Zotero for PC: How to Download and Install on Windows (2026 Guide)

Anyone who has written a thesis, research paper or long report knows the pain of juggling dozens of PDFs, journal articles and web pages — and then formatting every citation and bibliography entry by hand. Zotero removes that pain. It is a free reference manager that collects your sources in one place and inserts perfectly formatted citations into your documents for you.

This guide shows you how to download Zotero for PC from its official website, install it on Windows 11 or 10, save your first sources with the browser Connector, and generate a bibliography — plus an honest look at what is free and what the optional paid storage plans actually cover.

What Is Zotero?

Zotero is a free, open-source reference manager built for students, researchers and academics. It acts as a personal research library: you save books, journal articles, web pages, PDFs and other sources into organized collections, and Zotero stores all the details — author, title, year, publisher, DOI — automatically, ready to be cited.

Its real power appears when you write. Citation plugins for Microsoft Word, LibreOffice and Google Docs let you insert citations while you type and build a complete bibliography in seconds, in any of thousands of citation styles such as APA, MLA, Chicago and Vancouver. A companion browser extension, the Zotero Connector, grabs sources from library catalogues, journal sites and regular web pages with a single click.

Key Features

One-click source capture: The Zotero Connector for Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Safari saves articles, books and web pages straight from your browser, with metadata filled in automatically.
Organized research library: Sort sources into collections and subcollections, tag them, search everything instantly and attach PDFs, notes and snapshots to each item.
Automatic citations: Insert citations and generate bibliographies in Word, LibreOffice and Google Docs using 10,000+ citation styles.
PDF reading and annotation: Open attached PDFs in the built-in reader, highlight text and turn annotations into notes.
Free syncing: A free Zotero account syncs your library across computers, with 300 MB of free file storage included.
Group libraries: Share a collection with classmates or a research team and collaborate on a common set of sources.
Duplicate detection and cleanup tools: Find and merge duplicate entries, and pull missing metadata or DOIs for items already in your library.

System Requirements

Operating System: Windows 11 or Windows 10 (64-bit recommended); Zotero 7 supports both
Processor: Any modern Intel or AMD CPU
RAM: 4 GB minimum; 8 GB recommended for large libraries
Storage: Around 200 MB for the app, plus space for your library and PDF attachments
Display: 1280×800 or higher recommended
Browser: A current version of Chrome, Edge or Firefox for the Zotero Connector extension
Internet: Required for the download, syncing and metadata lookup

How to Download Zotero (Official Method)

Zotero is developed by a research-focused nonprofit team and is always distributed free through its own website. Unofficial download portals may bundle the installer with unwanted extras or offer outdated versions, so get Zotero only from the official site below — it costs nothing there, and you always receive the latest genuine release.

Official Website: Download Zotero from the official website

Step-by-Step Installation

Open the official Zotero website linked above and click the Download button.
Choose the Zotero for Windows installer (the site also offers the Zotero Connector separately).
Save the setup file, usually named Zotero-Setup.exe, to your Downloads folder.
Double-click the installer and approve the Windows permission prompt.
Follow the setup wizard, keep the default installation folder and click Install.
Click Finish, then launch Zotero from the Start menu.
Optionally create a free Zotero account under Edit → Preferences → Sync to enable syncing.

Tip: Install the Zotero Connector in your browser right after the main app — it is the button that makes saving sources from the web take a single click.

How to Save and Cite Your First Sources in Zotero

Open Zotero and create a collection for your project using the New Collection button.
In your browser, open a journal article, book page or news story you want to cite.
Click the Zotero Connector icon in the browser toolbar — the source and its details save straight into your library.
Check the item in Zotero and fix any missing fields such as author or year if needed.
Open your document in Word, LibreOffice or Google Docs and use the Zotero toolbar button to insert a citation, choosing your citation style the first time.
Click the Add/Edit Bibliography button at the end — Zotero builds the full reference list automatically.

Is Zotero Free? Pricing and Storage Explained Honestly

Yes — Zotero is completely free and open source. The desktop app, the browser Connector, the citation plugins and syncing itself all cost nothing, with no trial limits and no locked features. You can collect unlimited references and cite them forever without paying anything.

The only paid option is extra online storage. Syncing your library data is free and unlimited, and file attachments (PDFs and snapshots) come with 300 MB of free storage. If your PDF collection grows beyond that, Zotero sells reasonably priced storage plans (for example 2 GB or 6 GB per year, plus an unlimited tier). You can also skip paid storage entirely by syncing attachments through your own WebDAV service — the choice is yours, and the program never forces it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Zotero safe and legal to download?

Yes. Zotero is a well-known open-source project maintained by the nonprofit Corporation for Digital Scholarship, and downloading it from the official zotero.org website is completely legal and safe. Avoid third-party repackaged installers, which are the only risky source.

Which citation styles does Zotero support?

More than 10,000 styles, including APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, Vancouver and IEEE, plus thousands of journal-specific styles you can download free from the Zotero style repository.

Does Zotero work with Microsoft Word and Google Docs?

Yes. The Word and LibreOffice plugins install automatically with the desktop app, and the Google Docs integration works through the Zotero Connector in your browser.

Is my library private, and can I use Zotero offline?

Your library is stored locally on your PC and works fully offline. Syncing to a free Zotero account is optional and only needed if you want backups or access from multiple computers.

Conclusion

For any student or researcher, Zotero is one of the most useful free tools you can install: it turns the messiest part of academic writing — managing sources and citations — into a few clicks. Download it free from the official website, add the Connector, and your next bibliography will practically build itself.

Download Zotero from the Official Website

Zotero for PC: How to Download and Install on Windows (2026 Guide)