Word & Character Counter
Words, characters, sentences and reading time, live as you type.
Text & Writing
Citation Generator
APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago 17 and IEEE from one form.
What it does. A citation has the same parts in every style — author, date, title, container, publisher, locator — arranged differently. This builds all four major styles from one set of fields, so switching style is a dropdown rather than retyping. It formats what you enter; it cannot look up a source you have not described.
Runs in your browserNothing uploadsNo signupWorks offline
How to use Citation Generator
- Pick the source type and the citation style.
- Fill in what you have. Blank fields are omitted rather than left as gaps.
- Copy the reference, and the in-text citation beside it.
The four styles, and who uses them
| Style | Edition | Used by | In-text looks like |
|---|---|---|---|
| APA | 7th, 2019 | Psychology, education, sciences | (Kaur, 2024) |
| MLA | 9th, 2021 | Humanities, literature | (Kaur 47) |
| Chicago | 17th, 2017 | History, some humanities | Footnote, or (Kaur 2024, 47) |
| IEEE | 2023 update | Engineering, computer science | [1] |
The most consequential difference is what the in-text marker carries. APA leads with the year because recency matters in the sciences; MLA leads with the page because the argument is about a specific passage; IEEE uses a bare number because the reference list is ordered by first appearance.
What changed in the current editions
- APA 7 lists up to 20 authors before using an ellipsis, up from 7.
- APA 7 dropped "Retrieved from" before URLs, and dropped the publisher location entirely.
- MLA 9 formalised the "containers" model — a journal inside a database is two containers, and both are named.
- MLA 9 no longer requires the format label. "PDF file" was MLA 7 and is now omitted.
- DOIs are formatted as URLs in APA 7 — https://doi.org/10.xxxx, not "doi:10.xxxx".
A great deal of citation advice online still describes the previous editions. If a generator produces "Retrieved from" or a publisher city in APA, it is building APA 6.
What no generator can do for you
It cannot tell whether the source is any good, and it cannot check that you have described it correctly. Garbage in, immaculately formatted garbage out.
It also cannot decide when a citation is needed. That judgement — whether an idea is yours, common knowledge, or someone else’s — is the part that actually matters, and no tool substitutes for it.
Always check the output against your institution’s guide. Departments frequently impose local variations, and the marker follows the department rather than the style manual.
Frequently asked questions
Which citation style should I use?
Whichever your department specifies — it is a compliance question, not a preference. APA for psychology, education and the sciences; MLA for humanities and literature; Chicago for history; IEEE for engineering and computer science.
Does APA 7 still use "Retrieved from"?
No. APA 7 dropped it before URLs, and also dropped the publisher location. If a generator still produces either, it is formatting APA 6.
Do I need to write "PDF file" in an MLA citation?
No. That was MLA 7th edition. MLA 9 omits the format label — you cite the source for what it is, not for the file type you happened to read.
How many authors before "et al."?
APA 7 lists up to 20 in the reference list, and uses et al. in text from three authors. MLA 9 uses et al. from three. IEEE lists up to six. Chicago lists up to ten in the bibliography.
Is my reference data sent anywhere?
No. Formatting happens in your browser. There is no lookup service behind it, which is also why it can only format what you type rather than fetch a source by DOI.