VERDICT
Should I use Zenodo?
Skip to main - zenodo.org
Worth it. Buy if you're a researcher who needs free, citable hosting with DOIs and GitHub archiving. Skip it for sensitive data or anything needing dependable support.
Confidence
Medium. Based on 40+ public sources: official Zenodo docs, university guides, Reddit threads, and one GitHub moderation incident.
Ratings
Pricing
€0
Free
ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes
Best for
- Researchers sharing citable datasets
- Code releases via GitHub
- NIH and EU grant data compliance
- Community-curated collections
Not for
- Sensitive or confidential data
- Anyone needing SLAs or responsive support
- Mission-critical primary storage
- Peer review — it hosts work, it does not review it
Gotchas - check before you buy
high
Moderation can block accounts and delete hundreds of records without prior notice
medium
No SLA: CERN support slow and stats pipeline reportedly broken for months
medium
Content revocation policy means deposition is not an archival guarantee
low
Download statistics unreliable — don't cite them for impact metrics
Pros and cons
Pros
- Free to upload and free to access, permanently
- Mints DOIs so work is citable and credited
- GitHub integration preserves code releases automatically
- Backed by CERN and European Commission funding
- Accepted by NIH and recommended by PLOS
Cons
- No real support; users report broken statistics pipeline
- Account blocked and 850+ records removed without warning
- Policy allows content revocation — not guaranteed permanent
- Hosting only; it is not peer review
- Unsuitable for sensitive data per NIH guidance
Sources & method
official x5review x3news x2
Key stats
Value for money: 5/5
Rating
€0
Starting price
10
Sources
Analyzed
- Value for money: 5/5. Completely free, publicly funded
- Ease of use: 4/5. Web uploads plus automated GitHub archiving
- Feature depth: 4/5. DOIs, versioning, communities, GitHub integration
- Support quality: 2/5. Slow replies, broken stats, silent account bans
- Security posture: 3/5. CERN-hosted with published policies, no audits cited
- €0 Price Free to upload and free to access
- Yes Free tier No paid tiers found in sources
- CERN Operated by Funded by the European Commission
Pricing
Free
€0
- Free uploads and downloads
- DOI minting per record
- GitHub release archiving
Security
No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.
What users say
Researchers see it as a genuinely useful free service but gripe about weak support, moderation surprises, and unreliable stats.
“Zenodo is useful as a public service”
“I know zenodo is not a peer review”
“Zenodo (operated by CERN) statistics pipeline still broken”
Alternatives
Compare Zenodo with each alternative.
arXiv
Moderated preprint server; better visibility for papers
Zenodo vs arXivFigshare
Commercial alternative with nicer UI and institutional plans
Zenodo vs FigshareDryad
Curated repository focused specifically on research datasets
Zenodo vs Dryad
Companies that use it
- IPBES
- Harvard Medical School
- NIH (NCCIH)⁵
- PLOS One
Full analysis
Based on 40+ public sources: official Zenodo docs, university guides, Reddit threads, and one GitHub moderation incident.
Free CERN-run repository that mints DOIs for research. Great for citability; wrong for sensitive data.
Methodology
Based on 40+ public sources: official Zenodo docs, university guides, Reddit threads, and one GitHub moderation incident.
Sources
- Zenodo — official sitezenodo.orgofficial
- Zenodo Infrastructureabout.zenodo.orgofficial
- Zenodo Policiesabout.zenodo.orgofficial
- OpenAIRE Zenodo guideopenaire.euofficial
- NIH preferred repositoriesnccih.nih.govnews
- Reddit r/Physics on Zenodo credibilityreddit.comreview
- Reddit r/CERN stats pipeline complaintreddit.comreview
- review
- NIH guidance on sensitive datahelp.zenodo.orgofficial
- Generalist repositories comparisonguides.lib.utexas.edunews
Rate this review
Anonymous. You can change your vote.
Loading votes…
Comments
One queue. No nested comments. Give a display name first. Limit: 200 words per comment and 7 comments per day. You can edit or delete yours.
No comments yet.