Free citation generator
Paste a link, ISBN or DOI and get a correct APA, MLA, Chicago or Harvard citation in seconds, ready to copy into your paper. No account, no ads.
Your citation types itself here as you fill in the form — or auto-fill it above.
Formatting runs in your browser. Auto-fill uses Crossref (DOI), Open Library and Google Books (ISBN) and the page’s own metadata (URL). Always check against the source.
Your card drawer
0 / 50Citations you save are filed here — the last 50, kept only in this browser. Nothing is uploaded.
What every citation is made of
Every style asks the same five questions about a source — they only disagree on the order and the punctuation. Tap a part below and watch where it lands in each style.
Date answers: When was it published?
APA
Watson, J. D., & Crick, F. H. C. (1953). Molecular structure of nucleic acids: A structure for deoxyribose nucleic acid. Nature, 171(4356), 737–738. https://doi.org/10.1038/171737a0
MLA
Watson, James D., and Francis H. C. Crick. “Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid.” Nature, vol. 171, no. 4356, 25 Apr. 1953, pp. 737–38, https://doi.org/10.1038/171737a0.
Chicago
Watson, James D., and Francis H. C. Crick. “Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid.” Nature 171, no. 4356 (April 25, 1953): 737–38. https://doi.org/10.1038/171737a0.
Harvard
Watson, J.D. and Crick, F.H.C. (1953) ‘Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid’, Nature, 171(4356), pp. 737–738. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/171737a0.
This is the biggest structural difference. APA and Harvard put the year right after the authors, because in-text citations are (Author, year). MLA and Chicago tuck the date near the end — their in-text citations point to pages, not years.
Seeing the parts move is usually the moment the rules stop feeling arbitrary. On ahaboo, you can do exactly that: zoom into a leaf to see photosynthesis, or move the Moon to reveal its phases.
How to cite a source in three steps
- Pick your style. Your assignment brief or syllabus names it. Psychology, education and nursing usually use APA; English and languages use MLA; history uses Chicago; many UK and Australian courses use Harvard.
- Paste what you have. A web address, the ISBN from the back of a book, or the DOI printed on a journal article. CiteFast fills in the author, date, title and publisher.
- Check, copy, save. Compare the fields with your source, then copy — italics are kept when you paste into Word or Google Docs. Save it to the card drawer and copy your whole reference list, alphabetised, at the end.
Which style should I use?
| Style | Typical subjects | In the text |
|---|---|---|
| APA 7 | Psychology, education, nursing, social sciences, business | (Watson & Crick, 1953) |
| MLA 9 | English, literature, languages, arts, humanities | (Watson and Crick 737) |
| Chicago 18 | History, art history, theology, some humanities | Footnote¹ |
| Harvard | UK, Australian and South African universities, many subjects | (Watson and Crick, 1953) |
Questions students ask
Is CiteFast really free, with no signup?
Yes. Every feature — the four styles, URL/ISBN/DOI auto-fill, the citation converter and the saved card drawer — works without an account, and there is no paywall or limit on copying.
Which citation styles are supported?
APA 7th edition, MLA 9th edition, Chicago 18th edition (both notes-bibliography and author-date) and Harvard in the Cite Them Right format that most UK and Australian universities use.
How accurate is auto-fill?
DOIs come from Crossref, the registry publishers deposit their metadata with, so they are usually complete. ISBNs come from Open Library and Google Books. Web pages vary: many hide the author or date, so always compare the filled-in fields with the page.
Where are my saved citations stored?
Only in your browser’s local storage, on this device. We never receive them. Clearing your browser data, or pressing “Clear all” in the drawer, deletes them.
Can I paste a citation from another generator and change the style?
Yes. Paste the whole citation into the auto-fill box (or use the citation converter). An AI model reads it into fields, then CiteFast formats it with the same deterministic rules as everything else.
Why does APA use sentence case for titles?
APA 7 capitalises only the first word, the first word after a colon and proper nouns in article and book titles in the reference list. MLA and Chicago use title case. CiteFast converts automatically; tick “Keep my capitalisation” if a title has unusual capitals you want to preserve.