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Mosaic vs Zotero
Checked against Zotero'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, so the reading, the planning and the citing for one project stay together.
Zotero is a dedicated reference manager: free, open source, with apps for Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android, and citation plugins for Word, LibreOffice and Google Docs. Pick Zotero if you need to work offline, cite in a style outside the nine Mosaic ships, or manage references in BibTeX.
You can start without leaving Zotero. Mosaic imports a Zotero library once, so you can run one project in Mosaic and keep everything you have in Zotero as it is.
Side by side
| Feature | Mosaic | Zotero |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A project workspace: each project holds its library, PDF reader, tasks, documents, briefing and assistant | A reference manager to collect, organize, annotate, cite and share research |
| Tasks and goals | Per-project tasks and goals with assignees and due dates, in Table, Cards and Timeline views | Not part of the feature set described on the Zotero pages we read |
| New papers | A briefing of new papers for each project, from PubMed or Semantic Scholar, on a schedule, with optional email | Not part of the feature set described on the Zotero pages we read |
| AI assistant | 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 | Not part of the feature set described on the Zotero pages we read |
| Word processors | Word add-in and Google Docs add-on that insert citations, keep a reference list that updates itself, and find a source for a highlighted sentence | Word, LibreOffice and Google Docs |
| Sharing | Workspaces with owner, admin and member roles, and per-project access | Group libraries, private or public, with no limit on the number of members |
| PDF reading | Reader with highlights, underlines and notes, next to the project tasks and documents | Built-in reader with highlights, underlines and notes |
| Saving from the browser | Chrome extension that saves a paper straight into a project | Zotero Connector for Firefox, Chrome and Safari |
| Cost and access | Free during the beta, which is invite-only behind a waitlist | Free to use. Data syncing is free, and larger file storage plans are sold separately |
| Citation styles | Nine styles covering the common ones: APA 7th, MLA 9th, Chicago author-date, Chicago notes, Harvard, Vancouver, IEEE, AMA, Nature | Over 9,000 citation styles, as Zotero states it |
| Platforms and offline use | Web app: open it in any modern browser, nothing to install | Apps for Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android, plus access from a web browser. Data is stored locally on your computer by default, and syncing is optional |
| Import and export | Imports from Zotero and Mendeley, and adds papers by DOI, PubMed ID, link or PDF; exports your data as a zip | Imports and exports BibTeX, RIS and CSL JSON, among other formats |
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 questions from the papers in your own project library and shows its sources.
- You write in Word or Google Docs and want citations, a reference list that updates itself, and a way to find a source for a sentence you have just written.
- You work with a lab or co-authors and want roles, per-project access and assigned tasks next to the shared papers.
When Zotero is the better fit
- You need to work without an internet connection, or you want your library stored on your own computer.
- You need a citation style outside the nine Mosaic ships. Zotero states support for over 9,000.
- You manage references in BibTeX for LaTeX, or you write in LibreOffice.
Using Zotero and Mosaic together
Adding Mosaic to a Zotero setup gives one project a home for its tasks, its briefing and its assistant, with the papers already in place. Connect your Zotero account, choose collections or single items, and Mosaic copies them into a project. See the Zotero integration for what it covers.
The import is a one-time copy, not a sync. Nothing in your Zotero library is changed, so you can keep citing from Zotero while you try Mosaic on one project. Papers you add to Zotero later come across when you import again, and notes and annotations stay in Zotero.
Questions
Is Mosaic a Zotero 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 that answers from your library. Zotero stays the fit for offline work, BibTeX and styles beyond those nine.
Can I bring my Zotero library into Mosaic?
Yes. Connect your Zotero account, pick collections or single items, and Mosaic copies them into a project. It is a one-time import that you can run again when you choose, and it carries the papers across while notes and annotations stay in Zotero. Steps are in the help article.
Can I use Mosaic and Zotero together?
Yes. Mosaic copies from Zotero and changes nothing there, so you can keep Zotero as your long-term archive and run an active project in Mosaic. The connection is an import you run when you choose, so changes in one tool stay in that tool until you import again.
Which citation styles does Mosaic support?
Nine: APA 7th, MLA 9th, Chicago author-date, Chicago notes, Harvard, Vancouver, IEEE, AMA and Nature. They are listed in the help center.
Does Mosaic work with Google Docs and Word?
Yes. Mosaic has a Google Docs add-on and a Word add-in. Both insert citations from a project library and keep the reference list up to date as you write. See cite while you write.
Sources
Everything this page says about Zotero 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.