VOSviewer

About

VOSviewer is ranked #17 of 28 in literature review software on Inferse. It runs on Linux, macOS, Web, Windows. There is a free plan.

Compared on literature review software

Free plan

Yesvosviewer.com

Discovery tools

searchvosviewer.com

Facts

Purpose

VOSviewer constructs and visualizes bibliometric networks and can visualize co-occurrence networks of terms extracted from scientific literature.vosviewer.com · 8 Oct 2026

Network types

It supports networks based on citation, bibliographic coupling, co-citation, and co-authorship relations.vosviewer.com · 8 Oct 2026

Data sources

The software supports data from Web of Science, Scopus, Dimensions, Lens, PubMed, Crossref, Europe PMC, OpenAlex, Semantic Scholar, OpenCitations, and WikiData.vosviewer.com · 8 Oct 2026

Visualization

Visualizations include density and overlay views, zooming and scrolling, and high-resolution screenshots saved in bitmap or vector formats.vosviewer.com · 8 Oct 2026

Analysis techniques

It provides network layout and clustering techniques, English-language text mining, fractional counting, and thesaurus-based data cleaning.vosviewer.com · 8 Oct 2026

Online version

VOSviewer Online runs in a web browser and can share interactive visualizations or embed them in online platforms.vosviewer.com · 8 Oct 2026

Platform integration

VOSviewer Online is integrated into Digital Science’s Dimensions platform for creating co-authorship and citation network visualizations.vosviewer.com · 8 Oct 2026

Sharing integrations

The stand-alone version’s sharing feature supports Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, and Dropbox.app.vosviewer.com · 8 Oct 2026

Supported systems

The download page provides builds for Windows, macOS, and other systems; the other-systems version runs as a JAR file.vosviewer.com · 8 Oct 2026

Runtime requirement

Running VOSviewer requires Java version 8 or higher.vosviewer.com · 8 Oct 2026

Web sharing

VOSviewer Online can open VOSviewer JSON files and map and network files, and share visualizations through a link, QR code, or embeddable HTML.app.vosviewer.com · 8 Oct 2026

Security notice

The maker reports that an unauthorized party accessed the website and a malicious Windows executable was available for download on August 31 from 3:30 to 13:20 CEST; its investigation is ongoing.vosviewer.com · 8 Oct 2026

Support resources

The site provides a manual with detailed and up-to-date functionality information, along with a video, book chapter, and paper.vosviewer.com · 8 Oct 2026

Intended users

The maker describes VOSviewer-based analyses for research institutions and research funders to support strategic decision making.vosviewer.com · 8 Oct 2026

Company

Headquarters

Leiden, Zuid-Holland, Netherlandsvosviewer.com · 28 Sept 2026

Where it ranks on Inferse

• Best Literature Review Software in 2026#17 of 28

Sources

• vosviewer.com· checked 8 Oct 2026
• vosviewer.com/features· checked 8 Oct 2026
• app.vosviewer.com/docs/sharing/linking/· checked 8 Oct 2026
• vosviewer.com/download· checked 8 Oct 2026
• app.vosviewer.com/docs/user-interface/action-buttons/· checked 8 Oct 2026
• vosviewer.com/getting-started· checked 8 Oct 2026
• vosviewer.com/products· checked 8 Oct 2026