Citation Hero vs CitePlain
Citation Hero
citationhero.io
CitePlain
citeplain.comSide by side
| Figure | Citation Hero | CitePlain |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $3.25/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 7 |
| Spec score · Citation Generator Tools | 7.7 (#14) | 8.7 (#4) |
| Spec score · Citation generators | 7.7 (#32) | 8.9 (#4) |
| Browser extension | The free browser add-on generates formatted citations for websites, books, journal articles, and more. | The extension is listed for Chrome, Edge, and Firefox and reads metadata from the active tab. |
| Privacy | Gradient Labs says it does not process sensitive personal information in its privacy notice. | CitePlain says saved references on the free tier live in browser local storage and never leave the device. |
| Support | The privacy notice says the company may process information to respond to user inquiries and provide support. | Email support is handled by one person, with replies promised within one business day and often within a few hours. |
Plans
CitePlain
- FreeFree
- Pro monthly$4.99 a month
- Pro yearly$39 a year
- Founder Lifetime$89, paid once
- Lifetime Founder$89, paid once
- Lifetime$199, paid once
- Lifetime$199, paid once
In their own words
Citation Hero
Citation Hero has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
CitePlain
CitePlain creates citations and bibliographies from web pages, journal articles, books, tweets, YouTube videos, and podcasts. It accepts URLs, DOIs, or ISBNs, and uses publisher citation and Open Graph metadata, with Crossref lookup for DOIs and Open Library for ISBNs. The free plan includes APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago 17, Vancouver, CSE, and BibTeX, plus a bibliography builder for up to 50 sources per batch. The extension for Chrome, Edge, and Firefox can read metadata from the active tab and provide BibTeX with a stable cite key for Overleaf or Zotero. Pro adds 24 specialised styles, batch URL import for up to 50 sources, and cloud storage synced across the web app and extension. Free-tier references stay in browser local storage. Pro costs $4.99 a month or $39 a year. Lifetime options are listed at 89.00 USD once and 199.00 USD once. CitePlain describes its focus as individual citations rather than replacing a research reference manager.