Item: Overleaf
Rating: 8
Author: Victor Philippe

Overall Satisfaction with Overleaf

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Overleaf to write research papers in latex with collaboration in real time. It's one of the only products that allows for this and offers adequate storage and usage for students. There are many templates to get started for the various journals that you may want to submit to

Pros and Cons

Pros

Real time collaboration
Cloud storage
Keeping track of changes

Cons

IEEE benefits were removed
Commenting system could be better
Project organization could be better

Return on Investment

Improved collaboration speed
Seamless transition from various computers and platforms
Improved learning how to use LaTeX

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.

Alternatives Considered

GitHub

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 complicated for non technical people due to using command line and setting up editors and compilers.

Key Insights

Do you think Overleaf delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Overleaf's feature set?

Yes

Did Overleaf live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of Overleaf go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Overleaf again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Grammarly

Likelihood to Recommend

Because there are not a lot of options for LaTeX editors, Overleaf offers a beginner friendly option that has online capabilities. It's useful for older and younger users to collaborate since it's not as technologically difficult compared to a Git based or other version control process. It's fairly cheap for students to get.

Comments

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