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VOSviewer
Leiden, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands
What it is
VOSviewer constructs and visualizes bibliometric networks, including co-occurrence maps of terms from scientific literature. It handles citation, bibliographic coupling, co-citation, and co-authorship relationships, using data from sources such as Web of Science, Scopus, Dimensions, Lens, PubMed, Crossref, Europe PMC, OpenAlex, Semantic Scholar, OpenCitations, and WikiData. Analysis tools provide network layout and clustering, English-language text mining, fractional counting, and thesaurus-based cleaning. Density and overlay views support zooming and scrolling, and screenshots can be saved as bitmap or vector files. VOSviewer Online runs in a browser, opens JSON and map or network files, and shares visualizations through links, QR codes, or embeddable HTML. The stand-alone version connects sharing to Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, and Dropbox. Builds cover Windows, macOS, Linux, and the web; other systems can use a JAR with Java 8 or higher. It is free for any purpose at no cost.
For and against
For
- Supports several bibliometric network types
- Accepts data from many scholarly sources
- Offers clustering and text mining
- Shares interactive browser visualizations
- Free for any purpose
Against
- Other-systems build requires a JAR
- Java 8 or higher is required
- Website security incident is under investigation
The verdict
VOSviewer provides broad bibliometric mapping, cleaning, analysis, and sharing options across desktop and browser versions. Users should note the Java requirement and the maker's ongoing security investigation.
Who it suits
VOSviewer suits research institutions and funders analyzing scholarly relationships and publication data. It also fits users who need browser-based visualization sharing or desktop network analysis.
Plans and prices
Free
Can be used freely for any purpose
Read 8 Oct 2026 · vosviewer.com
On the record
- Analysis techniques
- It provides network layout and clustering techniques, English-language text mining, fractional counting, and thesaurus-based data cleaning.vosviewer.com · read 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 · read 8 Oct 2026
- Intended users
- The maker describes VOSviewer-based analyses for research institutions and research funders to support strategic decision making.vosviewer.com · read 8 Oct 2026
- Network types
- It supports networks based on citation, bibliographic coupling, co-citation, and co-authorship relations.vosviewer.com · read 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 · read 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 · read 8 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- VOSviewer constructs and visualizes bibliometric networks and can visualize co-occurrence networks of terms extracted from scientific literature.vosviewer.com · read 8 Oct 2026
- Runtime requirement
- Running VOSviewer requires Java version 8 or higher.vosviewer.com · read 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 · read 8 Oct 2026
- Sharing integrations
- The stand-alone version’s sharing feature supports Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, and Dropbox.app.vosviewer.com · read 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 · read 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 · read 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 · read 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 · read 8 Oct 2026
