-with-linux-and-libreoffice) — 1 comment *(includes official response)*
  > **Top comment:** "Hi Juan, while there is no native app for Linux, you can currently use the web app. We are also gearing up to release a version of SmartCite that will let..."
- Title: [Readcube library format](https://www.g2.com/discussions/27563-readcube-library-format) — 1 comment, 1 upvote
  > **Top comment:** "When you transfer your Papers 3 library over, we copy the library structure and contents to the new app. While you can't back sync to Papers 3 if you make..."

### Zotero

- Title: [What is Zotero used for?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-is-zotero-used-for) — 2 comments
  > **Top comment:** "Systematic and collaborative bibliography management"
- Title: [Which one is better Zotero or Mendeley?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/which-one-is-better-zotero-or-mendeley) — 2 comments
  > **Top comment:** "That is a matter of taste. I don't particularly appreciate how Mendeley changed their interface ignoring the users' feedback. I love how Zotero introduces..."
- Title: [Can you tell me, why the need to include so much information in a citation?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/can-you-tell-me-why-the-need-to-include-so-much-information-in-a-citation) — 2 comments, 2 upvotes
  > **Top comment:** "the field is there just in case we (author, the one who cite) have the info. Not all field are compulsory.. 

My way.. I'd normally find the items isbn or..."
- Title: [How do i reference webpages?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/12678-how-do-i-reference-webpages) — 2 comments, 1 upvote
  > **Top comment:** "You can download Zotero Connector from zotero website and you install the extension into your web browser. From the Extension you can easily download..."
- Title: [How do I use Zotero software?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/how-do-i-use-zotero-software) — 1 comment
  > **Top comment:** "You need to create reference libraries that can be lateron cited in your respective documents based on the text editor you use you get corresponding add-ins..."

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**Source:** [G2.com](https://www.g2.com) | [Comparison Page](https://www.g2.com/compare/readcube-vs-zotero)