Citation.js vs CiteMaker

Citation.js converts reference data into CSL-JSON and formats references in styles such as APA and Vancouver. It accepts inputs including BibTeX, BibJSON, DOI, and Wikidata, as well as identifiers such as ISBN, PubMed and PMC IDs, GitHub repository URLs, and npm package URLs. Supported formats include JSON, CSL-JSON, BibLaTeX, RIS, YAML, CFF, and Zenodo Deposit JSON. Identifier resolvers include DOI Content Negotiation, Google Books, OpenLibrary, NCBI’s Literature Citation Explorer, and the Wikidata MediaWiki API. A modular package structure lets users add format and identifier-source plugins as needed; preloaded styles and locales are available for formatted references. Citation.js supports Node.js and browsers, offers a web interface and API, and includes a command-line interface for reading input files, text, or standard input and writing output files or standard output. Example applications include an HTML API wrapper, a Chrome extension for Dutch NWO ISAAC publication data entry, and a BibTeX generator. It is MIT-licensed open-source software, available free.

CiteMaker helps students and educators create bibliographies and reference lists, either automatically or manually. Citations can start from a book ISBN, website URL, DOI, or imported BibTeX. For ISBN searches, users can choose Google, ISBNdb, Open Library, or WorldCat. Listed styles include APA 6 and 7, Chicago, Harvard, MLA 8 and 9, Oxford, and Turabian, and the site offers forms for generative AI citations. Its guided forms flag required source details; as users enter information, CiteMaker creates in-text citations and sorts references alphabetically. Completed lists can be copied or exported to email, MS Word, Google Docs, or PDF. Registered users can save reference lists and retrieve them later. CiteMaker describes itself as online software for PC, iPad iOS, and Android tablets, and lists Android, iOS, and web platforms. A free plan and a 30-day trial are listed. The registration form says a yearly subscription fee applies after the trial. The site also provides Student and Educator registration options.