Academic reference verification

Verify references before submission.

RefVerify checks DOI metadata, title matches, author clues, publication years, and source confidence so researchers, students, editors, and academic teams can fix weak references before they become submission problems.

Start free See the workflow

Crossref readyOpenAlex readyDataCite readySemantic Scholar ready

Quick DIY check

Try one reference

Paste a DOI or full citation to preview metadata confidence before using the full batch workflow.

Why it matters

Reference lists are small details with big consequences.

Missing DOIs, invented titles, incorrect years, and mismatched journal metadata slow down reviews and make academic work look careless. RefVerify turns bibliography checking into a clear review process instead of a manual guessing game.

Catch metadata mismatches

Compare pasted references with trusted scholarly metadata and highlight differences in title, DOI, year, authors, venue, and source confidence.

Review before you trust

Strong matches can be approved quickly, while weak or unverified references stay visible for human judgment and manual correction.

Export clean evidence

Create verification reports and structured exports for assignments, manuscripts, editor notes, or internal academic integrity workflows.

How it works

From pasted bibliography to a reviewed report

RefVerify keeps the user flow simple: paste, preview, verify, review, and export. The app does not write citations for you or fabricate missing sources; it helps you check whether references can be supported by real metadata.

Smart splitting for numbered lists, bullets, wrapped lines, and DOI URLs
Confidence scoring with clear source and mismatch explanations
Manual correction, approval, retry, history, projects, and exports

01Paste or upload

Prepare a single citation or full bibliography.

02Preview splitting

Edit, merge, split, or remove references before quota is used.

03Verify metadata

Check trusted sources and calculate confidence signals.

04Approve and export

Save reviewed results in formats supported by your plan.

Use cases

Built for real academic workflows

Students and thesis writers

Check references before final submission and identify incomplete DOI information, weak citations, or likely metadata mistakes.

For students

Researchers and authors

Review manuscripts, literature reviews, and grant references before journal upload or supervisor review.

For researchers

Editors and journal teams

Triage reference quality, find likely DOI matches, and export review notes for authors or editorial workflows.

For editors

Universities and libraries

Support responsible citation checking without turning the tool into an essay-writing or source-fabrication service.

For universities

Core tools

Choose the checker that fits the job

Start with a quick DOI lookup, inspect one reference, or move into the full batch verifier for larger bibliographies.

DOI Checker Find DOI Single Reference Checker Batch Verifier AI Citation Checker Unverified Detector

Plans

Start free, upgrade when batches grow

Cards show the essentials. The pricing page includes a full comparison table for limits, projects, teams, and exports.

Free

USD 0/mo

50 monthly references
10 refs per batch

Choose plan

Starter

USD 9/mo

250 monthly references
50 refs per batch

Choose plan

Pro

USD 29/mo

2000 monthly references
300 refs per batch

Choose plan

Team

USD 99/mo

10000 monthly references
1000 refs per batch

Choose plan

Institution

For universities, journals, and research organizations.

Contact sales

Compare all plan details

Responsible checking

Designed to support academic integrity

Not a citation fabricator

The app verifies and corrects metadata. It should not be used to invent sources, bypass academic rules, or mislead reviewers.

Human review remains visible

Weak matches, unavailable sources, and possible conflicts are shown as review items rather than hidden behind a false “perfect” score.

Simple self-hosting path

The package is plain PHP and MySQL with no Docker, Composer, or Node build requirement, so teams can run it in familiar hosting environments.

FAQ

Common questions

Does RefVerify prove a citation is fake?

No. It checks trusted metadata sources and flags references that are unverified or need review. Human judgment remains important.

Can I use it for AI-generated references?

Yes, responsibly. Use it to check whether AI-created citations are real and to correct metadata, not to fabricate sources.

Can I self-host it?

Yes. This package is plain PHP and MySQL with no Docker, no Composer, and no Node build step.