Free MLA 9 Citation Generator — No Ads, No Account Required

The fastest free MLA 9 citation generator with no ads or signup is right here. Pick your source type, fill in the details, click Generate. You get a copy-paste-ready MLA 9th edition Works Cited entry plus APA and Chicago versions from the same data. No account. No ads interrupting the flow. No "download our app for more features."

Below is what the tool handles, the MLA 9 rules it follows, and why a no-ads version matters if you're writing papers frequently.

What the MLA generator supports

Four source types, each formatted per MLA 9th edition rules:

• Website: Author (if available), page/article title, website name, publication date, URL.
• Book: Author, title, publisher, year, edition (optional).
• Journal article: Author, article title, journal name, volume, issue, year, page range, DOI (optional).
• YouTube video: Uploader/channel, video title, upload date, URL.

Output goes on your Works Cited page. For in-text citations, MLA uses (Author page-number) — e.g., (Smith 45). Simple enough to do by hand once you've got the author from the Works Cited entry.

MLA 9 vs MLA 8 — what actually changed

MLA 9 (published April 2021) kept most of MLA 8's container system and just clarified edge cases. The big things:

• Optional URL scheme: MLA 9 allows but doesn't require "https://" vs "www.example.com" (the generator includes https:// for completeness).
• Access dates: Optional for stable online sources, recommended for user-generated content (social media, wikis).
• Annotated bibliographies: New guidance on formatting.
• Inclusive language guidance: Updated but not a citation formatting rule.
• Core elements: Same nine (Author, Title of Source, Title of Container, etc.).

If your syllabus says "MLA format" without specifying an edition, MLA 9 is the current standard. If it says "MLA 8," the output from this generator will be essentially interchangeable — the citations look the same for the source types we handle.

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How to cite a website in MLA 9

1. Open the citation generator.
2. "Website" is selected by default.
3. Enter the author's last name and first name (if bylined). No author? Leave blank.
4. Enter the article or page title.
5. Enter the website name.
6. Enter the publication date (year required; month and day help if available).
7. Paste the URL.
8. Click Generate Citations.
9. Copy the MLA version. Paste into your Works Cited list (alphabetical order by author surname).

Example output: Smith, John. "How to Write a Research Paper." MasterClass, 15 Mar. 2024, example.com/article.

Notes on MLA 9 specifics: article title in quotation marks, website name italicized, date in day-month-year with abbreviated month (Mar., Feb., etc.), URL without "https://" allowed (this tool includes it for clarity — either is acceptable under MLA 9).

Citing books, journals, and YouTube videos

Book: Select "Book" in the source row. Fields needed: author, title, publisher, year, edition (optional for 2nd edition and later). MLA 9 output example: Smith, John A. The Complete Guide to Research Writing. 3rd ed., Oxford UP, 2023.

Journal article: Select "Journal Article." Fields: author, article title, journal name, volume, issue (optional but recommended), year, page range, DOI (strongly recommended for academic journal articles). Output: Lee, Sarah J. "Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Academic Performance." Journal of Educational Psychology, vol. 45, no. 3, 2022, pp. 12–28. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000123.

YouTube video: Select "YouTube." Fields: channel/uploader, video title, upload date (year required), URL. Output: CrashCourse. "The History of Rome in 20 Minutes." YouTube, 12 Jan. 2023, youtube.com/watch?v=ABC123.

All three generate alongside APA and Chicago formatted versions, so you can switch styles if your instructor changes their mind or you're writing for a different class.

When you should not rely on the generator

Places where an MLA 9 citation generator — any of them, not just this one — can steer you wrong:

• Multiple authors. MLA 9 uses "Last, First, and First Last" for 2 authors; "Last, First, et al." for 3+. This tool supports one author; for multiple, generate with the first and manually add the rest.
• Edited volumes. "Ed." vs "edited by" distinctions need human judgment.
• Translations. Translator credit line needs manual addition.
• Anthology entries. The container system is complex; worth reading MLA 9 directly.
• Republished works. "Originally published 1887" notation needs manual care.
• Social media posts. MLA 9 has specific guidance not covered by simple generators.
• Newspaper articles. Newspaper name as container; date formatting varies by online vs print.

For straightforward sources (single-author books, standard journal articles, web pages, YouTube videos), the generator is fast and correct. For edge cases, use the output as a starting template and hand-edit against the MLA 9 handbook.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this support MLA 9 or MLA 8?

MLA 9 (published April 2021). For the source types supported (website, book, journal, YouTube), MLA 8 and MLA 9 outputs are essentially the same — you can use the tool output for MLA 8 requirements without changes.

What about the hanging indent on Works Cited?

The tool outputs the text. Hanging indent is a formatting step in Word/Docs — highlight all citations, Format → Paragraph → Special → Hanging. Keyboard shortcut in Google Docs: Ctrl/Cmd+] while on a cited line after selecting all.

How do I cite a source with no author in MLA 9?

Leave the author field blank. MLA 9 rules for no-author sources: start with the title (in quotation marks for articles, italicized for standalone works), continue with the rest of the information. The generator applies this automatically.

Can I cite a TikTok or Instagram post?

Not directly — the tool covers four source types. For social media, use the "Website" option with the post as the article title and the platform as the website name. Output will need minor manual adjustment to match MLA 9's social media conventions.