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CiteSwap

Find and convert citations in seconds

Find and convert citations in any style. Free.

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1. Find

Search by title, author, DOI or ISBN. Every result comes with a formatted citation and in-text citation.

2. Convert

Paste a whole reference list in any style. It’s matched against Crossref, then reformatted and sorted.

3. Collect

Add citations to your bibliography and export them all at once, for Word, Google Docs, Zotero or EndNote.

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Frequently asked questions

What is CiteSwap?

CiteSwap is a free online citation tool. It finds journal articles, books and other academic sources with ready-made citations, and converts whole reference lists between citation styles such as APA, MLA, Harvard, IEEE and Chicago. The name means “citation swap”; it has nothing to do with siteswap juggling notation.

Who is CiteSwap for?

Anyone who reads, cites or reformats academic sources:

  • Students: cite journal articles, books and websites correctly in the style your course requires, for essays, projects, theses and dissertations.
  • Lecturers and supervisors: build reading lists and course materials, check students’ references, and format your own papers.
  • Researchers: find journal articles, books, chapters and conference papers on your topic, see how often they are cited, and open free PDFs where they exist.
  • Anyone changing citation style: convert a whole reference list from one style to another, for example APA to Harvard or MLA to IEEE, when a supervisor, journal or publisher asks for a different style.
Can CiteSwap tell me if a reference is fake?

Yes. Paste a reference list into the free citation checker and every reference is looked up among more than 150 million real records. It flags references that can’t be found (AI chatbots often invent them), DOIs that belong to a different paper, wrong authors, years or page numbers, and retracted papers, then gives you a corrected list.

Can I use it to find articles and books to read for my research?

Yes. Search by topic keywords, title or author to browse matching journal articles, books, chapters and conference papers. Each result shows the journal or publisher, the year and how many times it has been cited, with links to the publisher’s page and, where one exists, a free PDF.

Is CiteSwap free?

Yes, completely. There is no sign-up, no limit on searches or conversions, and no premium version.

How do I find a citation by author or title?

Choose “Author” or “Title / keywords” above the search box and type. Results come from the Crossref catalogue of over 150 million articles, books and conference papers, each with a ready-to-copy citation in your chosen style.

Can I convert a whole reference list from one style to another?

Yes. Open “Convert references”, paste the full list (numbered, one per line, or separated by blank lines), pick the style you want and press Convert. Each reference is matched against Crossref so authors, years and pages are correct, then formatted and sorted for the new style.

Which citation styles are supported?

APA, MLA, Harvard (Cite Them Right), IEEE, AMA, Chicago (author-date), Chicago (notes-bibliography), ASA, APSA, Vancouver, Turabian, APA 6th edition, OSCOLA (law). You can convert between any two of them.

Will the formatting survive when I paste into Word or Google Docs?

Yes. “Copy” puts rich text on your clipboard, so italics and the hanging indent are kept. You can also download your list as an .rtf file that opens in Word, or as .bib/.ris for Zotero, Mendeley and EndNote.

What happens to the references I paste?

They are processed in your browser and sent only to the open Crossref catalogue to look up matches. CiteSwap doesn’t store them anywhere.