BibTeX vs BibLaTeX in 2026 — Which Should You Use?

1. Key Differences: BibTeX vs BibLaTeX

2. Why BibLaTeX is Becoming the Standard

• Easy customization without editing .bst files

• Multilingual support is much better

• Modern metadata fields like DOI, URL, ePrints

• Modular configuration — load only what you need

• Actively maintained with strong community support

3. When BibTeX Still Makes Sense

• You must use a specific .bst style mandated by a journal

• You are working with very old documents

• You need the absolute minimal setup for simple reports

4. Best Practice in 2026

✅ Recommended setup

% Example with BibLaTeX
\usepackage[backend=biber,style=authoryear]{biblatex}
\addbibresource{refs.bib}

⚠️ Things to watch out for

• Build sequence changes: pdflatex → biber → pdflatex ×2

• Make sure biber is installed in your TeX distro

• .bib files work the same — you can reuse your existing data

5. Using Tools like Murfy

• Murfy supports DOI to BibTeX conversion, duplicate cleanup, and entry suggestions

• BibTeX generated works with both BibTeX and BibLaTeX

• You can generate .bib online and export to Overleaf, VS Code, etc.

Conclusion

In 2026, if you're starting a new LaTeX project, BibLaTeX with biber is your best bet. It’s more flexible, modern, and easier to adapt to multilingual and style-specific requirements.