Compare
Mosaic vs EndNote
Checked against EndNote's own pages on
The short answer
Mosaic is a web workspace organized around research projects. Each project holds its papers, a PDF reader with highlights and notes, tasks and goals, the Google Docs and Word files you write in, a briefing of new papers, and an assistant that answers from that project library with sources. The work around your references lives in the same place as the references, and it opens in a browser with nothing to install.
EndNote, from Clarivate, is a long-established reference manager with a desktop app, EndNote Web and an iOS app. It states support for over 7,000 citation styles, and its Cite While You Write tools cover Word, Google Docs, Apple Pages and more. Pick EndNote if your institution licenses it, your journal needs a style outside the nine Mosaic ships, or you want a desktop application.
Moving across is done paper by paper: add the papers for one active project to Mosaic by DOI, PubMed ID, link or PDF, and keep EndNote for the rest. Mosaic is an invite-only beta, free while the beta lasts. EndNote is sold under individual, student and institutional licenses, with a free trial.
Side by side
| Feature | Mosaic | EndNote |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A project workspace: each project holds its library, PDF reader, tasks, documents, briefing and assistant | A reference manager and bibliography maker, with online search of bibliographic databases |
| Tasks and briefing | Per-project tasks and goals with assignees and due dates, and a briefing of new papers from PubMed or Semantic Scholar on a schedule | Not part of the feature set described on the EndNote pages we read |
| AI | An assistant that answers from the project papers, notes and tasks with sources, searches OpenAlex, PubMed, Semantic Scholar and the web, and writes a staged deep research report | AI features that pull key takeaways from a paper, answer questions about it and translate PDFs |
| Writing extras | Find a source for a highlighted sentence, in your library or on the web, from the add-in pane | Find a Journal suggestions, retraction alerts and inserting a quotation from a PDF with its citation |
| Sharing | Workspaces with owner, admin and member roles, and per-project access | Share a whole library or a subset of references, with access permissions and activity logs |
| PDF reading | Reader with highlights, underlines and notes, next to the project tasks and documents | PDF panel with sticky notes, highlight, underline and strikeout |
| Saving from the browser | Chrome extension that saves a paper straight into a project | A browser extension that imports references from databases, PDFs and websites |
| Cost and access | Free during the beta, which is invite-only behind a waitlist | Paid licenses for individuals, students and institutions, with a free trial |
| Word processors | Word add-in and Google Docs add-on that insert citations and keep a reference list that updates itself | Cite While You Write for Word, Word Online, Google Docs, Apple Pages and Apache OpenOffice, and LibreOffice on Windows |
| Citation styles | Nine styles covering the common ones: APA 7th, MLA 9th, Chicago author-date, Chicago notes, Harvard, Vancouver, IEEE, AMA, Nature | Over 7,000 citation styles, as EndNote states it |
| Platforms | Web app: open it in any modern browser, nothing to install | Desktop app, EndNote Web and an iOS app, with syncing between them |
| Adding papers | By DOI, PubMed ID, link, PDF upload or the Chrome extension, with open-access PDFs looked up in the background, plus a one-time import from Zotero or Mendeley | Imports RIS files, EndNote XML, tab-delimited text and PDF files or folders, among other options |
Choose Mosaic if
- You organize your work by project and want each project to keep its papers, notes, tasks and goals in one place instead of spread across several apps.
- You want new papers for each project to arrive on a schedule, drawn from PubMed or Semantic Scholar, instead of checking alerts by hand.
- You want an assistant that answers across the papers in your project library and shows its sources.
- You prefer a web app with nothing to install, and you write in Word or Google Docs in one of the nine styles Mosaic ships.
- You work with a lab or co-authors and want roles, per-project access and assigned tasks next to the shared papers.
When EndNote is the better fit
- You need a citation style outside the nine Mosaic ships. EndNote states support for over 7,000.
- Your university or employer already licenses EndNote, and your co-authors share EndNote libraries.
- You need a desktop application, or you write in Apple Pages, OpenOffice or LibreOffice.
Moving from EndNote to Mosaic
Mosaic gives a project its tasks, briefing and assistant as soon as its papers are in. To bring papers across from EndNote, add them by DOI, PubMed ID or link, upload their PDFs, or save them with the Chrome extension. Mosaic then looks for open-access PDFs in the background. See how to add papers.
Papers come across one by one, not as a library file. A practical way to try Mosaic is to add the papers for one active project and keep EndNote for everything else.
Questions
Is Mosaic an EndNote alternative?
Yes, for researchers who want their references inside the project they belong to. Mosaic stores papers, has a PDF reader, and inserts citations in Word and Google Docs in nine styles. Around that it adds per-project tasks and goals, a briefing of new papers and an assistant over your project library. EndNote stays the fit for a desktop app and for the thousands of styles it states.
How do I bring papers from EndNote into Mosaic?
Add them by DOI, PubMed ID or link, upload the PDFs, or save them with the Chrome extension. Mosaic looks for an open-access PDF in the background. Papers come across individually, not as a library file, so most people start with a single active project. See how to add papers.
Does Mosaic have Cite While You Write?
Mosaic has its own Word add-in and Google Docs add-on. You search your project library from a side pane, insert citations, and the reference list updates itself. It supports nine styles, listed in the help center.
Can I use Mosaic and EndNote together?
Yes. The two do not connect, so they run side by side: EndNote as the full reference library, and Mosaic for the project you are working on now, with its papers, tasks, briefing and assistant.
How much does Mosaic cost compared with EndNote?
Mosaic is free during its beta, which is invite-only behind a waitlist. EndNote is sold under paid licenses with a free trial. Check EndNote for its current terms.
Sources
Everything this page says about EndNote comes from its own public pages, read on November 10, 2026. Tools change. If something here is out of date, tell us and we will correct it.