PDFBook vs Mendeley

Tired of Mendeley lockingyour PDFs in Elsevier's cloud?

PDFBook is a privacy-first PDF reader and library manager for Windows, macOS, and Linux, built for researchers who want their papers on their own computer, not on Elsevier's servers. Local-first, offline-first, no 2 GB cloud cap, no annotation lock-in, no telemetry. $89 once for Lifetime, $6.99/month Pro, or free for up to 50 books. Mendeley still wins on BibTeX citations and the Word plugin, and we'll tell you when to keep it alongside.

Try PDFBook freeSee pricing

Why people leave Mendeley

Common frustrations with Mendeley from public reviews, and how PDFBook solves each.

Reference Manager is cloud-only

The current Mendeley Reference Manager is entirely cloud-based: there's no local-storage option. Your library lives on Elsevier's servers, and Elsevier decides when to deprecate it. PDFBook is local-first: your PDFs sit in the folders you chose, and the app just reads them.

2 GB free, then $14.99/month for unlimited

Mendeley's free tier caps cloud storage at 2 GB. To get unlimited storage you need the MAX plan at $14.99/month ($165/year). PDFBook's Free tier is just 50 books, but Pro is $6.99/month and Lifetime is $89 once, with no per-file or storage cap beyond what your disk holds.

Annotations live in Mendeley's database, not your PDFs

Mendeley stores highlights and notes in its own database, not inside the PDF. It can export a PDF with annotations baked in, but the structured highlights/notes themselves don't move to other tools like Zotero, and rendering can differ between PDF viewers, third-party tools like Menotexport grew up around this gap.

Reference Manager dropped the local-storage option

When Elsevier replaced Mendeley Desktop with Reference Manager in 2022, several features were dropped, including the local-storage option, which is still gone today. (Full-text PDF search and duplicate detection were missing for years but Mendeley restored them in 2023 and 2025.) PDFBook is local-first from day one: full-text search inside any open document plus library search by title, author, tag, and path.

Elsevier collects usage telemetry

The Elsevier privacy policy describes collecting IP address, browser type, OS, and clickstream/navigational data, and may share information with affiliates within the Elsevier group and certain RELX companies (per the Elsevier privacy policy). PDFBook's desktop app sends zero usage data, just a once-a-day license check (14-day offline grace).

Elsevier already deprecated Mendeley Desktop once

Mendeley Desktop downloads ended on 1 September 2022; existing installs still work and Elsevier says it will keep receiving security/maintenance fixes, though no new features. Reference Manager is the only path forward, and its direction is set by a publishing conglomerate, not by you. PDFBook is independent indie software you can keep running locally regardless of any vendor roadmap.

Feature comparison

Where Mendeley wins, we say so. Honest comparison beats marketing.

FeatureMendeleyPDFBook
Owner / parent company
Elsevier (RELX group)
Independent indie
Storage model
Cloud-only (Reference Manager)
Local-first. Files stay in your folders
Free tier limit
2 GB cloud storage
50 books, unlimited size per book
Unlimited storage
MAX plan: $14.99/month ($165/year)
Lifetime $89 once, or Pro $6.99/month
Telemetry / data sharing
IP + clickstream + sharing within RELX (per privacy policy)
None on desktop. License check only.
Your notes & tags portability
Stored in Mendeley's DB; doesn't migrate to other tools cleanly
Notes, tags, ratings, and bookmarks in a local JSON file (library.json) you own; PDFs never modified
Full-text PDF search across library
Yes (Advanced Search, added Nov 2025)
In-document full-text search per open PDF; library search by title/author/tag/path
Duplicate detection
Yes (Duplicates smart collection)
No duplicate detection
Offline mode
Available, but cloud-sync is the default
Offline-first by design. Sync optional
Linux desktop
AppImage available
AppImage + .deb
BibTeX / RIS export
Yes: core reference manager feature
Not the target use case
Cite-while-you-write (Word / LibreOffice)
Yes (Mendeley Cite plugin)
Not supported
Social / group libraries
Yes (private groups, recommendations)
Single-user library, no social layer
Reading modes
Standard PDF viewer
Page-flip (book-like) and vertical scroll
Tags / ratings / reading state
Tags only
Folders, tags, ratings, reading state, per-book notes
Price (10 years of use)
MAX: ~$1,650; PRO: ~$1,100; PLUS: ~$550
Lifetime: $89 (one-time)

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Frequently asked questions

Can PDFBook replace Mendeley entirely?+
Not entirely, and we'd rather be honest about that. Mendeley wins on BibTeX/RIS export, the Word/LibreOffice cite-while-you-write plugin, and shared group libraries. If your workflow depends on inserting citations into manuscripts, keep Mendeley (or use Zotero) for that step. PDFBook replaces Mendeley as the place where you actually read and organise your PDFs: local-first, offline, no Elsevier cloud, no 2 GB cap.
Why should I move my PDFs out of Mendeley?+
Three reasons users typically cite: (1) 2 GB free cloud limit forces you onto MAX at $14.99/month for any serious library; (2) annotations and highlights are locked in Mendeley's proprietary database and don't export cleanly to other tools; (3) Elsevier's privacy policy explicitly allows IP/clickstream tracking shared across RELX group companies. If any of those bother you, your PDFs probably shouldn't live in Mendeley's cloud.
How do I migrate from Mendeley to PDFBook?+
Export your PDFs from Mendeley to a regular folder on disk (right-click → Export, or use the Mendeley export tool). Open that folder in PDFBook, and it indexes the PDFs in place without copying or modifying them. Annotations made inside Mendeley won't carry over (this is a Mendeley limitation, not a PDFBook one). Community tools like Menotexport can extract them as a one-shot rescue, then you can re-add them in PDFBook.
Will I lose my Mendeley citations and BibTeX library?+
No. Those stay in Mendeley as long as your account exists. PDFBook doesn't manage citations, so the answer is to keep both: Mendeley (or Zotero) as your citation database, PDFBook as the PDF reader you actually open every day. We assume nothing about your workflow: there's no "PDFBook account" to sign into.
Mendeley already has Reference Manager, so isn't the migration complete?+
Reference Manager replaced Mendeley Desktop for new downloads in September 2022 and dropped the local-storage option, which is still gone today. (Full-text PDF search and duplicate detection were missing for a while but Mendeley restored them, duplicates in 2023, library-wide PDF full-text search in late 2025.) Where PDFBook differs is the storage model: local-first, your files stay in your folders. PDFBook does full-text search inside whichever PDF you have open (highlighted matches across every page) and library search by title, author, tag, and path. It does not do duplicate detection.
Does PDFBook upload my PDFs anywhere?+
No. The desktop app reads PDFs from the folders you point it at and stores everything locally. The only outbound network call is a once-a-day license validation (14-day offline grace) that sends just your license key and a device fingerprint, never PDF contents, file names, paths, or reading history.
What about the Web Reader: is that cloud-based?+
The PDFBook Web Reader runs in your browser, opens local files via the File System Access API, and never uploads them to a server. It's the same privacy posture as the desktop app, just delivered as a web page.
Can I use PDFBook on Linux?+
Yes. PDFBook ships an AppImage and a .deb package. Same license unlocks up to three devices.
Will my reading state, notes, and tags survive a reinstall?+
Yes. PDFBook stores library metadata, reading state, notes, and tags in a local JSON file (library.json) under your user data directory. You can back it up like any file, and unlike Mendeley, your notes and tags sit in plain text you can read or grep yourself.
Is there a 14-day refund if PDFBook doesn't fit my workflow?+
Yes. Both Pro and Lifetime purchases get a no-questions-asked 14-day refund. Email support@pdfbook.app and we process within 5 business days.
Use Cases·Tools·Pricing

Mendeley is a trademark of Elsevier B.V.. This comparison page is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Elsevier B.V.. Claims about Mendeley pricing and behaviour are sourced from the vendor's pricing and legal pages and from public community discussions; we've linked sources where applicable.