Check every reference before your reviewer does.
Paste a bibliography or drop a .bib, .bbl or PDF. RefSure looks up every entry in Crossref, arXiv and Semantic Scholar, then shows which references are real, which have the wrong details, and which can't be found.
- Searches 3 open scholarly databases for every reference
- Your PDF is read in your browser and never uploaded
- Free for 20 references a day, no account needed
How it works
Add your references
Paste them in any common style, or drop your .bib, LaTeX .bbl or the paper's PDF. RefSure finds the reference section for you.
Every entry gets looked up
Each reference is matched by DOI, arXiv ID and title against Crossref, arXiv and Semantic Scholar. Most lists finish in under a minute.
Fix what's flagged
See what's verified, what has the wrong year, author or DOI, and what can't be found. Copy corrected BibTeX built from the official record.
Check your references
One reference per line or paragraph, in any style. BibTeX works too.
What RefSure catches
Reviewers and examiners often check the reference list first. These are the problems they find.
References that don't exist
Citations that match nothing in any database, often produced by AI chat tools. RefSure flags them so you can check them by hand.
The wrong year
A preprint year cited for the published version, or a simple typo. You see the year on record next to yours.
A DOI that points to another paper
Copy-paste slips are common. RefSure shows which paper the DOI really belongs to, and the correct DOI.
The wrong first author
Swapped or misspelled author names are flagged with the name on record.
Preprints, handled properly
arXiv papers are matched too, so a preprint isn't reported as missing just because it has no journal DOI.
Clean BibTeX
For every reference we find, copy a corrected BibTeX entry built from the official record. Pro downloads the whole fixed .bib at once.
Made for the people who read reference lists
Before you submit
Graduate students and researchers run their thesis or paper through RefSure before it reaches a supervisor, examiner or journal.
When you mark
Teachers and TAs check a student's bibliography in a minute. RefSure shows the evidence; you make the call.
When you review
Reviewers and editors spot invented or careless citations quickly, without opening every reference.
Pricing
Start free. Upgrade when you check more than 20 references a day.
Free
For a quick check of a short reference list.
- 20 references every day
- Crossref, arXiv and Semantic Scholar lookups
- Copy corrected BibTeX one entry at a time
- No account or card needed
Pro yearly
For a thesis, a paper season or a teaching year.
- Everything in Free
- Unlimited references and checks
- Download the whole corrected .bib in one click
- Copy a full report to share with co-authors or students
- Renews every year until you cancel
Pro lifetime
Pay once and keep Pro for good.
- Everything in Pro yearly
- Unlimited references, corrected .bib downloads and full reports
- No renewals, ever
- All future features and updates
- Cheaper than yearly if you use RefSure for 4 years or more
Prices are in US dollars. Checkout, payment and tax are handled by Polar, our merchant of record, so your card details never reach us. All sales are final: we don't offer refunds, except where the law requires one. The yearly plan renews automatically each year until you cancel, and you keep Pro until the end of the year you paid for. Your license key appears as soon as you've paid and is also emailed to you.
Questions
Is my paper uploaded anywhere?
No. PDFs and files are read inside your browser. Only the text of each reference is sent to our lookup service, which searches public scholarly databases and doesn't keep it.
What does “Not found” mean?
We couldn't find the work in Crossref, arXiv or Semantic Scholar. That often means the reference was invented, but it can also be a book, thesis, report, website or a very new paper, so please check those by hand. RefSure never decides that a reference is fake.
What does “Details differ” mean?
We found the work, but something in your reference doesn't match the record: usually the year, the first author or the DOI. The record's details are shown so you can fix it.
Which citation styles work?
APA, MLA, Chicago, IEEE, Harvard, Vancouver, numbered lists, BibTeX and LaTeX .bbl files. Put each reference on its own line or separate them with a blank line.
How do I get my license key?
It appears on screen as soon as you've paid, and Pro unlocks automatically on that browser. It's also emailed to you. To use Pro on another browser, choose “Enter license key” and paste it.
How do I cancel the yearly plan?
Use the link in your purchase email to open Polar's customer portal and cancel there. You keep Pro until the end of the year you paid for.
Can I get a refund?
All sales are final, so we don't offer refunds, except where the law requires one. Try the free plan first to make sure RefSure works for your references.
How accurate is it?
Matching is automatic and checks titles, years, authors and DOIs against official records. It catches most problems, but no automatic check is perfect, so review flagged references yourself before acting on them.