TeX Live vs Overleaf

Struggling to choose between TeX Live and Overleaf? Both products offer unique advantages, making it a tough decision.

TeX Live is a Office & Productivity solution with tags like tex, latex, typesetting, document-preparation.

It boasts features such as TeX - Typesetting system, LaTeX - High-quality typesetting, ConTeXt - Document production system, Metafont - Font creation system, BibTeX - Bibliography management, Full TeX Live system with 4000+ packages and pros including Free and open source, Cross-platform availability, Regular updates, Large collection of packages, Easy installation.

On the other hand, Overleaf is a Office & Productivity product tagged with latex, collaboration, academic-writing, templates.

Its standout features include Real-time collaborative editing, Rich text editor mode, LaTeX compiler, Version control, Hundreds of LaTeX templates, Online preview, Supports images, figures, and bibliographies, Integrates with GitHub, Mendeley and Plotly, and it shines with pros like Easy to use even for beginners, Allows real-time collaboration, Free basic version available, Syncs with GitHub seamlessly, Large collection of templates, Fast compilation, Rich text editor for non-LaTeX users, Good for managing large documents.

To help you make an informed decision, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison of these two products, delving into their features, pros, cons, pricing, and more. Get ready to explore the nuances that set them apart and determine which one is the perfect fit for your requirements.

TeX Live

TeX Live

TeX Live is a free and open-source TeX distribution for Linux, macOS, and Windows systems. It includes major TeX-related programs like TeX, LaTeX, ConTeXt, Metafont, and BibTeX. TeX Live aims to be easy to install and use for casual and advanced users alike.

Categories:
tex latex typesetting document-preparation

TeX Live Features

  1. TeX - Typesetting system
  2. LaTeX - High-quality typesetting
  3. ConTeXt - Document production system
  4. Metafont - Font creation system
  5. BibTeX - Bibliography management
  6. Full TeX Live system with 4000+ packages

Pricing

  • Open Source

Pros

Free and open source

Cross-platform availability

Regular updates

Large collection of packages

Easy installation

Cons

Large storage requirements

Steep learning curve for advanced features

Version compatibility issues occasionally

Limitations of TeX/LaTeX typesetting


Overleaf

Overleaf

Overleaf is an online LaTeX editor that allows real-time collaboration on documents. It has templates for papers, resumes, thesis, and more. The basic version is free.

Categories:
latex collaboration academic-writing templates

Overleaf Features

  1. Real-time collaborative editing
  2. Rich text editor mode
  3. LaTeX compiler
  4. Version control
  5. Hundreds of LaTeX templates
  6. Online preview
  7. Supports images, figures, and bibliographies
  8. Integrates with GitHub, Mendeley and Plotly

Pricing

  • Freemium

Pros

Easy to use even for beginners

Allows real-time collaboration

Free basic version available

Syncs with GitHub seamlessly

Large collection of templates

Fast compilation

Rich text editor for non-LaTeX users

Good for managing large documents

Cons

Can be slow with large documents

Limited features in free version

Formatting not WYSIWYG

Steep learning curve for LaTeX

Only supports LaTeX, not other TeX formats

Must be online to use