Overleaf vs Typst

Overleaf is a browser editor for LaTeX, built so several authors can write one paper together, while Typst is a separate typesetting language with its own web app and an open-source compiler. Overleaf's free plan allows one collaborator per project and keeps only 24 hours of history, so co-authoring pushes people onto Student, Standard or Pro. Typst has a free tier capped at 200 MB and 100 files per project, then Pro at $7.99 a month. The deciding question is whether you must hand a journal real LaTeX, because Typst cannot do that natively.

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Both are reviewed in full in our latex editors ranking: Overleaf and Typst.

1. 01

   Journal class files and the language question

   Overleaf is built around LaTeX, so a publisher's class file is the kind of thing it is made to open and compile, and its homepage advertises thousands of free templates for journal articles and reports. Typst is its own language, not a LaTeX front end, though the free tier lists conversion from LaTeX, Word and Markdown. Journal and publisher class files would need rewriting or replacing. For anyone bound to a submission template, Overleaf is the plain answer.

   Edge: Overleaf

2. 02

   Collaborators on the free tier

   Overleaf's Free plan permits unlimited projects but one collaborator per project, five basic AI uses a day, and document history for only the previous 24 hours, with track changes not included. Standard allows 10 collaborators, and Pro allows unlimited ones. Typst's free tier lists sharing and collaboration among its features, with limits stated as storage and file counts rather than people. A pair of co-authors will hit Overleaf's free ceiling at once, while Typst's free page names no such cap.

   Edge: Typst

3. 03

   Monthly cost of going paid

   Typst Pro is $7.99 a month billed monthly, or 14% less on yearly billing, and adds comments, private packages and templates, and presentation mode. Overleaf lists Student at EUR 11 a month, Standard at EUR 21 and Pro at EUR 41, with yearly prices of EUR 87, EUR 179 and EUR 369. The currencies differ, so we compare plan shape only: Typst has a single paid tier, while Overleaf has three, and Overleaf's page does not say per user.

   Edge: Typst

4. 04

   Files, storage and the 1,000-file ceiling

   Typst states its limits openly: 200 MB and 100 files per project on Free, 2 GB and 1,000 files on Pro. That is a real weakness for long image-heavy books on the free tier. The Overleaf plan pages we read name no storage or file caps at all, only collaborators, history and AI use. Where a limit is stated, Typst's is the one you can plan around, although Overleaf's silence is not evidence that none exists.

   Depends on the buyer

5. 05

   Trial, refund and where the data sits

   Overleaf offers a seven-day free trial on Student, Standard and Pro, with the card charged afterwards unless cancelled. Typst offers no trial, only a full refund for first-time Pro buyers who cancel within 14 days. Web app data for Typst is stored in a data centre in Germany, and the provider is Typst GmbH of Berlin. Overleaf is run by Digital Science UK Limited, registered in England and Wales, and its pages we read do not state where project data is stored.

   Edge: Typst

6. 06

   Self-hosting for organisations

   Overleaf's Organizations plan, quoted by sales for 20 or more users, adds SSO, audit logging, managed accounts, global AI controls and optional on-premises hosting, and its repository is AGPL-3.0. Typst On-Premises starts at five organisation members, with custom pricing, self-hosting in your own data centre, LDAP access control, font and package distribution and priority support. Typst's compiler is Apache 2.0. Typst reaches smaller teams, while Overleaf's list covers more admin and audit controls. That makes the two roughly comparable for institutional rollouts.

   Depends on the buyer

Can Typst open the LaTeX template my journal sent?

Not as a LaTeX class file. Typst is its own language, and the free tier lists conversion from LaTeX, Word and Markdown instead. A publisher's class file would need rewriting or replacement.

Do I need a card to try Overleaf's paid tiers?

The seven-day trial on Student, Standard and Pro charges the card at the end unless you cancel first. No trial is offered for the Free plan or for Organizations. That means the card is part of the trial route.

Is either of them open source?

Overleaf's repository carries the AGPL-3.0 licence, and Typst's repository is licensed under Apache 2.0. Those licences cover the code repositories, not the hosted services. Both hosted apps still sit behind paid tiers once you pass the free limits.

• Overleaf plans page: EUR plan prices, free-plan collaborator and history limits, seven-day trial, Organizations features.
• Overleaf homepage: template library and cloud or on-premises wording.
• Overleaf legal page: Digital Science UK Limited registered in England and Wales.
• Overleaf repository licence: AGPL-3.0 licence text.
• Typst pricing page: Free, Pro and On-Premises limits, $7.99 monthly, 14-day refund, no trial.
• Typst terms: Typst GmbH in Berlin and web app data in Germany.
• Typst repository: Apache 2.0 licence of the compiler.