Online Citation Checker
Check whether citations are real before you submit
Citely verifies references by comparing DOI, title, author, year, journal, and venue metadata against academic records. Use it to catch fake citations, AI-generated references, and bibliography entries that look right but do not match a real source.
DOI and identifier resolution
Title, author, and year matching
Academic database evidence
Reference verification workspace
Direct answer
What an online citation checker does
An online citation checker reviews whether references point to real academic sources and whether the citation metadata matches trusted records. Citely checks identifiers such as DOI, PMID, and arXiv ID, then compares title, author, year, journal, venue, and database evidence. This helps students, researchers, and editors catch fake citations, AI-generated references, and mismatched bibliography entries before a paper is submitted. It is different from a citation generator because the goal is verification, not formatting. The useful question is not whether a reference looks polished, but whether the source exists and the details match.
Check whether the source exists.
Compare metadata across records.
Flag references that need review.
How Citely checks a citation
The workflow is built for reference lists, AI-assisted drafts, and papers that need a final integrity pass before submission.
Paste references or draft text
Add a bibliography, inline citations, or AI-generated reference list. Citely extracts the references that need verification.
Resolve identifiers
Citely checks DOI, PMID, arXiv ID, and publisher URLs where available before comparing broader metadata.
Compare academic metadata
Title, author, year, journal, venue, and publisher fields are compared against structured academic records.
Review the result
References can be verified, partially matched, suspicious, or not found, so you know which citations need human review.
Use it when citation risk is high
The strongest use case is not formatting. It is catching references that could damage academic trust.
A ChatGPT or Claude draft produced a bibliography.
A reference list includes DOI strings that have not been checked.
A student paper cites papers that are hard to find.
A manuscript needs a final reference integrity review.
A source appears in Google Scholar, but the title or authors do not match.
What the checker reviews
| Evidence | What Citely checks | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Identifier | DOI, PMID, arXiv ID, publisher URL | A non-resolving identifier is a strong fake-citation signal. |
| Metadata | Title, authors, year, journal, venue | Real fields can be combined into a fake reference. |
| Database evidence | CrossRef, PubMed, arXiv, OpenAlex, Scholar visibility | Verification should compare multiple evidence layers. |
Frequently asked questions
What is an online citation checker?
An online citation checker verifies whether references point to real academic sources and whether the citation metadata matches academic records. Citely checks DOI, title, author, year, journal, venue, and database evidence so users can catch fabricated or mismatched references before submission.
Can Citely check AI-generated citations?
Yes. Citely is designed for references produced by ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, and other AI writing tools. It verifies citations independently against academic data sources instead of asking the model that generated the citation to judge itself.
Is this different from a citation generator?
Yes. A citation generator formats sources you already trust. Citely checks whether a citation is real, whether the metadata agrees across academic records, and whether suspicious references may be fabricated or partially mismatched.
Which citation details does Citely verify?
Citely checks identifiers and metadata such as DOI, PMID, arXiv ID, title, authors, publication year, journal or venue, and publisher records where available. Google Scholar visibility can help, but it is not treated as the only source of truth.
Is Citely a free online citation checker?
This public page is free to read and explains how online citation checking works. Running full verification in the Citely workspace may require sign-in, account credits, or a paid plan depending on usage.
Do I need to sign in to use the full checker?
The public page explains the workflow and routes you to the Citely citation checker workspace. Sign-in may be required to run full verification, save history, and use account credits.
Check your references before they become a problem
Use Citely to verify citation metadata, then review whether each source truly supports the claim you cite it for.