Fidus Writer
Fidus Writer is a free and open source online collaborative document editor. It allows real-time collaboration for writing documents like research papers, reports, books with features including comments, tracked changes, and export options.
Fidus Writer: Free Online Collaborative Document Editor
Real-time collaboration for writing documents like research papers, reports, books with features including comments, tracked changes, and export options.
What is Fidus Writer?
Fidus Writer is a free and open source web-based collaborative document editor for academics and researchers. It is designed for collaboratively writing long documents like research papers, theses, books and reports.
Key features of Fidus Writer:
- Real-time collaboration - Multiple authors can edit the same document at the same time with changes visible to co-authors instantly.
- Comments and discussions - Annotations and comments can be added anywhere in the document to propose changes or discuss sections.
- Tracked changes - Track all changes made by authors to see the document history.
- Writer and reader views - Authors have access to editing while readers have a clean read-only view.
- Academic formats - Supports citing sources and formatting in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard and over 9800 citation styles.
- Export to .pdf, .epub and .docx formats.
- Latex support - Latex equations and macros are fully supported with integrated Latex rendering.
- 100% free and open source software.
With its focus on academic writing collaborations and real-time co-editing capabilities, Fidus Writer is a great free alternative to restrictive commercial tools like Microsoft Word and Google Docs.
Fidus Writer Features
Features
- Real-time collaborative editing
- Comments and discussions
- Tracked changes
- Citations and bibliographies
- Export to PDF, HTML, ePub
- Support for LaTeX equations
- Word processor like features
Pricing
- Free
- Open Source
Pros
Free and open source
Good collaboration features
User friendly interface
Supports LaTeX equations
Can export to multiple formats
Cons
Limited compared to full featured word processors
Lacks some advanced formatting options
Collaboration requires creating an account
Only available as web app
Official Links
Reviews & Ratings
Login to Review3.4
★
★
★
★
★
27 reviews
Rating Breakdown
Ease of Use
★
★
★
★
★
2.8
Features
★
★
★
★
★
4.1
Value for Money
★
★
★
★
★
4.7
Customer Support
★
★
★
★
★
2.7
Overall Experience
★
★
★
★
★
3.3
Recent Reviews
Avery Smith
Apr 13, 2026
★
★
★
★
★
Powerful for Collaboration, Rough Around the Edges
Fidus Writer is a fantastic tool for co-authoring academic papers with its excellent real-time editing and detailed tracked changes. However, the interface feels clunky and dated, making simple formatting more difficult than it should be. The export options are comprehensive …
F
Finley Davis
Apr 12, 2026
★
★
★
★
★
Great Concept, Frustrating in Practice
The collaborative features are promising, but I've experienced frequent sync issues where changes from teammates just vanish. The interface feels clunky compared to modern alternatives, and exporting to different formats often breaks the document formatting. For a tool that's supposed …
Liam Lee
Apr 12, 2026
★
★
★
★
★
Buggy and Frustrating - Not Ready for Real Work
I wanted to love Fidus Writer for my academic writing, but the reality was constant frustration. The real-time collaboration feature glitched regularly, causing my co-author and I to lose work multiple times. The export function corrupted citations, and the interface …
D
David Moore
Apr 10, 2026
★
★
★
★
★
Essential Tool for Collaborative Academic Writing
As a research team writing a paper, Fidus Writer has been a game-changer. The real-time collaboration with comments and tracked changes works seamlessly, and the ability to export directly to formats suitable for journal submission saves us hours. The fact …
S
Sophia Lopez
Apr 08, 2026
★
★
★
★
★
Packed with potential, but the learning curve is a steep climb
Fidus Writer is a powerful idea with a noble open-source mission that I truly want to love. The collaborative features and export options for academic writing are top-notch. However, it sacrifices too much in terms of polish and usability. The …
Rating Distribution
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