APA Citation Generator (7th Edition)
Free APA 7 citation generator: cite a website, book, journal article or YouTube video in APA 7th edition, with the in-text citation and DOIs as links.
Free, with no account and no limit. It runs in your browser: nothing you type is sent anywhere, and your reference list is saved in this browser only.
How it works
- Pick the kind of source: website, book, journal article or YouTube video. APA 7 is already selected (MLA 9 and Chicago are one click away).
- Type the authors, title, date and the other details from the source. The reference is formatted as you type, in sentence case, with italics.
- Copy the reference and the in-text citation, or add it to your reference list. Copy all pastes the whole list, A to Z, into Word or Google Docs with the italics kept.
APA 7 examples
- Journal article (3 or more authors): Grady, J. S., Her, M., Moreno, G., Perez, C., & Yelinek, J. (2019). Emotions in storybooks: A comparison of storybooks that represent ethnic and racial groups in the United States. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 8(3), 207–217. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000185 In text: (Grady et al., 2019), or in a sentence: Grady et al. (2019).
- Book (edition, with DOI): Jackson, L. M. (2019). The psychology of prejudice: From attitudes to social action (2nd ed.). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000168-000 In text: (Jackson, 2019), or in a sentence: Jackson (2019).
- Webpage on a news website: Bologna, C. (2019, October 31). Why some people with anxiety love watching horror movies. HuffPost. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/anxiety-love-watching-horror-movies_l_5d277587e4b02a5a5d57b59e In text: (Bologna, 2019), or in a sentence: Bologna (2019).
- Book with two authors: Deleuze, G., & Guattari, F. (1987). A thousand plateaus: Capitalism and schizophrenia. University of Minnesota Press. In text: (Deleuze & Guattari, 1987), or in a sentence: Deleuze and Guattari (1987).
- YouTube video (posted by an organization): Harvard University. (2019, August 28). Soft robotic gripper for jellyfish [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guRoWTYfxMs In text: (Harvard University, 2019).
APA 7 reference list format, by source type
- Journal article: Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of the article in sentence case. Journal Name in Title Case, volume(issue), first–last page. https://doi.org/…
- Book: Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the book in sentence case (2nd ed.). Publisher. https://doi.org/… — no city of publication in APA 7, and the edition only when it is not the first.
- Webpage: Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of the page. Site Name. URL — the site name is left out when it is the same as the author, and (n.d.) replaces the date when the page has none.
- YouTube video: Person or Channel. (Year, Month Day). Title of the video [Video]. YouTube. URL — when a person uploaded it under a different channel name, the channel follows in brackets: Person, A. [Channel].
- No author: the title moves into the author position, before the date: Title of the page. (2021, March). Site Name. URL.
APA 7 in-text citations
- Parenthetical: (Author, Year), e.g. (Jackson, 2019). Two authors are joined with an ampersand: (Deleuze & Guattari, 1987).
- Narrative: the name is part of your sentence and the year follows it, e.g. Jackson (2019) argues… With two authors, write "and": Deleuze and Guattari (1987).
- Three or more authors: the first author's surname and "et al." from the very first citation, e.g. (Grady et al., 2019) or Grady et al. (2019).
- Quotations need a page number: (Jackson, 2019, p. 45). The generator gives you the author-and-year part; add the page yourself.
- No date: use n.d., e.g. (World Health Organization, n.d.).
The APA 7 rules this generator applies
- Authors: surname and initials. Up to 20 authors are listed in the reference list, the last one after an ampersand. With 21 or more: the first 19, an ellipsis, then the final author.
- Sentence case for the titles of articles, books, webpages and videos: only the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns are capitalized. Journal names keep their title case. A title you type in Title Case is converted; tick "Keep my capitalization" if it contains names or places.
- Italics: the book, webpage and video title; for a journal article, the journal name and the volume number (not the article title).
- DOIs are written as links, https://doi.org/10.xxxx/…, with no "doi:" label and no period after them. A DOI is used instead of a URL when a source has one.
- No "Retrieved from" before a URL. APA 7 adds a retrieval date ("Retrieved October 9, 2026, from https://…") only for pages designed to change over time, such as a live data page; the generator leaves it out, so add it by hand for that kind of page.
- The reference list: titled References, sorted A–Z by the first author's surname, double-spaced, with a 0.5-inch hanging indent. Copy all sorts the list; set the spacing and indent in your word processor.
Other styles and tools
Frequently asked questions
Is this APA 7th edition?
Yes. It follows the APA Publication Manual, 7th edition (2020), and its examples were checked against the APA Style website's own reference examples. Need APA 6? It is no longer current, and most instructors now ask for APA 7.
What changed from APA 6 to APA 7?
Book references no longer include the city of publication; up to 20 authors are listed in the reference list instead of 7; in-text citations use "et al." for three or more authors from the first citation; DOIs are written as https://doi.org/ links; and "Retrieved from" is dropped before URLs.
How do I cite a website with no author or no date in APA 7?
With no author, leave the author fields empty: the title moves to the front, before the date, and the in-text citation uses a shortened title. With no date, leave the date empty and the generator writes (n.d.), in the reference and in the in-text citation.
When do I use "et al." in APA 7?
In in-text citations, for any source with three or more authors, starting with the first citation: (Grady et al., 2019). In the reference list, et al. is not used: up to 20 authors are listed by name.
Does it add page numbers to the in-text citation?
No. It gives you (Author, Year). When you quote or point to a specific passage, add the page yourself: (Jackson, 2019, p. 45), or pp. 45–46 for a range.
Can it fill in the details from a URL, DOI or ISBN?
No. You type the details and it formats them. Nothing is looked up or sent anywhere, so check the author, date and title against the source itself.
Is it free?
Yes, with no account and no limit. It runs in your browser, and your reference list is saved in this browser only.
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