Free citation generator
Paste a DOI or an article URL and get a formatted reference in APA 7, MLA 9, Harvard, Chicago, IEEE and OSCOLA at once. Copy keeps the italics and hanging indent, so it pastes straight into your reference list.
How it works
Paste a DOI or URL
A DOI (like 10.1038/nature14539) gives the most complete result. Article and web page URLs work too.
Click Generate
We look up the source's authors, title, journal, volume, pages and date.
Copy your style
Pick the format your course uses and copy it — italics and hanging indent included.
Where the details come from
DOIs are looked up in CrossRef, the registry publishers use for scholarly articles, so author names, volume, issue and page numbers come straight from the publisher. For other URLs we read the page's citation metadata.
Six styles at once
APA 7th and MLA 9th for most humanities and social-science courses, Harvard for UK and Australian universities, Chicago for history, IEEE for engineering and computing, and OSCOLA for law.
Pastes cleanly into Word
The Copy button puts rich text on your clipboard: journal and book titles stay in italics and each entry keeps a half-inch hanging indent with double spacing, the way APA and MLA reference lists expect.
Always double-check
Publisher metadata is occasionally incomplete — a missing issue number or an author's name in capitals. Give each reference a quick check against the source before you submit.
Frequently asked questions
Which citation styles are supported?
APA 7th, MLA 9th, Harvard, Chicago, IEEE and OSCOLA. Every lookup returns all six, so you can switch styles without searching again.
Why use a DOI instead of a URL?
A DOI points to the publisher's official record, so the reference includes every author, the volume, issue and page range. Web page URLs only give what the page itself publishes.
Is it free?
Yes — unlimited lookups, no account and no watermark.
Can you format my whole reference list?
Yes. Send us your sources on WhatsApp and we'll format the full reference list and in-text citations to your style guide.
More free help
Need more than a tool? Our writers can handle the whole assignment.
Rather have an expert do it?
Send your task and get a quote within minutes.