EndNote has been a research staple for decades. But at $150-275 with no free tier, is it still worth the investment when tools like Scholise offer AI-powered research features for free?
What is EndNote?
EndNote is a desktop reference manager developed by Clarivate. It stores references, organises PDFs, and provides a Cite While You Write plugin for Microsoft Word. It has been used in academia since the 1980s.
The pricing problem
- EndNote 21 (desktop): ~$275 one-time purchase (students ~$150)
- EndNote Online: Free with limited features, or included with some institutional subscriptions
- Scholise Free: 15 Research Assistant questions/day, 25 sources/project, all citation styles
- Scholise Pro: $7.99/month for unlimited access
If your institution does not provide EndNote for free, the cost difference is significant — especially for undergraduate students.
Feature comparison
Reference management
- EndNote: Powerful desktop library, PDF storage, annotation, folder organisation
- Scholise: Project-based source saving with metadata, links, and notes
Source finding
- EndNote: Online search of some databases (limited compared to direct database access)
- Scholise: Search 200M+ peer-reviewed papers with filters for year, peer-review, open access
AI features
- EndNote: None — purely a reference management tool
- Scholise: AI Research Assistant, evidence table extraction, draft citation checker, outline generator
Citation insertion
- EndNote: Cite While You Write Word plugin — best-in-class for inserting citations while writing
- Scholise: Export reference lists in 8 styles + BibTeX/RIS; no word processor plugin
Platform
- EndNote: Desktop application (Windows/Mac) + limited web version
- Scholise: Web-based, works on any device with a browser
When to stick with EndNote
- Your institution provides it free
- You have thousands of existing references in an EndNote library
- You rely heavily on Cite While You Write for long documents (theses, dissertations)
- You need advanced PDF annotation with direct citation linking
When to choose Scholise
- You are paying out of pocket and cannot justify $275
- You need help finding sources, not just managing ones you already have
- You want AI-powered research synthesis and draft checking
- You are an undergraduate working on assignments (not a thesis)
- You want a web-based tool that works from any device
Migration path
If you are leaving EndNote:
- Export your EndNote library as RIS or BibTeX
- Import into Zotero (free) for ongoing reference management
- Use Scholise for source discovery and research assistance
- Export from Scholise to Zotero as needed
AI-powered research for $7.99/month — or free. Try Scholise →