Free Citation Generator
Generate accurate citations in APA, MLA, Chicago and Harvard style. Cite a website, book, journal article, video, report or PDF, then copy the reference into your bibliography – free, with no Winston AI account required.

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Generate citations in APA, MLA, Chicago and Harvard
Enter a URL, DOI, title, author or source details and create a properly formatted citation for your reference list. Built for students who need fast, simple and reliable citations.
Cite any source
Create citations for webpages, books, journal articles, videos, reports, PDFs and online articles – the sources students use most often.
Learn moreAPA citation generator
Format APA references for essays, psychology papers, education assignments, business reports, nursing research and social science projects.
Learn moreBuild your bibliography
Copy each citation into your bibliography, references page or works cited list and keep your formatting consistent from start to finish.
Learn moreHow to use the free citation generator
Citing sources should not slow down your paper. Add the source information you have, choose your style and generate a citation you can copy in seconds.
Choose a citation style
Select APA, MLA, Chicago or Harvard. If your instructor asks for APA, use the APA citation generator to create an author-date reference for your bibliography.
Search or enter your source
- Add a URL, DOI, ISBN, title, author, publication year, journal name, publisher or website. You can cite webpages, books, journal articles, reports and videos.
- If some information is missing, fill in what you know and review the citation before you submit your work.
Copy the citation
- Generate a formatted citation and paste it into your references page, bibliography or works cited list.
- Double-check capitalization, punctuation, italics, dates, DOI links and URLs against your assignment requirements.
- Repeat the process for each source until your bibliography is complete.
- When your paper is finished, you can also use Winston AI’s writing tools to check originality and polish the final draft.
Everything you need to cite sources
APA citation generator
Create APA citations for websites, books, journal articles, videos and reports. APA is one of the most common styles for academic writing.
Free citation generator
Generate citations for free without creating an account. No trial, no credit card and no extra steps just to format a reference.
APA, MLA, Chicago and Harvard
Switch between popular citation styles so your references match your course, publication or school requirements.
Websites, books, articles and more
Cite the sources students actually use: webpages, books, ebooks, academic journals, PDFs, videos, news articles and reports.
In-text citations and reference lists
Use citations to support both in-text references and your final bibliography, so readers can trace every quote, paraphrase and idea.
Review before you submit
Citation generators save time, but you should always review the final result for missing authors, dates, page numbers, DOIs and formatting rules.
Cite every source type in one place
Create references for the sources you use every day: websites, books, academic journals, reports, PDFs, videos and online articles.
Website citations
Cite webpages, online articles, blog posts, reports and PDFs with the source details you have.
APA citations
Create accurate APA citations for a wide range of sources, including websites, books, journal articles, videos, and reports.
Book citations
Format book and ebook references with author, title, year, publisher and edition details.
Journal citations
Create journal article citations with volume, issue, page range, DOI and publication information.
Create a clean bibliography faster
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Start by saving the source details as soon as you find a useful webpage, article or book.
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Generate each citation in the same style so your bibliography stays consistent.
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Check author names, publication dates, titles, page ranges, DOI links and URLs before submitting.
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Copy the final citations into your reference list, bibliography or works cited page.
Citation generator FAQs
Yes. Winston AI’s citation generator is free to use and does not require an account, credit card or trial. You can generate APA, MLA, Chicago and Harvard citations directly on the page.
Yes. Choose APA and enter your source details to create an APA-style reference. APA is commonly used in education, psychology, business, nursing and the social sciences.
You can cite websites, books, ebooks, journal articles, videos, reports, PDFs, news articles and other common academic sources. Add the author, date, title, publisher, URL or DOI when available.
No. The citation generator is designed to be used without creating a Winston AI account. You can generate and copy citations without logging in.
No citation generator can replace your instructor’s exact requirements. Use it to format citations quickly, then double-check capitalization, punctuation, dates, DOI details and any school-specific rules.
Citations show where your ideas came from, help readers verify your claims and give credit to original authors. Proper citations also reduce the risk of accidental plagiarism.
Yes. AI writing tools can invent sources or create references that look real but do not exist. Always verify that each source is real and cite the original material you actually used.