--- title: "Overleaf Software Pricing, Alternatives & More 2026 | Capterra" description: "With the help of Capterra, learn about Overleaf Software - reviews, pricing plans, popular comparisons to other Document Generation products and more." source_url: "https://www.capterra.com/p/229381/Overleaf/" page_type: "product" language: "en" publication_date: "2026-10-21" --- # Overleaf Software Review 2026: Features, Integrations, Pros & Cons Last updated on October 21, 2026 Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Description](#description)[Use cases](#use-cases)[Alternatives](#alternatives)[FAQs](#faqs)[Features](#features)[Pricing](#pricing)[Integrations](#integrations)[Support](#support)[Reviews](#reviews) Overleaf ## What is Overleaf? Overleaf is a collaborative LaTeX editor that allows users to write, edit and publish academic and scientific documents in real-time. ## What is Overleaf used for? [Document Generation](https://www.capterra.com/document-generation-software/) Top alternative Featured Overall rating Based on 35 user reviews Reviews sentiment Positive 97% Neutral 0% Negative 3% Starting price $10 Flat Rate, Per Month Free trial not available Includes Free Version Capterra Shortlist charts the highest-rated and most popular products... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Do you work for Overleaf?[Manage this product listing](https://www.g2.com/products/overleaf/claim_requests/new?auto=true) ## Compare with a popular alternative Capterra selects software alternatives based on relevant features, verified user reviews and user interactions. Placement may be influenced by client status. ### Overleaf 4.6 (35) VS. [4.7 (4,268)](https://www.capterra.com/p/251329/Adobe-Acrobat-DC/reviews/) Starting Price $10 Flat Rate, Per Month Starting Price $19.99 Per User, Per Month Free Trial Free Version Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version Ease Of Use 4.6 (35) Ease Of Use 4.6 (2,827) Value For Money 4.6 (25) Value For Money 4.3 (2,192) Customer Service 4.3 (22) Customer Service 4.3 (1,962) ## Overleaf alternatives [4.5 (583)](https://www.capterra.com/p/167449/Nitro/reviews/) Starting price $15.00 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 92% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [4.4 (118)](https://www.capterra.com/p/228164/Conga-Document-Generation/reviews/) Starting price Contact vendor for pricing Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 88% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [Microsoft Word](https://www.capterra.com/p/227146/Microsoft-Word/) [4.7 (2,918)](https://www.capterra.com/p/227146/Microsoft-Word/reviews/) Starting price $9.99 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 97% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [Learn More](https://www.capterra.com/p/227146/Microsoft-Word/) Highest Rated [Google Workspace](https://www.capterra.com/p/247901/Google-Workspace/) [4.7 (87,167)](https://www.capterra.com/p/247901/Google-Workspace/reviews/) Starting price $7.00 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 96% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [Learn More](https://www.capterra.com/p/247901/Google-Workspace/) [View all alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/229381/Overleaf/alternatives/) ## FAQs about Overleaf Overview ### Which roles and teams benefit most from Overleaf? Overleaf is most used by researchers, graduate assistants, PhD candidates, and research scientists preparing academic papers, theses, and technical reports. Electrical, R&D, and product engineers use it to create collaborative documentation with equations and structured formatting. Professors, lecturers, and journal editors rely on it to review manuscripts, coordinate revisions, and maintain publication-ready documents. Answer based on 35 reviews Overview ### What company size and industries is Overleaf built for? Overleaf is built primarily for enterprise organizations and higher education, which account for 54% and 34% of reviewers, respectively. It also serves midsize and small businesses, each representing 23% of reviewers, with adoption in computer software and education management at 11% each. Its most common use case is document generation. Answer based on 35 reviews Features and Usability ### What are the key features of Overleaf? Overleaf includes customizable document templates for academic papers, resumes, and journal formats, plus a text editor for preparing documents and references. Its core collaboration tools support shared editing, comments, notes, and messages, while access controls set read-only or editable permissions. It also converts TeX files into PDF documents. Answer based on 17 reviews Integrations ### Which third-party tools and platforms does Overleaf integrate with? Overleaf integrates with Dropbox and GitHub. These native connections cover cloud file storage and source control workflows, letting users link documents with stored files or code repositories. The integration list is short but focused on two widely used platforms for academic and technical writing. Answer based on 2 reviews Getting Started and Support ### What training and onboarding options does Overleaf offer? Overleaf provides documentation to help teams get started. Documentation offers written guidance for self-paced reference, feature explanations, and step-by-step instructions that users can consult as needed during setup and early use. Answer based on 1 reviews Getting Started and Support ### What customer support options does Overleaf offer? Overleaf provides a knowledge base for help with its online LaTeX editor. Reviewer feedback is limited, but one user described support as very helpful in resolving a package issue, while another reported unanswered questions about collaboration features and notifications. Answer based on 1 reviews Ease of use ### Is Overleaf easy to use for writing LaTeX documents? Overleaf makes cloud-based LaTeX writing approachable with templates, split-screen PDF previews, autocomplete, and browser access. Students, researchers, and occasional LaTeX users often find it easier than local installations, while beginners may still face a learning curve when editing source code, tables, equations, or highly customized documents. Answer based on 18 reviews ## Features AI summary Based on 3,868 Document Generation reviews Capterra data shows that buyers of document generation software rank the following features as their top priorities: - **Document Management** (**50%** of reviewers rated this feature as critical) - **Text Editing** (**54%**) - **Document Storage** (**46%**) Overleaf includes **Document Management** and **Text Editing**, giving teams a clear way to organize documents and make updates directly within the platform. However, it does not include **Document Storage**. Its support for **Document Management** and **Text Editing** helps businesses keep document workflows organized, improve editing accuracy, and work more efficiently on content creation. Document Management 4.6 (5) 40.00% of 5 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Store, manage, and track all electronic documents in a centralized location Text Editing 4.9 (16) 75.00% of 16 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Edit text as needed Templates 4.6 (25) 72.00% of 25 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Sample files or documents that could be customized as needed or used as is Collaboration Tools 4.3 (20) 75.00% of 20 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Provides a channel for team members to share AI models, media files, communicate, and work together Access Controls/Permissions 4.8 (13) 53.85% of 13 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Define levels of authorization for access to specific files or systems Content Management 4.4 (5) 60.00% of 5 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Handles digital content throughout its lifecycle, from creation and storage to distribution and archiving Overleaf 11 features ### All Features - Access Controls/Permissions: Define levels of authorization for access to specific files or systems - Approval Process Control: Manage the process of evaluating documents or requests submitted for approval - Collaboration Tools: Provides a channel for team members to share AI models, media files, communicate, and work together - Content Management: Handles digital content throughout its lifecycle, from creation and storage to distribution and archiving - Customizable Templates: Pre-designed layouts that can be customized to match preferences and requirements - Document Generation: Custom forms to streamline repetitious aspects of a document - Document Management: Store, manage, and track all electronic documents in a centralized location - Document Templates: Customizable sample documents that contain placeholder text or a standard layout that can be repeated for each new file - Templates: Sample files or documents that could be customized as needed or used as is - Text Editing: Edit text as needed - Version Control: Track revisions and updates made to files and navigate between different versions --- Features 4.5 (35) 4.5 Based on 35 reviews ## Pricing Value for money 4.6 (25) Free Version [View pricing plan details](https://www.capterra.com/p/229381/Overleaf/pricing/) Basic $10.00 Flat Rate,Per Month Value for money 4.6 (25) 4.6 Based on 25 reviews ## Integrations [ Dropbox](https://www.capterra.com/p/143068/Dropbox-Business/)[ GitHub](https://www.capterra.com/p/129067/GitHub/) ## Support, customer service and training options Customer Service 4.3 (22) Support - Email/Help Desk - FAQs/Forum - Knowledge Base - Phone Support - 24/7 (Live rep) - Chat Training - In Person - Live Online - Webinars - Documentation - Videos Deployment - Web - Android - iPhone/iPad Typical users - Freelancers - Small businesses - Mid size businesses - Enterprises Customer Service 4.3 (22) 4.3 Based on 22 reviews ## User reviews Overall rating 4.6 Based on 35 reviews Filter by rating Counts reflect reviews available in this feed. 5(24) 4(10) 3(0) 2(0) 1(1) Mentioned topic Recent reviews first, then most helpful Mustafa M. Graduate Teaching Assistant Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "Best online tool for Latex" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 August 4, 2021 It is the best text editing online cloud I have ever used. Pros The best feature of overleaf is perhaps its autofill function. Cons Sometimes it fails to recompile relatively larger documents. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Pradeep K. Assistant Professor Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "A help for the publishers" 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 3.0 3.0 Customer Service 3.0 3.0 Likelihood to Recommend 8/10 January 6, 2025 My overall experience has been a mix as it was a very helpful tool in the past but with recent updates it has made me feel somewhat unsatisfied. Pros The ease of working on projects together with your peers and the free version of it. Cons Overleaf stalls for larger documents and has over a period of time somewhat degraded in performance. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. RE Reviewer Professor Used the software for: I used a free trial ### "It is far too expensive for what it offers." 1.0 Overall Rating 1.0 1.0 Ease of Use 3.0 3.0 Features 1.0 1.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 1/10 September 22, 2025 \* Online LaTeX Overleaf’s LaTeX features are impressive. You can choose among various TeX Live engines, including the 2023 version used by ArXiv. There are quirks—for instance with \*xr-hyper\* —but the support team provided a \*latexmkrc\* file that resolved the issue. On this front I would award 10 out of 10. It is ideal for casual users who prefer not to install LaTeX locally and want documents in the cloud. That said, today’s PCs have ample storage and fast connections, so installing LaTeX and a capable editor is hardly an ordeal. \* Editor Overleaf offers two editors. The visual one is decent, giving a rough preview of the final result. The source editor, however, is poor—especially compared with Emacs+AUCTeX. Inserting environments with automatic labels is almost nonexistent, which makes writing longer documents cumbersome. Here I would give 4 out of 10. \* Collaboration This is where I expected Overleaf to excel, and where it disappointed most. There are no notifications of changes. Share a document, and when your collaborator edits it, you will not know unless you check manually. Support did not answer my query on this point. Since I have better things to do than constantly refresh Overleaf, this alone rules it out for serious collaboration. The paid Standard version offers GitHub integration, which partly mitigates the notification problem, though only clumsily. Even the tracking feature in the paid standard version is weak, the professional version is supposed to be better, but at €46 per month, unappealing. \*\* As for GitHub integration: - Overleaf supports Git but not Mercurial (though \*hg-git\* works well enough). - Branches are not supported; inconvenient, but survivable. - Private repositories are allowed, which is a plus. - Access is smooth. \*\* Notifications, However, remain unsolved. When you turn on watching for your GitHub repository, you receive email notifications if someone with write access pushes. You will not, however, be notified when you push yourself. With some additional configuration—by placing a script in =$yourrepository/.github/workflows/push-notify.yml= and adjusting the settings—you can ensure that every push, whether by the owner or a collaborator, generates notifications to a defined list of users. This seems a solution to the problem, but in practice it is not. \*\* No change of commiting author possible Yet your Overleaf collaborators can push to your github repository but they \*cannot change the author\* of a commit, even though Git and Mercurial explicitly allow this. Again, the support team did not reply to my request. To be clear: if it were possible to commit under another author and push, git’s built-in change tracking would suffice, since each commit carries its author. Without this, meaningful tracking is almost impossible. \* Verdict \*\* Scientific collaboration Overleaf is unsuitable for serious collaboration: Because 1. no notifications; 2. minimal change tracking; 3. GitHub integration missing essential features. While better tracking may indeed be tricky to implement, I fail to see why Overleaf cannot add the option to push to GitHub under a different user. That would be straightforward. It would also address the notification problem—at least for those prepared to tinker with GitHub—and an email-based alert system hardly seems beyond reach. \*\* Teaching and sharing short documents It might be useful for teaching, where several lectures want to share short documents. \* Alternatives As for alternatives: some people use Dropbox, but that offers no tracking and no safeguards against conflicting edits. For me the best—and free—solution remains: + a proper local TeX Live installation, with the editor of one’s choice; + a version-control system such as Git or Mercurial (I find Mercurial’s branching model easier than Git’s); + a private repository on GitHub, GitLab or Helix. Users need only learn the basics—clone, commit, push, pull/fetch and perhaps merge. Decent graphical front-ends exist, such as SourceTree (Windows/macOS) or TortoiseHg (Linux). The drawback is that at least one collaborator must have a solid grasp of Git or Mercurial to resolve conflicts. Most scientists, especially mathematicians, work conservatively, often in pairs or trios, and follow sequential editing, which largely avoids clashes, but how they track changes remains mysterious to me. Pros In brief: its online LaTeX features are excellent. There are quirks—for instance with \*xr-hyper\* —but the support team provided a \*latexmkrc\* file that resolved the issue. On this front I would award 10 out of 10. It is ideal for casual users who prefer not to install LaTeX locally and want documents in the cloud. Cons Its source editor mediocre, and its collaboration tools barely implemented. At €22 a month, it is far too expensive for what it offers. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. RE Reviewer Computer Engineering Student Used the software for: 1-3 years ### "Overleaf makes Latex easy for everyone" 5.0 September 9, 2021 I started using Overleaf 2 years ago while searching for collaboration document creation tools. At first I was scared of transitioning to LaTeX, because I wasn't familiar with it. However, Overleaf has a very user - friendly environment and makes LaTeX easy for everyone! I have to mention that I never had to google a single question on how to use Overleaf, even on day one. Also, their data-driven autocomplete makes you comfortable with LaTeX in a very small amount of time! After a couple of times using Overleaf, I felt completely comfortable with both the environment and the language and I haven't stopped using it since then! Pros I started using Overleaf for my university reports and now I can't imagine myself using a different software for document creation. One of my favorite features is the autocomplete of latex commands. It makes it easy for everyone to use it even if they haven't used latex before and saves you a lot of time typing. It is also very easy to use when collaborating with others, since you can simultaneously edit the same file and view their changes real time without pressing any button. Finally, Overleaf has an incredible documentation. A great example of this is that every Latex-related search query in Google returns an answer on Overleaf's documentation page. Cons One of the limiting aspects of Overleaf is the small number of free collaborators. Even though you can send the edit link to any number of people, you can only add one collaborator by their email for free and thus have the project at their home page. Also, sometimes the pdf render takes weirdly long to finish, but it always looks good! Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Verified Reviewer Graduate Research Assistant Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "Best tool to prepare research papers for scientific publications" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 July 7, 2022 In a word, Overleaf makes my life easy while preparing articles for publication. Simply a best tool for researcher's around the world. Pros To prepare research article, overleaf helps to prepare the document quickly by providing ready made journal or conference templates. Just need to customize them. Also for preparing CV overleaf is a great tool to anyone who looking for jobs. Cons It's fully online and cost is relatively high for students. It needs to be affordable to everyone so that anyone could use the full of this tool. Writing equation is difficult. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. RE Reviewer Propositions Manager Used the software for: Less than 1 year ### "Powerful tool, not exactly intuitive " 4.0 January 25, 2024 Pros Once you get the hang of it, it’s is a really powerful tool for editing text, formulas and references. In addition to it, it has plenty of good templates which will do just fine for any academic style piece of work. It can also produce presentations. Cons Having used Word for most of my work, Overleaf is much less intuitive. The presentations I have managed to produce have style wise have a very 1995 look. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. RE Reviewer Journal Editor Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "Simplifies submissions and revisions, with change tracking to everyone." 4.0 September 9, 2025 Revisions came together more quickly because comments, diffs, and built‑out PDFs existed side by side, eliminating back‑and‑forth and keeping figures and tables in sync. Pros Live preview and track changes keep typography in its place and edits repeatable, while visual editor enables non‑LaTeX collaborators to inspect without fighting markup. Cons More sophisticated tracking and history can be had at paid levels, and email invitations or roles must be configured carefully in multi‑journal teams. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. RE Reviewer PhD Candidate Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "Great product for document preparation. Highly recommended" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 June 6, 2025 Overall great experience for small documents/research articles. However, when the size of the document becomes large, we have to buy the product which can be costly. Pros It is a great product to write scientific papers and provides all the power of LATEX combined with cloud features where I don't have to worry about project management. Cons The features are a bit costly. They should have a feature for students for unlimited use. If compiling large document in free version, using overleaf can be a pain. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Verified Reviewer Analytic Scientist Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "Convenient online latex tool" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 4.0 4.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 January 2, 2025 I have a very good experience with Overleaf which is free and convenient to use. It can be accessed whenever I have internet access. The project organization is really clear and neat. Overleaf also offers templates which are very helpful. The free plan allows one collaborator per project which is okay for most of my projects. Pros It can be easily accessed online anywhere. Cons It is not completely clear which tex script is compiled when there are more than one tex script. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Verified Reviewer Electrical Engineer Used the software for: 3-5 years ### "Save time and money using Overleaf, a great document generating/editing tool" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 4.0 4.0 Likelihood to Recommend 9/10 February 14, 2023 Overall, I am happy with Overleaf. I use the free version for adding collaborators to my scientific papers. They can modify, comment, and edit the document simultaneously. Also, I use Overleaf for generating CVs, resumes, and study plans. Pros The most useful feature that Overleaf provides is the document sharing feature. Several users can connect simultaneously and edit/modify the docuement. It saves your data in a cloud, and you can access it whenever you want for modification. You can compile your document into a PDF version that is suitable for submission to conferences and journals. It provides various templates and example documents that I find useful. You can be more efficient and productive using Overleaf. Cons I can not think of any essential dislikes. The only thiong I can mention is that the free version of Overleaf has limitations. You can only share your doments with limited number of users in the free version. The premium version is kind of pricy for students and personal use. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. [View all Reviews](https://www.capterra.com/p/229381/Overleaf/reviews/) ## Top-rated software of 2026 ### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox. Popular comparisons [Microsoft Word vs Overleaf](https://www.capterra.com/compare/227146-229381/Microsoft-Word-vs-Overleaf)