Evernote vs. Zotero

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Evernote
Score 7.9 out of 10
N/A
Evernote is a suite of software and services designed for notetaking and archiving. A "note" can be a piece of formatted text, a full webpage or webpage excerpt, a photograph, a voice memo, or a handwritten "ink" note. Notes can also have file attachments. Notes can be sorted into folders, then tagged, annotated, edited, given comments, searched and exported as part of a notebook. Evernote supports a number of operating system platforms (including OS X, iOS, Chrome OS, Android, Microsoft…
$7.99
per month
Zotero
Score 9.1 out of 10
N/A
Zotero is a free reference management tool developed as a project developed at Carnegie Mellon and supported by a small team at George Mason University.N/A
Pricing
EvernoteZotero
Editions & Modules
Premium
$7.99
per month
Business
$14.99
per month
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
EvernoteZotero
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
User Ratings
EvernoteZotero
Likelihood to Recommend
6.2
(106 ratings)
9.4
(4 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.3
(35 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
7.6
(13 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Availability
8.9
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.9
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.9
(27 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.8
(8 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
EvernoteZotero
Likelihood to Recommend
Evernote
Evernote is an excellent tool for keeping track of client relationships and taking notes. The indexing is excellent, with text in images and text. However, a Wiki might be better for large-scale collaboration. It is a perfect use case for it, and it is hard to beat. To-do lists that need to be tracked or have due dates assigned do not work well in Evernote. It's almost like a library that anyone can add to, edit, tag, and reference. Evernote has a limited checklist function in terms of tasks meant to be kept in one place rather than reviewed and organized over time.
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Open Source
Zotero is well suited for any researcher, student or writer that wants to easily cite sources for web platforms that do not have easy citing tools integrated within the website. There are many browser plug-ins built for Zotero that allow users to click a button directly from the source into the main software and from there can be more organized for citation export. Zotero doesn't work well if you open an external PDF from a website as it cannot pull author information correctly from a PDF source.
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Pros
Evernote
  • Ability to share meeting notes with others (like that it works well with Rocketbook).
  • The To-Do list helps with organization and project deadlines.
  • Able to sync to multiple devices so you can use it in the office or in the field.
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Open Source
  • Zotero, when paired with the Zotfile plugin, makes it incredibly easy to index sources and documents on a project-by-project basis. Users can store document files locally in a Zotero project filesystem, or merely store links to files stored elsewhere.
  • Zotero plays extremely nicely with PDF documents, thanks again to the Zotfile plugin: I can highlight sections of a PDF article's text and Zotero indexes these "pull quotes" in a searchable and well-organized manner for easy extraction when it comes time to synthesize my sources into a new paper.
  • Zotero automates the production of properly-formatted references (including APA, MLA, Chicago, and others), making it a breeze to create accurate and complete bibliographies.
  • Zotero's library system provides a straightforward graphical user interface to manage multiple research projects and associated files, including the ability to easily add items to a project by ISBN, DOI, PMID, and arXiv IDs.
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Cons
Evernote
  • The free application's feature will meet most users needs, but the Premium plan is expensive.
  • Though Evernote lets you create and manage notes effortlessly, its basic plan supports sync between two devices and does not support offline mode.
  • Can't export data easily to other applications.
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Open Source
  • Libre office integration was iffy
  • Using different word processors (i.e, Word, then Google Docs on the same file) can "break" embedded citations.
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Likelihood to Renew
Evernote
I can't really imagine how much they'd have to charge me to make me quit Evernote. I can't really think of any technology that has changed my life as much without going back to email in the 90s, or the introduction of the iPhone. I know I sound ridiculous, but it would be really tough for me to live without it. If I were forced to choose between my smart phone (and keep in mind that I get lost in my driveway) and my Evernote, I'd probably choose my Evernote.
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Open Source
No answers on this topic
Usability
Evernote
  • Basic visual organization - ability to create a notebook and store user notes inside of it.
  • Basic easy navigation - You can quickly move in and out of files and notes.
  • User intuitive addition - whatever you need to add to your document, it's relatively easy to understand and use.
  • We find overall that we still want some functionality in creating better task lists, boards, and other things that we find in Notion - which is the tool that we use as a team notebook/storage space.
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Open Source
No answers on this topic
Reliability and Availability
Evernote
Generally issues are by connectivity and not Evernote availability but I have had issues in the past with cross-client consistency of data which Evernote Support has ID'd as bugs that are still unresolved as far as I know
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Open Source
No answers on this topic
Performance
Evernote
Fast and clean interface. Just upgraded to Evernote 5
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Open Source
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Evernote
I bet you won’t even need to call their support. Their product has never failed me. Simply put. But if you were to email them to gather some details or help, I bet they won’t disappoint you. Don’t worry about the support, it’s the last thing you should worry about this product.
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Open Source
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Evernote
Make sure you think about your tags. If you end up with multiple similar tags then things aren't grouped together as you might prefer. For instance if you have a tag called Disney and Walt Disney, this will split up your articles. Evernote makes it simple to correct, but I suggest you make sure your users look closely at the existing tags before creating new ones.
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Open Source
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Evernote
The most similar program I have used is OneNote by Microsoft, and other note taking programs exist like Notepad and Microsoft Word but those programs do not offer syncing like Evernote does. There are newer programs in the space like Dropbox Paper and Google Docs which would be on a list of ones to consider.
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Open Source
Zotero is much less prone to glitches than Mendeley, and has much easier to use web extensions and word processor plugins. I found Zotero easy and intuitive to use
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Return on Investment
Evernote
  • Evernote has allowed our school's over 3000 students and staff members to work more efficiently instead of spending time on making physical notes, clicking pictures, and uploading them to the cloud in order to share them
  • The investment in Evernote Premium has also allowed for heavier files to be attached in each note such as student work that allows teachers to be certain that students have followed deadlines and finished assigned tasks
  • Evernote has allowed our school to smoothly transition in and out of online learning as the local COVID-19 protocols change and student work requires one platform to be based on throughout
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Open Source
  • More Credibility on Our Online Posts that is Informational
  • Less Chances of Potential Legal Issues When Writing
  • Less Time Spent Grabbing Sources from Browser History When Researching
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