{"toolsCitationGenerator":{"heroTitle":"Free Citation Generator — APA, MLA, Chicago & Harvard","heroSubtitle":"Free citation generator, no sign-up. Paste a URL, book, or paper for an instant APA, MLA, Chicago, or Harvard citation — and build a full bibliography.","seoDescription":"Need an APA, MLA, Chicago or Harvard citation? Cite a URL, book or journal article, including a paper you have as a PDF, free and with no sign-up, in seconds.","heroQuickAnswer":"Scholarly's free AI citation generator creates correctly formatted APA, MLA, Chicago, and Harvard citations from a website URL, book, or journal article in seconds. Pick a style, paste your source, and copy a single reference or build a full bibliography — no account or credit card needed.","heroBadge":"AI Citation Generator","heroTitleStart":"Free citation generator for","heroTitleHighlight":"APA, MLA, Chicago & Harvard","heroCta":"Generate a citation","heroCtaSecondary":"Explore research tools","heroNote":"Free to start · No credit card · APA, MLA, Chicago & Harvard","heroSocialProof":"Used by 200,000+ learners and professionals worldwide","answerEyebrow":"Direct answer","answerTitle":"Is this citation generator free, and what can it cite?","answerBody":"Yes. Scholarly's citation generator runs right on this page with no account. Pick APA, MLA, Chicago, or Harvard, add a website URL, a book, or a journal article, and the AI returns a formatted reference you can copy, add to a running bibliography, and download as a text file.","answerFact1Label":"Cost and sign-up:","answerFact1Text":"Single citations are free with no account. A free Scholarly account is only for keeping your sources and notes together in one workspace.","answerFact2Label":"Styles supported:","answerFact2Text":"APA, MLA, Chicago, and Harvard. Choose the style from the dropdown before you generate; the result and the downloaded bibliography follow that style.","answerFact3Label":"Sources you can cite:","answerFact3Text":"A website or online article by URL, a book by title, author, publisher, and year, or a journal article by title, authors, journal name, volume, issue, pages, and year. For a paper you have as a PDF, enter its details on the Journal Article tab; the tool does not read uploaded files.","answerFact4Label":"Bibliography:","answerFact4Text":"Add each citation to a running list, remove any you no longer need, and download the whole bibliography as a .txt file named for the style you chose.","answerTakeaway":"If you only need one correctly formatted reference, generate it here and copy it. If you are collecting sources for a longer paper, add each one to the bibliography and download the list when you are done.","answerUpdated":"Updated October 2026","eyebrowTool":"Try it now","eyebrowHow":"How it works","howTitle":"From source to citation in seconds","howDesc":"Add a source, let the AI format it, then copy it or build a full bibliography you can export.","eyebrowStyles":"Citation styles","stylesTitle":"Every major style, formatted correctly","stylesDesc":"Switch between the four styles your instructors actually ask for, with the punctuation and ordering rules handled for you.","styleApaDesc":"The standard for psychology, education, and the social sciences, with author–date in-text citations.","styleMlaDesc":"Common in the humanities and English courses, using author–page references and a Works Cited list.","styleChicagoDesc":"Used in history and the arts, supporting both notes-bibliography and author-date systems.","styleHarvardDesc":"A widely used author–date style across UK and international universities and many sciences.","eyebrowFeatures":"What you get","featuresTitle":"Citations you can actually trust","featuresDesc":"Built for real research workflows, not just a single reference at a time.","feature1Title":"Multiple source types","feature1Desc":"Cite websites, books, and journal articles, with the right fields for each kind of source.","feature2Title":"Instant formatting","feature2Desc":"Get a correctly ordered, punctuated citation in seconds instead of cross-checking style guides.","feature3Title":"Accurate by design","feature3Desc":"The AI follows current style rules so your in-text citations and reference list line up.","feature4Title":"Build a bibliography","feature4Desc":"Add citation after citation to a running reference list as you research a paper.","feature5Title":"Copy or export","feature5Desc":"Copy a single citation to your clipboard or download your whole bibliography as a file.","feature6Title":"Free to use","feature6Desc":"Generate citations without an account, then sign up free to save your bibliographies.","eyebrowWhy":"Why it helps","whyTitle":"Spend your time on the paper, not the punctuation","why1":"Citations are where careful work quietly leaks marks. A misplaced comma, the wrong order of author and date, or an inconsistent reference list can cost points even when the research is strong. An AI citation generator removes that friction so you can focus on the argument.","why2":"Scholarly reads the details of each source, whether it is a website, a book, or a journal article, and formats it to the style you choose. As you collect sources, it builds a clean bibliography you can copy or export straight into your document.","why3":"It is also a fast way to learn the conventions. Seeing your own sources formatted correctly in APA, MLA, Chicago, or Harvard makes the rules concrete, so referencing gets easier with every paper you write.","eyebrowFaq":"FAQ","faqTitle":"Frequently asked questions","faq0Question":"Which citation styles does the generator support?","faq0Answer":"You can generate citations in APA, MLA, Chicago, and Harvard styles. Pick your style before generating and the formatting, ordering, and punctuation are handled for you.","faq1Question":"What sources can I cite?","faq1Answer":"You can cite websites and online articles by URL, books by title and author, and journal articles with volume, issue, and page details. Each source type has the right fields built in.","faq2Question":"Is this citation generator free?","faq2Answer":"Yes. Single citations are free and need no account: choose a style, add your source, and generate right on this page. The only limit is a fair-use cap of 50 citation requests per 15 minutes per connection. Sign up free when you want to keep your sources and notes together in Scholarly.","faq3Question":"Can I build a full bibliography?","faq3Answer":"Yes. Add each citation to a running reference list as you research, remove any you no longer need, and download the whole bibliography as a file when you are ready to paste it into your paper.","faq4Question":"Is this a free citation generator with no sign-up?","faq4Answer":"Yes. You can use this free citation generator with no sign-up and no ads — generate APA, MLA, Chicago, or Harvard citations right on the page. Create a free account only when you want to save bibliographies and reuse them across your research.","faq5Question":"How is an AI citation generator different from a manual one?","faq5Answer":"A manual citation generator just slots whatever you type into a template. Scholarly's AI citation generator reads the details of your source — a website URL, a book, or a journal article — works out the right fields, and applies the current APA, MLA, Chicago, or Harvard rules for ordering, capitalization, and punctuation, so the reference is consistent with the rest of your list.","faq6Question":"How do I cite a website in APA?","faq6Answer":"Choose the Website/URL tab, paste the page's address, select APA Style, and click Generate. Scholarly reads the page's details — author, title, site name, and date — and returns an APA-formatted reference you can copy or add to your bibliography. The same steps work for MLA, Chicago, and Harvard: just switch the style before generating.","faq7Question":"Can it cite PDFs and papers?","faq7Answer":"Yes. For a journal article or paper — including one you have as a PDF — use the Journal Article tab and enter the title, authors, journal name, volume, issue, pages, and year to get a correctly formatted citation. If the paper is published online, you can paste its URL on the Website/URL tab instead and let the AI pull the details.","eyebrowPricing":"Pricing","step1Title":"Step 1: Add Source","step1Desc":"Enter a URL, book details, journal information, or any source you need to cite for your research.","step2Title":"Step 2: AI Formats","step2Desc":"Our AI extracts source information and creates properly formatted citations following academic standards.","step3Title":"Step 3: Copy & Export","step3Desc":"Copy citations to your clipboard or download your bibliography as a text file for your research paper.","tabWebsite":"Website/URL","tabBook":"Book","tabJournal":"Journal Article","statusGeneratingTitle":"Generating Your Citations","statusNotStartedTitle":"Create a Free Citation Instantly — No Sign-Up","statusGeneratingDesc":"We're formatting your citation according to academic standards. This will just take a moment.","statusNotStartedDesc":"Fill in the source information below to generate properly formatted citations.","placeholderUrl":"Enter website URL (e.g., https://example.com/article)","placeholderBookTitle":"Book Title","placeholderBookAuthor":"Author(s)","placeholderBookPublisher":"Publisher","placeholderBookYear":"Year","placeholderBookLocation":"Location (optional)","placeholderArticleTitle":"Article Title","placeholderJournalAuthor":"Author(s)","placeholderJournalName":"Journal Name","placeholderVolume":"Volume","placeholderIssue":"Issue","placeholderPages":"Pages","placeholderYear":"Year","optionApa":"APA Style","optionMla":"MLA Style","optionChicago":"Chicago Style","optionHarvard":"Harvard Style","btnGenerate":"Generate Citation","secureNote":"Your source information is securely processed by Scholarly's AI.","resultTitle":"Your Citation is Ready!","resultSubtitle":"Formatted in {style} style.","btnCopy":"Copy Citation","btnAddBibliography":"Add to Bibliography","citationLabel":"Citation:","bibliographyLabel":"Bibliography ({count} sources):","btnDownloadBibliography":"Download Bibliography","needUnlimited":"Want to keep your sources and notes together in Scholarly?","signUpFree":"Sign up free","errorTitle":"An error occurred while generating your citation.","errorDetails":"Details: {detail}","errorRetryMsg":"Please check your source information and try again.","btnTryAgain":"Try Again","relatedLinksHeading":"More Scholarly study tools","ctaTitle":"Perfect Your Research with Scholarly","ctaSubtitle":"Sign up for free to save your bibliographies, organize research, and access more academic tools.","relatedLink0Title":"AI Study Guide Generator","relatedLink0Description":"Turn your research into a full study guide.","relatedLink1Title":"AI Cheat Sheet Maker","relatedLink1Description":"Quick reference sheet for any subject.","relatedLink2Title":"Research Paper Analyzer","relatedLink2Description":"Extract key findings from papers.","relatedLink3Title":"Lab Report Writer","relatedLink3Description":"Professional lab reports with proper formatting.","relatedLink4Title":"Essay Outline Generator","relatedLink4Description":"Structure your next paper.","relatedLink5Title":"Study Notes Generator","relatedLink5Description":"Organized study notes from any source.","relatedLink6Title":"Research Paper Summarizer","relatedLink6Description":"Summarize any paper before you cite it.","relatedLink7Title":"PDF to Flashcards","relatedLink7Description":"Turn the same source into study cards.","seoKeyword1":"citation generator","seoKeyword2":"apa citation generator","seoKeyword3":"mla citation generator","seoKeyword4":"chicago citation","seoKeyword5":"harvard citation","seoKeyword6":"citation maker","seoKeyword7":"bibliography generator","seoKeyword8":"citation tool","seoKeyword9":"free citation generator","copySuccess":"Citation copied to clipboard!","copyFailure":"Failed to copy citation. Select the citation text and copy it manually."}}