Citation Generator — APA, MLA & Chicago
Generate accurate APA, MLA, and Chicago citations for websites, books, and journals. Free, no sign-up.
Formatted Citation
How to Generate Citations
Formatting citations correctly is one of the easiest ways to lose points on a paper, and manual formatting almost always has typos. This generator follows the latest official style guides for APA, MLA, and Chicago to produce accurate, ready-to-use citations in one click.
- Pick the citation style you need: APA, MLA, or Chicago (Notes & Bibliography).
- Select the type of source you are citing: website, book, or journal article.
- Fill in the required fields for that source: author names, title, year, URL, etc. All fields match the official style guide requirements.
- Click to copy the formatted citation directly to your clipboard. It is already formatted with hanging indents as required.
- Paste the citation directly into your references or works cited page — no further formatting needed.
How Citation Rules Are Implemented
The generator follows the 7th edition of APA, 9th edition of MLA, and 17th edition of Chicago (Notes & Bibliography) — the versions currently required by most North American universities. All field order, punctuation, capitalization, and formatting rules are strictly followed.
Hanging indents are already included in the copied text, so when you paste it into a word processor, it will match the required formatting automatically. You do not need to adjust indentation manually.
FAQ
Which versions of the style guides do you use?
APA 7th edition (2020), MLA 9th edition (2021), and Chicago 17th edition (Notes & Bibliography, 2017) — these are the versions required by 99% of North American universities for student papers.
Do I have to create an account?
No. The citation generator is completely free, no sign-up required, and all your inputs never leave your browser.
Does it handle multiple authors?
Yes. For sources with up to 20 authors, the generator automatically follows the et al. rules for each style. For APA, 3+ authors become et al. after the first citation; for MLA, 3+ authors become et al. in all citations.
Does it include in-text citations?
The current version generates full reference list citations. In-text citation generation will be added in a future update based on user feedback.
Can I cite a social media post or other non-standard source?
Currently only websites, books, and journal articles are supported. If you need support for other source types (social media, videos, interviews, etc.), let us know and we will add them.