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HeinOnline
Getzville, New York, United States
What it is
HeinOnline is a web research platform containing more than 251 million pages of periodicals, government documents, international resources, case law, and related material. Documents are fully searchable, image-based PDFs presented as true-to-print digital content. Researchers can browse 1,500 subjects, including criminal justice, history, political science, religion, and business. Tools include article summaries, PathFinder, ScholarCheck, author profiles, More Like This, and Keyword Search Builder, along with case law, statute and regulation search, legal commentary, citation tools, and research alerts. MyHein is a free account for organizing work and personalizing the service. Integrations include EBSCO Discovery Service, EZProxy, Dropbox, EndNote, Google Scholar, NoodleTools, ORCID, and Zotero. Single sign-on supports Shibboleth, SAML, OAuth, and Google Apps accounts. A free Social Justice Suite provides five databases after registration for interested organizations and institutions. Annual subscription packages are tailored to institutional type, size, and scope, with pricing on request. Digital Ownership offers more than 40 collections with PDF ownership delivered on a 500GB hard drive.
For and against
For
- More than 251 million searchable pages
- Covers 1,500 research subjects
- Includes legal research and citation tools
- Offers free MyHein accounts
- Supports many library and citation integrations
Against
- Subscription pricing requires a request
- Institutional packages vary by organization
- Digital Ownership has annual renewal fees
- Web platform only
The verdict
HeinOnline offers a large, searchable research collection with specialized legal and scholarly tools. Organizations can use the free Social Justice Suite or request a tailored annual subscription.
Who it suits
HeinOnline suits colleges, law schools, libraries, courts, firms, agencies, high schools, and individual researchers. It is useful for multidisciplinary, legal, historical, and government-document research.
Plans and prices
Social Justice Suite
Free databases for research and global impact
Read 14 Oct 2026 · heinonline.com
Annual subscription packages
Packages vary by institution type, size, and selected databases · Quote required
Read 14 Oct 2026 · heinonline.com
Digital Ownership
Collections delivered on a hard drive
Read 14 Oct 2026 · heinonline.com
Annual subscription
Tailored database packages · institutional pricing
Read 9 Oct 2026 · heinonline.com
On the record
- Accessibility statement
- HeinOnline says it evaluates the product against WCAG 2.2 Level AA using automated and manual testing.heinonline.com · read 14 Oct 2026
- AI article summaries
- Article Summaries provide 200-300-word overviews highlighting issues, methods, findings, and implications.heinonline.com · read 14 Oct 2026
- API and automation limit
- Terms prohibit mechanical, programmatic, robotic, scripted, or automated access unless separately agreed in writing.help.heinonline.com · read 14 Oct 2026
- Authentication
- Supported access methods include IP authentication, proxy and EZProxy, referring URLs, SAML, Shibboleth, OpenAthens, OAuth, and Google Apps sign-in.help.heinonline.com · read 14 Oct 2026
- Browser requirements
- HeinOnline recommends current Chrome, Firefox, and Edge browsers and warns that older or other browsers may have compatibility problems.help.heinonline.com · read 14 Oct 2026
- Citation integrations
- HeinOnline supports citation workflows with EndNote, RefWorks, NoodleTools, Zotero, Watermark Insights BibTeX export, and Dropbox PDF saving.heinonline.com · read 14 Oct 2026
- Company founded
- LinkedIn lists the company as founded in 1961; the company says its publishing roots reach back to the 1920s.linkedin.com · read 14 Oct 2026
- Company headquarters
- LinkedIn lists headquarters at 2350 North Forest Road, Getzville, New York.linkedin.com · read 14 Oct 2026
- Company legal name
- The maker is William S. Hein & Co., Inc., a privately held information-services company.linkedin.com · read 14 Oct 2026
- Company size
- LinkedIn places the company in the 51-200 employee range and shows about 59 employees.linkedin.com · read 14 Oct 2026
- Content scale
- The home page reports more than 251 million pages, over 3,400 scholarly journals, and more than 100 databases.heinonline.com · read 14 Oct 2026
- Digital ownership
- The Digital Ownership Program offers more than 40 collections with ownership rights to PDF files, delivered on a 500GB hard drive; annual renewal fees depend on content added in the prior 12 months.heinonline.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Discovery tools
- More Like This, Keyword Search Builder, machine-learned Subjects and Entities, and Explore This Author help users find related research.heinonline.com · read 14 Oct 2026
- Documentation
- Support materials include a searchable Knowledge Base, user guides, videos, LibGuides, blog updates, live demonstrations, phone support, and live chat.heinonline.com · read 14 Oct 2026
- Geographic reach
- HeinOnline reports more than 3,600 subscribers across over 175 countries.heinonline.com · read 14 Oct 2026
- Independent review limitation
- The Association of Independent Information Professionals review noted that HeinOnline lacks editorial enhancements such as annotated codes, case summaries, and formal citation services found in LexisNexis or Westlaw.en.wikipedia.org · read 14 Oct 2026
- Independent review praise
- A legal-information reviewer praised the broad historical coverage, clear searchable PDFs, sharing and printing, and the app's usability compared with the web interface.jinfo.com · read 14 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- Integrations include EBSCO Discovery Service, EZProxy, Dropbox, EndNote, Google Scholar, NoodleTools, ORCID, and Zotero.heinonline.com · read 9 Oct 2026
