Citation generator for APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, IEEE and Vancouver
This free citation generator formats references in the styles students most often need: APA 7th edition, MLA 9th edition, Chicago 18th edition in both its notes-bibliography and author-date forms, Harvard (following the widely used Cite Them Right conventions), IEEE and Vancouver (the ICMJE / NLM style used in medicine and the life sciences). Fill in one form for a website, book, journal article, newspaper or magazine article, or online video, and the reference entry, in-text citation (or first Chicago footnote) and italics are handled for you.
Each source goes into a running bibliography, sorted alphabetically or numbered in citation order for IEEE and Vancouver, and re-formatted instantly if you change style. Copy one entry or the whole list as plain text; titles show in italics on screen so you know what to italicise in Word or Google Docs. Your list is saved on your device only. Style guides change and lecturers differ, so treat the output as a strong first draft and check your course handbook.
How to use the Citation Generator
- Pick the style your course requires at the top (APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, IEEE or Vancouver).
- Choose the source type and enter the title. For APA, use sentence case (only the first word, proper nouns and the first word after a colon capitalised).
- Add each author with first name(s) and last name, or tick “Organisation” for a company, government body or website author.
- Fill in the rest: site, publisher, journal, volume, pages, date, DOI or URL and the date you accessed it.
- Check the preview, press “Add to bibliography”, repeat for each source and use “Copy all” when done.
Citation Generator features
Seven styles, correct punctuation
APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago notes-bibliography, Chicago author-date, Harvard, IEEE and Vancouver, each with its own ordering, punctuation and dates.
Author rules per style
Initials for APA, Harvard and IEEE, unpunctuated initials for Vancouver, full names for MLA and Chicago, inverted first author only, plus the right “et al.” and ampersand rules.
In-text citations and footnotes
Each preview shows the parenthetical citation, or the numbered first footnote for Chicago notes.
Running bibliography
Sorted by author or title (ignoring “A”, “An” and “The”), or numbered for IEEE, and re-formatted on any style switch.
Saved on your device
Your draft and list stay in this browser.
The same book in six styles
A second edition by Jane Q. Smith and Robert Jones, Open Press, 2021:
| Style | Reference entry |
|---|---|
| APA 7 | Smith, J. Q., & Jones, R. (2021). Learning to cite (2nd ed.). Open Press. |
| MLA 9 | Smith, Jane Q., and Robert Jones. Learning to Cite. 2nd ed., Open Press, 2021. |
| Chicago (bibliography) | Smith, Jane Q., and Robert Jones. Learning to Cite. 2nd ed. Open Press, 2021. |
| Harvard | Smith, J.Q. and Jones, R. (2021) Learning to Cite. 2nd edn. London: Open Press. |
| IEEE | [1] J. Q. Smith and R. Jones, Learning to Cite, 2nd ed. Open Press, 2021. |
| Vancouver | 1. Smith JQ, Jones R. Learning to Cite. 2nd ed. London: Open Press; 2021. |
Key rules built into each style
- APA 7: author initials, year in brackets, sentence-case titles, DOIs as https://doi.org/ links, and no access date or “Retrieved from” unless the page is undated and likely to change. Up to 20 authors, ampersand before the last.
- MLA 9: full names, title in quotation marks inside an italic container, “vol.” and “no.”, day-month-year dates with months over four letters abbreviated (14 Mar. 2024), “et al.” for three or more authors, and “Accessed” dates for web sources.
- Chicago 18: no place of publication for books; up to six authors in the bibliography (first three plus “et al.” beyond six), while notes name only the first author plus “et al.” for three or more. DOIs are https://doi.org/ links.
- Harvard (Cite Them Right): initials without spaces, year in brackets right after the author, single quotation marks for article titles, “edn.” for editions, place and publisher for books, and “Available at: … (Accessed: day month year)” online. Four or more authors become the first author plus “et al.”.
- Vancouver (ICMJE / NLM): numbered in order first cited; surname then initials with no stops (Halpern SD); up to six authors, then “et al”; abbreviated journal names; year month day dates (2002 Jul 25); elided end pages (284-7); and “[Internet]”, “[cited date]” and “Available from:” for web sources. It follows the NLM guide Citing Medicine (2nd ed.) and ICMJE samples; titles stay as typed.
- IEEE: numbered in order first cited, initials before surnames, article titles in quotation marks, “vol.”, “no.”, “pp.”, three-letter months, and “[Online]. Available:” for web addresses.
Tips for accurate references
- Copy titles exactly from the source, adjusting capitalisation only for APA (sentence case for article and book titles).
- Use the DOI whenever an article has one; all styles prefer it to a URL. Enter just the identifier (10.xxxx/…) and the https://doi.org/ prefix is added where needed.
- For a page with no personal author, enter an “Organisation” author; if none is credited, leave authors empty and the title moves first.
- Add the day you viewed a web page: MLA and Harvard always want it, Chicago and APA only if it is undated.
Citation Generator FAQ
Is this citation generator free?
Yes: no account, no limit on sources and no watermark. The bibliography stays in your browser.
Which edition of each style does it follow?
APA 7th edition (2020), MLA 9th edition (2021), the Chicago Manual of Style 18th edition (2024) for both notes-bibliography and author-date, Harvard per Cite Them Right, the IEEE Reference Guide, and Vancouver per the ICMJE recommendations and the NLM’s Citing Medicine. Enter the Vancouver journal abbreviation yourself (look it up in the NLM Catalog). If your institution uses an older edition or its own Harvard variant, compare the output with its guide.
How do I cite a website with no author in APA?
Move the title into the author position: Title of page. (Year, Month Day). Site Name. URL. With no date either, use (n.d.) and add “Retrieved Month Day, Year, from URL”. Leave the author list empty and the generator does this for you.
How do I cite a YouTube video?
Enter the uploader as author (tick “Organisation” for a channel name), the title, upload date, platform and URL. APA adds “[Video]”, MLA names platform and uploader, Chicago adds “YouTube video” with running time, and IEEE uses “[Online Video]”.
What is the difference between a reference list and a bibliography?
A reference list (APA, Harvard, IEEE, Chicago author-date) holds only sources you cited. A bibliography (Chicago notes) may also include works consulted but not cited. MLA calls its list “Works Cited”.