How to Convert Citations Between Styles Instantly

Switching citation styles mid-project is painful. Maybe you started in APA but your professor wants MLA. Maybe you're submitting to a journal that uses Vancouver. Instead of reformatting every reference by hand, you can convert them instantly.

Why You Might Need to Convert

• Different courses, different styles. Your psychology class uses APA, your English class uses MLA.
• Journal submission requirements. Each journal has its own preferred style.
• Advisor feedback. Your thesis committee changed their style preference.
• Collaborative papers. Co-authors used different styles in their sections.

How to Convert a Single Citation

1. Go to CiteTools.io
2. Paste your citation into the input field. You can paste:
   • A formatted citation (any style)
   • A DOI (e.g., 10.1038/nature12373)
   • A URL to a journal article
   • A BibTeX entry
3. Select your target style from the dropdown (APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, IEEE, or Vancouver)
4. Copy the result -- the formatted citation appears instantly in the output panel

That's it. The converter detects the input format automatically and handles the conversion.

How to Convert Multiple Citations at Once

CiteTools supports batch conversion for up to 50 citations at a time:

1. Paste all your citations into the input field
2. Separate each citation with a blank line (double line break)
3. CiteTools automatically detects batch mode
4. All citations convert to your selected style simultaneously
5. Copy all results at once

This is especially useful when you're reformatting an entire reference list for a new style.

Supported Input Formats

CiteTools can convert from many input types:

• Formatted citations -- Paste an existing APA, MLA, or Chicago citation
• DOIs -- Paste just the DOI number or full DOI URL. Learn more about DOIs.
• URLs -- Paste a link to a journal article or webpage
• BibTeX -- Paste @article{...} entries directly
• ISBNs -- Paste a book's ISBN for automatic lookup
• PubMed IDs -- Paste a PMID for medical/scientific articles

Supported Output Styles

Choose from six citation styles:

• APA 7th Edition -- Social sciences, education, nursing
• MLA 9th Edition -- Humanities, literature, languages
• Chicago 17th -- History, arts, publishing
• Harvard -- UK and Australian universities
• IEEE -- Engineering, computer science
• Vancouver -- Medicine, biomedical sciences

Not sure which style you need? See our style comparison guide.

Tips for Best Results

• Use DOIs when possible. DOI-based conversions are the most accurate because all metadata is looked up automatically.
• One citation per block. In batch mode, make sure each citation is separated by a blank line.
• Check the output. Automated conversion is highly accurate but it's always worth a quick review, especially for unusual source types.
• Include all fields in your input. The more information in the original citation, the more complete the converted output.

If you're preparing a thesis, use our bibliography checklist to verify everything before submission.

Try It with CiteTools

Ready to convert? Paste your citations into CiteTools.io and switch between APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, IEEE, and Vancouver instantly. No sign-up, no limits, no ads.