Brandwave

Reference management software:Which brands are most popular in search?

In August 2026, Zotero was the most searched among reference management software worldwide, with an estimated 567K branded searches and 46.4% estimated Share of Search within this set. Worldwide · English terms: these are worldwide searches for English-language branded terms.

Share of Search, August 2026
  1. Zotero46.4%
  2. Mendeley41.7%
  3. EndNote9.1%
  4. Paperpile1.5%
  5. RefWorks1.3%

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Share of SearchLeaderboard

Compare services and tools used to organize research references and citations. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time.

Share of Search among reference management software worldwide, by month

Share of Search by month for Zotero, Mendeley, EndNote. The figures are in the table below the chart.

View monthly share of search table
MonthZoteroMendeleyEndNotePaperpileRefWorks
Oct 202546%40.8%9.2%1.2%2.8%
Nov 202542.5%45.1%8.5%1.4%2.6%
Dec 202540.9%44.6%10%2%2.5%
Jan 202649.1%36.6%9.8%2%2.5%
Feb 202649.1%36.5%9.8%1.6%3%
Mar 202648.4%35.3%11.7%1.6%3%
Apr 202646.1%41%9.1%1.5%2.3%
May 202646.1%40.9%9.1%1.5%2.3%
Jun 202646%41.6%9.1%1.8%1.5%
Jul 202651.1%37.5%8.3%1.7%1.4%
Aug 202646.4%41.7%9.1%1.5%1.3%
Sep 2026—————

This month’s ranking, August 2026

  1. 1.Zotero

    46.4%

    held 1st · 567K estimated branded searches · -0.25% vs prior month · -4.7 points

  2. 2.Mendeley

    41.7%

    held 2nd · 510K estimated branded searches · +22.2% vs prior month · +4.2 points

  3. 3.EndNote

    9.1%

    held 3rd · 111K estimated branded searches · +21% vs prior month · +0.8 points

  4. 4.Paperpile

    1.5%

    held 4th · 18.4K estimated branded searches · -0.22% vs prior month · -0.2 points

  5. 5.RefWorks

    1.3%

    held 5th · 15.6K estimated branded searches · 0% vs prior month · -0.1 points

Compare search popularity between leading brands

Which brand is most popular in search among reference management software worldwide?

In August 2026, Zotero was the most searched among reference management software worldwide, with an estimated 567K branded searches and 46.4% estimated Share of Search within this set. Mendeley is in 2nd place, 4.7 percentage points behind at 41.7% Share of Search.

Global reference management software, last 12 months ending September 2026
BrandShare of SearchPeakLowRank
Zotero46% → 46.4%51.1%Jul 202640.9%Dec 20251st
Mendeley40.8% → 41.7%45.1%Nov 202535.3%Mar 20262nd
EndNote9.2% → 9.1%11.7%Mar 20268.3%Jul 20263rd
Paperpile1.2% → 1.5%2%Dec 20251.2%Oct 20255th → 4th
RefWorks2.8% → 1.3%3%Feb 20261.3%Aug 20264th → 5th

Each finding as a sentence

  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Mendeley’s estimated Share of Search among reference management software worldwide increased from 40.8% to 41.7%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, RefWorks’ estimated Share of Search among reference management software worldwide decreased from 2.8% to 1.3%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Zotero’s estimated Share of Search among reference management software worldwide peaked at 51.1% in July 2026 and was lowest at 40.9% in December 2025.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Mendeley’s estimated Share of Search among reference management software worldwide peaked at 45.1% in November 2025 and was lowest at 35.3% in March 2026.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, EndNote’s estimated Share of Search among reference management software worldwide peaked at 11.7% in March 2026 and was lowest at 8.3% in July 2026.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, RefWorks’ estimated Share of Search among reference management software worldwide peaked at 3% in February 2026 and was lowest at 1.3% in August 2026.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Paperpile rose from 5th to 4th among reference management software worldwide.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, RefWorks fell from 4th to 5th among reference management software worldwide.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Zotero and EndNote held steady: their estimated Share of Search among reference management software worldwide each moved less than 0.5 percentage points.

How did search popularity change for reference management software worldwide in August 2026?

  1. In August 2026, Mendeley gained estimated Share of Search among reference management software worldwide, from 37.5% to 41.7%.

  2. In August 2026, EndNote gained estimated Share of Search among reference management software worldwide, from 8.3% to 9.1%.

  3. In August 2026, Zotero lost estimated Share of Search among reference management software worldwide, from 51.1% to 46.4%.

  4. RefWorks’ estimated Share of Search among reference management software worldwide has lost ground for 3 months in a row, from 2.3% to 1.3% in August 2026.

  5. Estimated monthly branded searches for Paperpile worldwide fell 32.7% over 11 measured months, from 27.4K to 18.4K in August 2026.

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