APA 7 · 2026 · References & In-Text

Free APA 7th Edition Citation Generator

Generate APA 7 references and in-text citations for journal articles, websites, books, reports, and more. Paste a DOI, URL, ISBN, or title from 250M+ real academic sources. Free, no account required.

July 11, 2026 · Editorial team, CiteMe

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How It Works

Search for your source

Enter a DOI, URL, title, or author name to find the source in 250M+ academic records.

Verify and select

Review the source details and select the correct match from search results.

Copy your citation

Get the formatted APA 7 reference and in-text citation. Copy or export to BibTeX/RIS.

Why Use Our APA Citation Generator?

Generate APA 7 references from DOI, URL, ISBN, or title.

Real Academic Databases

Search 250M+ works from OpenAlex, Semantic Scholar, and CrossRef. Every APA citation is real and verifiable with DOI links.

APA 7th Edition Compliant

Automatically formatted according to the latest APA Publication Manual (7th edition). Proper author names, dates, italics, and DOI formatting.

In-Text Citations Included

Get both the full reference and the in-text citation (Author, Year) format. Copy and paste directly into your paper.

Export Options

Copy formatted citations or export to BibTeX/RIS for use with Zotero, Mendeley, EndNote, and other reference managers.

How to Cite in APA

Here are the most common citation templates:

General Format

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of work. Publisher. https://doi.org/xxxxx

Journal Article

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of article. Journal Name, Volume(Issue), Pages. https://doi.org/xxxxx

Book

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of book (Edition). Publisher.

Website

Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of page. Site Name. https://www.example.com/page

APA Citation Examples

Journal Article

Smith, J. D., & Johnson, M. R. (2024). Machine learning in healthcare diagnostics. Nature Medicine, 29(4), 123-145. https://doi.org/10.1038/example

Book

Williams, A. B. (2023). Introduction to data science. Academic Press.

Website

World Health Organization. (2024, January 10). Mental health guidelines. https://www.who.int/mental-health

YouTube Video

TED. (2024, March 5). The future of AI in education [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=example

Podcast Episode

Host, A. (Host). (2024, February 20). Title of episode (No. 42) [Audio podcast episode]. In Podcast Name. Publisher. https://example.com/podcast

Social Media Post

National Geographic [@natgeo]. (2024, March 12). Scientists discover new species in deep ocean vents [Photograph]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/example

3+ Authors (et al.)

Chen, L., Park, S., & Rodriguez, M. (2024). Collaborative learning outcomes. Educational Psychology, 44(2), 78-95. In-text: (Chen et al., 2024)

Examples formatted in APA

APA In-Text Citations

Parenthetical

...as shown in recent studies (Smith & Johnson, 2024).

Narrative

Smith and Johnson (2024) demonstrated that...

Frequently Asked Questions

What is APA format?

APA (American Psychological Association) format is a citation style commonly used in social sciences, psychology, education, and business. The current version is the 7th edition, published in 2019.

How do I cite a website in APA format?

For websites, include the author, date, title, and URL. Example: Smith, J. (2024, January 15). Article title. Website Name. https://example.com/article

Is this APA citation generator free?

Yes! CiteMe offers free APA citations in all 40+ curated styles, no account required. Pro plans add batch PDF import, 10,000+ extra styles, and Word export.

What is the difference between APA 6th and 7th edition?

APA 7th edition (2019) includes simplified formatting, updated guidelines for DOIs and URLs, new rules for citing online sources, and more inclusive language guidelines. Our generator uses the latest 7th edition rules.

How accurate is this APA generator?

Very accurate. We search real academic databases (OpenAlex, Semantic Scholar, CrossRef) and format citations according to official APA 7th edition guidelines. Unlike AI chatbots, we never generate fake citations.

How many authors before et al. in APA?

In APA 7th edition, use et al. for works with 3 or more authors in in-text citations (e.g., Smith et al., 2024). In the reference list, include up to 20 authors before using et al.

How do I cite a source with no author in APA?

When there is no author, move the title to the author position. For in-text citations, use a shortened title in quotation marks for articles or italics for books: ("Article Title," 2024).

What is a hanging indent in APA?

A hanging indent is when the first line of a reference is flush left and subsequent lines are indented 0.5 inches. All APA reference list entries use hanging indentation.

How do I cite a website with no date in APA?

When no date is available, use (n.d.) in place of the year. Example: Smith, J. (n.d.). Article title. Website Name. https://example.com/article

What is the difference between APA and MLA?

APA (American Psychological Association) is used in social sciences and uses author-date citations. MLA (Modern Language Association) is used in humanities and uses author-page citations. APA emphasizes publication date; MLA emphasizes page numbers.

How is CiteMe different from other citation generators?

CiteMe searches 14 academic databases (including OpenAlex, PubMed, Semantic Scholar, and CrossRef) with 250M+ sources. It verifies citations against real metadata instead of generating them from templates. It also offers a unique AI Reference Checker that detects hallucinated or incorrect citations in academic papers.

Quick Reference by Source Type

Source Type	Reference Format	In-Text
Journal	Author. (Year). Title. Journal, Vol(Issue), pp. DOI	(Author, Year)
Website	Author. (Year, Month Day). Title. Site. URL	(Author, Year)
Book	Author. (Year). Title (ed.). Publisher.	(Author, Year, p. #)
Video	Author. (Year). Title [Video]. Platform. URL	(Author, Year, mm:ss)
No Author	Title. (Year). Source. URL	("Shortened Title," Year)

APA vs MLA: Quick Reference

Feature	APA (7th Edition)	MLA (9th Edition)
In-text format	(Author, Year)	(Author Page)
Bibliography name	References	Works Cited
Used in	Social sciences, psychology, education	Humanities, literature, languages
Date emphasis	Publication year prominent	Page numbers prominent
Title case	Sentence case in references	Title case in Works Cited

Not sure which to use? Check your assignment guidelines or ask your instructor. Try our MLA generator

Common APA Mistakes

Wrong:

Smith, J. (2024). Title. Journal Name. 12(3), 45-67.

Correct:

Smith, J. (2024). Title. Journal Name, 12(3), 45–67. https://doi.org/10.1234/example

Missing DOI, comma after journal name (not period), en-dash for page range, and volume in italics.

Wrong:

Retrieved from https://www.who.int/health on March 10, 2024.

Correct:

https://www.who.int/health

APA 7 dropped "Retrieved from" — just include the URL. Retrieval dates are only needed for content that changes (e.g., wikis).

Wrong:

(Smith, Johnson, Lee, Park, & Chen, 2024)

Correct:

(Smith et al., 2024)

APA 7 uses "et al." from the first citation for 3+ authors (APA 6 listed up to 5 authors the first time).

Citation Checker

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Paste a suspicious reference and verify the DOI, title, author, and year against real academic databases.

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Vancouver Citation Generator

Writing a medical or nursing paper? Vancouver style uses numbered references and is standard in biomedical journals.

Try Vancouver

APA Title Page

Format your cover page with our free APA title page generator.

Format Title Page

Start with the APA source you actually need to cite

Most APA searches get easier when you jump straight to the exact source type instead of editing a generic reference by hand.

Journal articles Websites Books Reports and PDFs Theses and dissertations PubMed articles

Already have a DOI, URL, ISBN, or paper title?

These exact-input tools usually get you to a clean APA reference faster than manual cleanup.

DOI to Citation URL to Citation ISBN to Citation Citation from Title

Chicago (history & arts)

Chicago Citation Generator

Common APA citation mistakes

Avoid the most frequent formatting errors with a quick checklist by source type.

Open mistakes guide →

Popular APA Formats

Start with the source pages most readers need, then explore the full set of examples and formatting rules for this style.

Journal articles

Use a DOI or paper title to build APA 7 journal references with issue, pages, and DOI formatting.

Websites

Handle no-author, no-date, blog, government, and organisation-page citations in APA 7.

Journal Articles Websites Books PubMed Articles Reports Theses & Dissertations

Popular Source Types

Journal Articles Websites Books Reports Theses & Dissertations

More APA source types

PDFs & Reports Videos Lectures / Slides Newspapers Podcasts YouTube Videos

Stay in the APA workflow

Continue with guides, templates, and mistakes for the same citation style.

APA guide hub

Source-by-source guide pages for this exact style.

APA template page

Copyable template plus examples for this style.

APA mistakes checklist

Common formatting errors and quick fixes.

APA examples

Reference and in-text examples in one place.

Citation tools & comparisons

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Style comparisons

APA vs MLA APA vs Chicago Harvard vs APA Vancouver vs APA All Comparisons →

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