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A free converter for researchers & students

RIS to BibTeX, CSV & XLSX converter

Convert RIS references into BibTeX, CSV, and/or Excel for reference managers, screening spreadsheets, and literature reviews.

Convert files See how it works
  1. 1. Upload one or more RIS files
  2. 2. Choose BibTeX, CSV, and/or Excel
  3. 3. Download for Zotero, Excel, EndNote etc.

Upload your RIS files

Choose BibTeX, CSV, and/or Excel output. We email you a ZIP when conversion finishes.

  • Zotero, Scopus, EndNote, Mendeley, and other RIS files accepted
  • BibTeX for LaTeX and reference managers
  • CSV and Excel for screening spreadsheets
  • Up to 20,000 citations / 50MB total filesize.
  • This is a FREE service.
Required. We'll let you know once your files are ready. Comma separate multiple addresses.

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RIS from Zotero, Scopus, EndNote, Mendeley, and other reference managers or databases. EndNote "RefMan (RIS) Export" .txt files are accepted without renaming. Up to 20,000 citations / 50MB total filesize.
Optional source labels help identify citations in your report. Remove any file before submitting.
Export formats
Choose one or more file types to generate.
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What you get

Your chosen export formats in one ZIP download, plus a shareable conversion report.

Multiple RIS files

Upload several RIS files at once. Records are merged into each export you select.

BibTeX (.bib)

Standard @article entries with title, author, journal, year, DOI, and abstract fields.

CSV (.csv)

Flat spreadsheet columns for title, authors, year, journal, DOI, abstract, and more.

Excel (.xlsx)

Same citation columns as CSV, ready to open in Excel or Google Sheets.

Shareable report

Every job has a unique public URL with counts by file and publication year.

Smile

You've just saved hours reformatting exports by hand.

As used by students at ...

  • Charles Sturt University
  • Indira Gandhi National Open University
  • KAIST
  • KU Leuven
  • Monash University
  • National University of Singapore
  • North-West University
  • Universitas Padjadjaran
  • Queen's University
  • The Open University
  • The University of Western Australia
  • Universidad Argentina de la Empresa
  • Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP)
  • University of London
  • University of Reading
  • University of Tokyo
  • Université Paris Cité
  • Utrecht University
  • Vietnam National University, Hanoi
  • Yale University

How it works

From RIS export to downloadable files in four steps.

  1. 1
    Export RIS from your tools
    Zotero, Scopus, EndNote, Mendeley, or another database / manager.
  2. 2
    Choose export formats
    Select BibTeX, CSV, Excel, or any combination.
  3. 3
    Upload and wait
    We email you when your files are ready.
  4. 4
    Download & use
    Import into Zotero, Excel, LaTeX, or your screening workflow.
Convert files free

FAQ

Quick answers about the converter.

What does this converter do?

This RIS file converter is a free, browser-based tool to convert RIS files from Zotero, Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, EndNote, Mendeley, or any other RIS files, into BibTeX, CSV, or Excel (.xlsx) formats. It allows you to merge multiple RIS files.

How do I open an RIS file in Excel?

RIS files cannot be opened directly in Microsoft Excel. It is necessary to convert the RIS file into an Excel file. This free file converter converts RIS files into an Excel file. The fields and data from your RIS file will be available in an Excel file; Authors, Publication Date, Citations, Keywords and other fields.

Which export formats can I choose?

Select one or more of BibTeX, CSV, and Excel before you upload. All selected formats are included in the ZIP download emailed to you.

Which files can I upload?

RIS (.ris) from Zotero, Scopus, EndNote, Mendeley, and other reference managers or databases. EndNote RefMan (RIS) Export files saved as .txt are accepted without renaming.

Is this tool free?

Yes. Researcher's Friend is free to use. You can convert up to 20,000 citations per job (50 MB combined upload size limit).

Who are you?

Gary Eckstein (Ph.D., M.B.A.) is an Australian academic. See more at https://www.linkedin.com/in/eckstein/

How do I cite this app?

Please cite as: Eckstein, Gary. 'Researchers Friend'. Making Literature Selection More Accurate, 2026, https://researchersfriend.org. The citation RIS file for EndNote, Mendeley, Zotero etc. is available at https://shared-files-sydney.s3.dualstack.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/ReserachersFriend.ris.