Decision
Windows-first reference and knowledge manager, plus Citavi Web
- Choose it when
- Students whose university pays for a campus licence, with an end date they have checked
- Windows users collecting quotations, comments and tasks alongside references for a thesis
- Skip it when
- You need the full desktop feature set on macOS or Linux without running Windows
- Your campus access is about to end and you need a reference library without a new licence bill
- Cost
- Alfasoft (German reseller): Student Windows + Web €85/year excluding VAT (€101.15 including 19% German VAT; 1 GB), checked 13 Oct 2026.
- Privacy
- Citavi belongs to US-based Lumivero.
What these labels mean
- Editorial fit
- 0–100 desk score for research-workflow fit. Not stars, not a benchmark.
- Evidence level
- How close the desk got: self-run, hands-on, synthesized, or vendor claim.
- Dossier depth
- Flagship, Solid, Lightweight, and Draft describe how finished the page is — not which tool is best.
- Verification date
- When pricing or privacy was last opened at the source. Not a re-score of the whole dossier.
- Benchmark status
- Pending means no relevant first-party test is published yet. It is not a negative score.
Open the glossary · Read the methodology
Often, through your university: Citavi says many universities and research institutions offer free access through a site licence. Check your library or sign in with your university email first. Without campus access, German reseller Alfasoft listed the Student Desktop and Web bundle at €85 a year excluding VAT (€101.15 including German VAT), checked 13 October 2026.
Role: Windows-first reference and knowledge manager, plus Citavi WebCategory: Reference managerSynthesized
Citavi at a glance, with the date each field was checked.| Field | Value |
|---|
| Editorial fit | 61 out of 100 |
|---|
| Dossier status | Lightweight |
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| Set | Reference manager |
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| Role in a workflow | Windows-first reference and knowledge manager, plus Citavi Web |
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| Pricing | Alfasoft (German reseller): Student Windows + Web €85/year excluding VAT (€101.15 including 19% German VAT; 1 GB), checked 13 Oct 2026. Other offers recorded 12 Oct 2026: Academic Web €140/year (5 GB); Academic Windows + Web €185/year (5 GB); Citavi 7 Academic Windows perpetual €300 (5 GB for two years); Commercial Web €215/year; Commercial Windows + Web €290/year; Commercial Windows perpetual €480. Renewal offers are separate. Campus access costs students €0 while eligible at a participating university, for example Augsburg while enrolled. Lumivero offers a trial without a credit card; current free-version limits and trial duration are not verified. Official regional core-licence quotes must be checked separately; no CHF core price is verified. |
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| Training on your data | Lumivero AI Terms 1.3 says customer data and inputs will not train or improve models in a form that retains or is derived from identifiable customer information. This is a qualified restriction, not a blanket promise that no input ever trains a model. Terms 1.6 allows processing to provide, secure and improve AI services within that restriction; separately selected third-party AI providers follow your agreement and settings with them. The University of Augsburg warns that AI training cannot be ruled out, which is its institutional assessment, not proof of actual training. Citavi-specific provider details and non-identifiable training use remain unverified. Source: Lumivero AI Terms, checked 12 Oct 2026 (linked in Sources). |
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| Last verified | 2026-10-13 |
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Public facts · vendor & repo
List prices and pay-as-you-go entry points we can cite without running our own bench. Each tile links to a source when possible.
Limits & product surface
Non-price vendor claims — multipliers, caps, and API scope. Detailed matrices live in subscription and SDK sections below.
- Word integration
- Desktop Word Add-In requires Windows Word; Web uses Citavi Assistant on Windows or Mac.Lumivero Mac guidance ↗
- Storage
- Local SQLite files, Azure cloud projects or an institutional SQL DBServer.Technical manual ↗
- AI training
- AI Terms 1.3 restrict identifiable-data training; no blanket no-training claim. Citavi-specific providers and regions remain unverified.Lumivero AI Terms ↗
- Trial and free version
- Vendor confirms a trial without a credit card. Duration and current free-tier limits are not verified.Lumivero product FAQ ↗
How it works · agent loop
The public positioning for this product — the loop we score against on VerdictPal.
01Check the campus contract first
Look up your library's current licence and its end date. UZH documents campus setup; Bonn and Augsburg publish their own terms. Do not assume another university's rules apply to you.
Choose desktop or Web before importing
On Windows, choose local or cloud project storage. On Mac, check Web feature gaps before building your outline around knowledge items; desktop Word integration needs a Windows environment.
Keep source checking separate from AI
Check imported reference metadata against the paper, then organise quotations and comments. Read the AI terms and your institution's rules before sending a PDF or passage for summarisation.
Back up before the licence ends
Save a local copy before campus access expires. If moving to Zotero, follow HS RheinMain's export guidance and check knowledge-item links and Word citations separately.