Zotero alternatives for Mac
Zotero — Collect, organise, cite, and share research sources — is installed 1,672 times a month through Homebrew. These are hand-picked alternatives that occupy the same slot, ordered by how comparable their user base is.
Run
brew install --cask zotero to install Zotero itself.- Obsidian11.8× the installs
- Typora958 installs/mo
- Craft15.8× smaller user base
- bear2.1× smaller user base
- Joplin3.6× smaller user base
- Anytype9.6× smaller user base
- Logseq4.7× smaller user base
- Notion3.0× the installs
Full comparison
| Zotero | Obsidian | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | GUI app | GUI app |
| Category | Utilities | Productivity |
| Open source | Not declared | Not declared |
| Licence | Not declared | Not declared |
| Apple silicon | Universal | Universal |
| Latest version | 10.0.6 | 1.14.5 |
| Dependencies | 0 | 0 |
| Installs (30 days) | 1,672 | 19,786 |
| Install command | brew install --cask zotero | brew install --cask obsidian |
How we picked these
The list comes from a hand-maintained set of same-purpose apps, not from keyword matching. Alternatives are removed automatically when Homebrew no longer carries them. Ordering reflects 30-day install volume, not paid placement. Data updated 2026-10-26.