First, the easy way: PERRLA
Choose Software, AI, & Mobile Apps, then Computer software (Linux, Mac, Windows, etc.). Type the program's name in Software or App Name, then fill in Version Number, Software Publisher, Publication Year, and the URL. If the software has a DOI, paste the full https://doi.org/ link in the URL box.
When the company that made the program also sells it, like IBM for SPSS or Lumivero for NVivo, leave the author boxes empty and type the company only in Software Publisher, so PERRLA starts the entry with the program's name. When a team or person wrote it and someone else publishes it, like R Core Team and the R Foundation, add the author as a Group Author (Organization) or an Individual Author (person). Leave Inc. and Corp. off the publisher, as the box's help text says.
PERRLA puts the name in italics and title case, writes Version before the number, drops the https:// from a plain link, and adds Computer software. at the end. Citing an AI tool like ChatGPT, or an app on your phone? Those have their own choices in the same type: see our guides for AI tools and mobile apps.
Not using PERRLA yet? Here is how to build the same works cited entry by hand.
The parts of the works cited entry
1. Name of the software
MLA italicizes the names of software programs. Capitalize the name in title case and keep capitals that belong to it, like IBM, SPSS, or NVivo. End with a period.
IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows.
If the name has a subtitle, put a colon before it and capitalize its first word: R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. That's the full name R gives itself in its own citation.
2. Author (only when it's not the publisher)
Most commercial software is made and sold by the same company. When the author and the publisher are the same, MLA names the company once, as the publisher, and starts the entry with the program's name.
Start with an author only when someone else wrote the program. R is written by R Core Team and published by the R Foundation for Statistical Computing, so R Core Team leads the entry.
R Core Team.
A program written by one person gets that person's name, last name first, the way you'd list a book's author.
3. Version
Write Version and the number of the version you used, followed by a comma. It's capitalized because it comes right after the period at the end of the name.
Version 31.0,
In most programs, look under Help, then About. R shows its version when it starts. Results can change between versions, so give the exact one. If the software has no version number, leave this part out.
4. Publisher
The publisher is the company or organization that releases the software. Write its name in plain type, without business words like Inc., Corp., or Ltd., followed by a comma.
IBM,
Software makers often add Inc. or Corp. to their names; MLA drops those words, so IBM Corp. becomes IBM. Open-source software often names a foundation or a university as its publisher; R's own citation names the R Foundation for Statistical Computing.
5. Date
Give the year the version you used came out, not the year the program first appeared. SPSS has been around for decades, but Version 31 came out in 2025.
2025,
Find the date in the release notes, the version history, or the citation the software suggests. If the release notes give a full date, you can write it day, month, year: 24 June 2026.
6. Location (URL or DOI)
End with a link to the software's page, without the https://, then a period. If the software has a DOI, use the DOI instead, as a full https://doi.org/ link.
https://doi.org/10.32614/R.manuals.
R and the packages on CRAN have DOIs. For commercial software, link to the product page for the version you used.
7. Description (optional)
PERRLA ends a software entry with Computer software. MLA lets you add a short description like this at the end of an entry when the kind of source might not be clear to your reader. MLA's own software examples leave it off, so it's fine either way.
Computer software.
Examples
Statistics software from a company (SPSS)
IBM SPSS Statistics, Version 31, released in June 2025, the statistics program many nursing and psychology courses teach. IBM both makes and sells it, so the entry starts with the program's name and names IBM once, as publisher.
Works Cited
IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows. Version 31.0, IBM, 2025, www.ibm.com/products/spss-statistics. Computer software.
- In-text citation(IBM SPSS Statistics)
- Narrative citationUsing IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, we …
R, with an author, a separate publisher, and a DOI
R version 4.6.1, released 24 June 2026. R's own citation names R Core Team as the author, the R Foundation for Statistical Computing as the publisher, and a DOI. You can see it any time by typing citation() in R.
Works Cited
R Core Team. R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. Version 4.6.1, R Foundation for Statistical Computing, 2026, https://doi.org/10.32614/R.manuals. Computer software.
- In-text citation(R Core Team)
- Narrative citationR Core Team's R …
Qualitative analysis software (NVivo)
NVivo 15.6 for Windows, released in September 2026, which many nursing and education researchers use to code interviews. Lumivero makes and sells it, so the entry starts with the program's name. The link goes to NVivo Desktop, the version installed on a computer.
Works Cited
NVivo. Version 15.6, Lumivero, 2026, lumivero.com/products/nvivo-desktop/. Computer software.
- In-text citation(NVivo)
- Narrative citationWe coded the interviews in NVivo …
In-text citations
An MLA in-text citation starts with whatever starts the Works Cited entry. For most software that's the program's name, in italics, shortened to its first noun phrase if it's long. Software has no page numbers, so there's nothing to add after it.
- Name first: (IBM SPSS Statistics) or (NVivo)
- Author first: the author's name: (R Core Team)
- Name in your sentence: leave the parentheses off: We coded the interviews in NVivo.
- The version in your sentence: if it matters, say it: We ran the analysis in R, version 4.6.1.
Software that doesn't need an entry. When a program was only the tool you worked with, like Word for drafting your paper or a design program for a drawing, MLA doesn't ask for a Works Cited entry. Name the program in your sentence or in a figure caption if it matters, in italics: Model created using SketchUp Pro. Give it an entry when you discuss or draw on the program itself, or when your instructor asks you to credit the software you used.
Common mistakes
- IBM Corp. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows. Version 31.0, IBM Corp., 2025.IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows. Version 31.0, IBM, 2025.When the company that made the software also publishes it, MLA names it once, as publisher, and drops business words like Corp.
- IBM Corp. (2025). IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows (Version 31.0) [Computer software].IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows. Version 31.0, IBM, 2025, www.ibm.com/products/spss-statistics.That's APA. MLA starts with the program's name in title case, writes Version without parentheses, and puts the year after the publisher.
- We analyzed the data in SPSS.We analyzed the data in SPSS.MLA italicizes the names of software programs, in your sentences as well as in the Works Cited entry.
- (IBM SPSS Statistics, 2025)(IBM SPSS Statistics)MLA in-text citations take no year. The name is italic, as it is in the entry.
- R Core Team. R. www.r-project.org.R Core Team. R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. Version 4.6.1, R Foundation for Statistical Computing, 2026, https://doi.org/10.32614/R.manuals.Leaving out the version and the publisher hides what readers need to repeat your work. Use the full name R gives itself, and its DOI.
- Microsoft Word. Microsoft, 2025.No entry. Name Word in your sentence if it matters.A program you only used as a tool, like a word processor, doesn't need a Works Cited entry in MLA.
Quick checklist
- Did you discuss or draw on the program, or does your instructor want it credited? Then it gets an entry
- The program's name in italics and title case
- An author only when it's not the publisher
- Version and the number you used
- The publisher in plain type, with no Inc. or Corp.
- The year that version came out, then the link or DOI
Questions students ask
Do I need to cite SPSS in MLA?
It depends on how you used it. MLA's advice on software used as a tool is that the program is the medium, not the source, so it needs no entry. If SPSS only ran your numbers, that reasoning applies: name it and its version in your sentence. If you discuss the program itself, or your instructor or course asks you to credit your software, add an entry like the one on this page.
Do I cite Microsoft Word, Excel, or Google Docs?
No. A program you used only as a tool to write your paper or make a chart isn't a source, so it doesn't go on your Works Cited page. If a detail matters, like the Excel version you used for your calculations, name it in your sentence.
Why is the software's name in italics?
MLA treats software programs, apps included, as works with titles, and it italicizes them. That holds in your sentences too: SPSS, NVivo, R.
Where do I find the version number?
In most programs, open the Help menu and choose About, or check the settings. R prints its version when it starts. The software's release notes list every version with its date. If you truly can't find one, leave the version out.
The software's website asks me to cite an article. Which do I use?
Some developers ask you to cite a paper about the software instead. G*Power, the power analysis program, asks users to cite its authors' articles in Behavior Research Methods. Cite what the developer asks, using the journal article format, and name the software and version in your sentence.
How is MLA different from APA for software?
MLA starts with the program's name, unless a separate author wrote it, uses title case, writes Version without parentheses, and needs no [Computer software] label. APA starts with the developer and the year. In the text, MLA uses the program's name, (NVivo), where APA uses the developer and year.
Related guides
Rules checked against the MLA Handbook (9th ed.), chapter 5 (the core elements, including version, publisher, an organization as author and publisher, business words in publishers' names, and supplemental elements) and chapter 6 (in-text citations and shortened titles), and the MLA Style Center's answers on citing source code (the publisher, version, and container of software, and an organization that is author and publisher), italics for the names of software programs, whether to cite software used as a tool (the computer-aided design answer), citing a work streamed through an app (the Laudate entry), ampersands, and supplemental elements. Example sources are the ones verified for the APA 7 page, re-checked on October 29, 2026: SPSS 31.0 against IBM's product page (published 10 June 2025), R 4.6.1 against CRAN's release list (24 June 2026) and R's own CITATION file, and NVivo 15.6.0 against Lumivero's release notes (September 2026).