Overleaf vs. TextEdit

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Overleaf
Score 8.0 out of 10
N/A
Overleaf is a collaborative writing and publishing system designed to make the process of producing academic papers much quicker for both authors and publishers, from Writelatex Limited in London.N/A
TextEdit
Score 2.0 out of 10
N/A
TextEdit is a free and open source distributed with MacOS since Apple acquired NeXT.N/A
Pricing
OverleafTextEdit
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
OverleafTextEdit
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
OverleafTextEdit
Considered Both Products
Overleaf
Chose Overleaf
The only real competitor is using a git repo for collaboration and locally compiling latex code to get the output. Overleaf has the version control, compilation, and collaboration all in one. The collaboration is also in real time compared to GitHub. GitHub will be too …
Chose Overleaf
Alongside Overleaf, we have tried using Microsoft Word and Google Docs to write reports. While they all let you write in the same document at once, Overleaf just works better for us. Microsoft Word locks the paragraph someone else is working on to avoid others messing with it …
Chose Overleaf
Overleaf promotes collaboration and has much better scientific formatting, which makes it great for research papers.

It allows for much smoother and more professional looking documents, with easy to change and configure formatting.
TextEdit

No answer on this topic

Best Alternatives
OverleafTextEdit
Small Businesses
BBEdit
BBEdit
Score 10.0 out of 10
BBEdit
BBEdit
Score 10.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Vim
Vim
Score 9.7 out of 10
Vim
Vim
Score 9.7 out of 10
Enterprises
Vim
Vim
Score 9.7 out of 10
Vim
Vim
Score 9.7 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
OverleafTextEdit
Likelihood to Recommend
8.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
OverleafTextEdit
Likelihood to Recommend
Overleaf is great for writing scientific and research documents, especially when there is a lot of technical detail and mathematics involved. It shines when using complicated formats such as double column, or changing font sizes and still maintaining professional looking formatting. One of the best features is the collaborative writing with people in your team. You can work on a document together, leave notes and comments for the other person to read, and if you have the paid subscription the version history feature is great. The only time I think Overleaf is not suitable is when the document complexity does not justify it - for a simple document without mathematics and just a few paragraphs, or a rough document which does not need to be shared - a simple Microsoft Word document will be better
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Pros
  • Teamwork
  • Organizing
  • Reliable
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Cons
  • Version history is a great feature but only available in the paid version
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Usability
It's easy to use for a variety of skill levels. It has most features you could want from an text editor and LaTeX editor. Collaboration is easy for all skill levels including for first time users. The UI is pleasant enough and the website is quick to load. All the packages you need are available.
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Alternatives Considered
Alongside Overleaf, we have tried using Microsoft Word and Google Docs to write reports. While they all let you write in the same document at once, Overleaf just works better for us. Microsoft Word locks the paragraph someone else is working on to avoid others messing with it before the original writer is done. However, it is often slow to open those paragraphs up for others to edit. Google Docs is the hardest one of them to make a good layout on, though with the app, it can be good for proofreading on the go.
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Return on Investment
  • Improved collaboration speed
  • Seamless transition from various computers and platforms
  • Improved learning how to use LaTeX
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ScreenShots