Looking at Recite?
Recite checks your citations. RefRunner checks your references, too.
Recite does one thing well: it confirms every in-text citation has a matching entry in your reference list. RefRunner does that — and then looks each reference up, finds the ones that don't exist, fixes the DOIs, years and titles that are wrong, and hands you back a corrected list in the style your journal wants. Less per year, no word limit, and you can try it without an account.
No account needed to try it — check our sample or upload your own paper, free and right in your browser.
A free account adds 500 lookups, saved reference lists, and free months when you refer colleagues.
📱 On a phone? Create a free account now and your reference lists will be waiting when start working on your paper.
Feature by feature
| Feature | RefRunner | Recite |
|---|---|---|
| In-text citations checked against the reference list | ✓ | ✓ |
| Every reference verified against Crossref & OpenAlex | ✓ | LimitedCrossref, APA only |
| Missing DOIs found and added | ✓ | ✗ |
| Wrong or fabricated DOIs flagged | ✓ | Limited |
| Retracted papers flagged | ✓ | ✓ |
| Scopus-delisted journals flagged | ✓ | ✗ |
| Reformat into any of 10,000+ citation styles | ✓ | ✗ |
| Corrected list exported to Word, RIS, BibTeX | ✓ | ✗PDF report only |
| Your manuscript returned with references fixed | ✓ | ✗ |
| Upload .docx and PDF | ✓ | LimitedPDF is paid |
| Try without an account | ✓ | ✗ |
Pricing, side by side
| Plan | RefRunner | Recite |
|---|---|---|
| Free | 20 refs/session as a guest; 500 lookups then 50/day with a free account | 2 uploads/day, first 50 references, first 2,500 words |
| Monthly | $9.99 | $8 (or $10 one-off) |
| Annual | $50 | $80 |
| Free trial of paid | 30 days | 3-day pass, $6 |
Recite prices and limits from reciteworks.com/pricing, August 2026. Recite's monthly plan is cheaper than ours; their annual plan costs more. If you only need a few days, their $6 pass is a fair deal — our 30-day trial is free.
Why checking the references matters
A citation can match a reference that doesn't exist
Citation-to-list matching passes a fabricated reference as long as the author and year agree. RefRunner looks every entry up; the ones no database has ever heard of are flagged found nowhere.
Most real references have a small error
A wrong year, a missing DOI, a journal name that changed. RefRunner shows the database record beside your text and fixes the entry with one click.
Then you still have to format it
RefRunner regenerates the list in APA, Vancouver, Chicago, or the house style of 10,000+ journals, and returns your Word file with the reference list replaced. 1,000 lookups a month on the paid plan.
See it on your own paper
Drop a manuscript or paste a reference list. No account required for your first 20 references.