Overleaf vs TeXstudio
Last verified · repository stats fetched 19 Oct 2026
Overleaf is a LaTeX editor in your browser: nothing to install, projects compile on Overleaf's servers, and co-authors can edit together. TeXstudio is a free, open-source desktop editor for Windows, macOS and Linux that drives a TeX distribution installed on your own computer, so it works offline.
| Overleaf | TeXstudio | |
|---|---|---|
| Licence | AGPL-3.0 (Community Edition) Freemium or paid | GPL-3.0 Open source (copyleft) Licence source: github.com/texstudio-org/texstudio/blob/master/COPYING, checked 21 Oct 2026. The project website (texstudio.org) says TeXstudio is licensed under the GPL v2; we follow the licence file in the official repository. |
| Source code | Not open source | GitHub |
| ★ Stars | n/a | 3.7k 3,671 |
| Last commit | n/a | 18 Oct 2026 |
| Runs on | Web | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Price | Free plan; Standard $199/year; Student $98/year overleaf.com, checked 21 Oct 2026 | Free (open source) texstudio.org, checked 21 Oct 2026 |
| Free alternative to | — | Overleaf Premium |
Key differences
- Overleaf's free plan allows 1 collaborator per project, keeps only the last 24 hours of history, and has a basic compile timeout; paid plans raise the timeout 24 times. (overleaf.com/user/subscription/plans)
- Overleaf Standard is $199 a year ($16.75 a month billed annually) with 10 collaborators per project; Student is $98 a year. (overleaf.com/user/subscription/plans)
- Overleaf's open-source Community Edition is AGPL-3.0, and organisations can buy an on-premises Server Pro option. (github.com/overleaf/overleaf · overleaf.com/user/subscription/plans)
- TeXstudio has auto-completion, more than 1,000 maths symbols, assistants for images, tables and formulas, an integrated PDF viewer, and inline spelling, grammar and reference checking. (texstudio.org)
- TeXstudio detects MiKTeX and TeX Live automatically and supports many LaTeX compilers and Latexmk, so you install a TeX distribution alongside it. (texstudio.org)
- Since version 4.9.0 TeXstudio can do collaborative editing through teamtype, currently on macOS and Linux only. (texstudio.org)
Which should you pick?
- Overleaf: Pick Overleaf if you co-write with others, want nothing to install, or switch between computers; budget for a paid plan if you need full history or long compiles.
- TeXstudio: Pick TeXstudio if you write alone or offline, want your files and compiler on your own machine, or need long compiles without a subscription.
This verdict is based on the documented facts above, not on hands-on testing.
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Sources: overleaf.com/user/subscription/plans · github.com/overleaf/overleaf · texstudio.org. Stars and last-commit dates come from each project's public repository. “Not available” or “Not documented” means we found no official source for it, not that the feature is missing.