The 15 Best Free LaTeX Editors for Windows, Mac, and Linux

Last updated on January 12, 2024

Summary :

Learn about the 15 best free LaTex editors that run on Windows, Mac, Linux, and the web. More information can be found in the product comparisons and detailed reviews.

Free LaTex Editors

The Best LaTeX Editors

The Best LaTeX Editors

LaTeX can create scientific documents reflecting precise equations and graphics to express the researcher’s work accurately.

LaTeX editors are handy tools when you are writing your paper in LaTeX. TeX and LaTeX files can be opened and modified directly in the text editor.

However, specialized LaTeX editors are more valuable than plain text editors because they usually combine commands, spelling and error checking, and other tools that can improve productivity, just as editing PDF text.

The list here will introduce the best free LaTeX editors in the field right now. You can compare them and select one after referring to their product features.

👉 Meanwhile, if you also work extensively with PDF files, you’re also recommended to try PDFgear, the best free PDF editor software.

Compare the 15 Best LaTeX Editors

To help you make the decision easier, we list a brief comparison of the 15 recommended LaTeX editors. You can have a quick look at their price, supported OS, and key functions, then choose one to have a trial.

Product Price Platform Key Features
Overleaf
  • Free for one editor
  • $15/month for ten members
  • $30/month for unlimited members
Online
  • Hundreds of file templates
  • Real-time collaboration
  • Sharing with other platforms directly
Texmaker Free and open source Windows, Mac, Linux
  • Numerous mathematical symbols
  • Automatically recognize warnings and errors
  • Direct spell-checking
TeXstudio Free and open source Windows, Mac, Linux, FreeBSD
  • Syntax highlighting
  • Reference checking
  • Multi-cursors
LyX Free and open source Windows, macOS, and Linux
  • Automatic index creation
  • Visual mathematical Editor
  • Export to PDF
Papeeria Free for one project

$5/month for ten projects

Online
  • Huge template library
  • Real-time collaboration
  • Backup to Google Drive, Dropbox
Authorea
  • Free for 3 LaTeX projects
  • $10/month for unlimited projects
Online
  • Auto reference page creation
  • Real-time collaboration
  • A specific chat feature
TeXnicCenter Free and open source Windows
  • Auto-completion
  • Spell checker
  • UTF-8 support (Unicode Transformation Format)
VerbTeX LaTeX Editor
  • Free version available
  • $9.99 for the pro version
Android, iOS
  • Syntax highlighting
  • Code completion
  • Editing with hotkeys
Dreamweaver
  • Seven-day free trial
  • $20.99 per month
Windows, Android, iOS
  • Real-time collaboration
  • Live Preview
  • Syntax Highlighting
Kile LaTex Free and open source Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD
  • Auto-completion
  • Document conversion
  • Easy reference insertion
Gummi Free and open source Windows, Linux
  • Two-panel window
  • Spell checking
  • File viewing
LaTeX Base Free trial available Online
  • Auto-completion
  • Syntax highlighting
  • Integrate into Google Drive and Dropbox
Chrome LaTeX Editor Free Online
  • Compile the code
  • See rendered document
  • Print to PDF
Vim with LaTeX-Suite Free and open source Windows, Mac, and Linux
  • Visual editing
  • Error tracking
  • Auto compiling
TeXworks Free and open source Windows, Mac, and Linux
  • Code folding
  • Auto-correction
  • View and export as PDF

1. Overleaf

Overleaf is considered as the top option from the top 15 best LaTeX editors. It is web-based, so users from any system and device can easily access it. It is trusted by hundreds of thousands of academics from many fields. It allows you to modify the LaTeX document, insert graphics, equations, bibliographies, and more. Hundreds of document templates are provided, making your file formatting easier. In addition, Overleaf also provides several advanced features, such as viewing the history version, collaborating with other numbers in real-time, sharing the document on social media, etc.

Related Post: The 12 Best PDF Editors for Windows [Online or Software]

It offers a free version for one collaborator. If you need to edit a file with other numbers, you can activate the premium version, which costs from $15 to $30 per month.

2. Texmaker

Texmaker is a free, open-source LaTeX editor tool for Windows, Mac, and Linux. It is powerful enough to modify a LaTeX document. The prominent feature is that it can auto-locate warnings and errors, allowing you to correct the file in the least amount of time. Using Texmaker to add Math formulas, cross-references, Tables, pictures, etc., is also very simple. With its straightforward user interface, new users can operate it directly. Except for these editing tools, it also provides about 370 mathematical symbols for you to use.

Texmaker LaTeX Editor

Texmaker LaTeX Editor

3. TeXstudio

TeXstudio is also a free and open source LaTeX editor that is prevalent in the academic field. It is easy to use with clear navigation. Windows, Mac, Linux, and FreeBSD users can download and install it directly. The primary reason to list it here is that it provides comprehensive LaTeX document editing and modifying functions, including Syntax Highlighting, reference checking, multi-cursors, and more than 1000 mathematical symbols. Even beginners can use it to create a standard paper without effort.

TeXstudio LaTeX Editor

TeXstudio LaTeX Editor

4. LyX

LyX is an open source LaTeX editor that has better compatibility. You can use it on Windows, Mac, and Linux. With it, you are able to create a structured document easily. In addition to several basic annotating tools, it also offers an automatic index creation feature. This feature is only provided in LyX. Things will be easier with this brilliant tool when you create scientific papers. Moreover, you can also choose to export the edited document as a PDF for sharing with others or for other purposes.

LyX LaTeX Editor

LyX LaTeX Editor

5. Papeeria

Papeeria is one of the best online LaTeX editors. Since it is a web-based tool, there are no compatibility troubles to worry about. Only if you have a stable network connection can you use it to create or edit LaTeX files immediately. It provides numerous document templates for you to make different files. Free editing tools are also searchable in it. Moreover, it allows several members to co-edit the same document simultaneously, and you can send it to Google Drive or Dropbox to back it up online.

Papeeria LaTeX Editor

Papeeria LaTeX Editor

6. Authorea

Authorea is an online LaTeX editor that supports nearly all mainstream web browsers. Using this online tool, you are able to create an index page, insert a mathematical formula, images, and tables, export documents to PDF, share on social media, etc. Apart from these commonly used features, Authorea allows you to create reference pages automatically, collaborate in real-time, check document history, chat with others directly, and more. It is precisely the most comprehensive online LaTeX editor.

Authorea provides a relatively reasonable price and plans for you to select from. You can have a free trial to create three LaTeX documents. Moreover, if you are an educator or student, you can create up to 10 projects for free. While the unlimited creation only costs $10/month.

Authorea LaTeX Editor

Authorea LaTeX Editor

7. TeXnicCenter

TeXnicCenter is an open-source desktop LaTeX editor for Windows only. It is equipped with a spell checker, highlighter, bracket matching, and other useful LaTeX document editing tools. In addition, it provides a quick setup wizard feature, allowing new users to quickly and easily perform it. It can also be seen as a powerful GUI editor, supporting auto-completion and UTF-8 (Unicode Transformation Format) character encoding. Compared with that expensive LaTeX editing software, TeXnicCenter is extremely a great option. It is utterly free to use, and all features are accessible without restriction.

TeXnicCenter LaTeX Editor

TeXnicCenter LaTeX Editor

8. VerbTeX LaTeX Editor

For those who are searching for an app that can edit LaTeX documents on their mobile phones, VerbTeX is a brilliant option. In daily work, we inevitably may encounter situations where we can’t use a computer or laptop. Then a LaTeX editing app is indeed convenient. It is powerful enough to make several basic edits to your file. Also, it has many useful features, like syntax highlighting, code completion, editing with hotkeys, etc.

This application offers a free version for you. It also has a pro version with more features, which charges $9.99.

VerbTeX LaTeX Editor

VerbTeX LaTeX Editor

9. Dreamweaver

Dreamweaver is well-known as a website creating tool launched by an authoritative company, Adobe. At the same time, you can also use it to check and edit several LaTeX documents. It provides various features rather than a simple file editor. For example, it offers Real-time collaboration, live preview, multilingual creation, syntax Highlighting, and other practical tools. Numerous document and site templates are provided, covering various themes, like blogs, newsletters, research papers, e-commerce, newsletters, etc. It is in favor of Windows, Android, and iOS right now.

New users can get a seven-day free trial of Dreamweaver. To use it for the long term, you need to subscribe to it, which costs $20.99 per month.

Dreamweaver LaTeX Editor

Dreamweaver LaTeX Editor

10. Kile LaTex

Kile LaTex is also a worthily recommended best LaTeX editor. It is free and open source with good compatibility. Windows, Mac, and Linux users can install and use it effortlessly. It is reliable and launched by a trustworthy software community with over years of experience. Therefore, you can download it without worrying about viruses and other attacks. Kile LaTex offers a stable program processing speed. And all the LaTeX document editing tools are smooth to use. It can satisfy your need when creating a new paper, helping you with auto-completion, file conversion, reference insertion, and more.

Kile LaTeX Editor

Kile LaTeX Editor

11. Gummi

Gummi is a free, safe, open-source LaTeX editor mainly for Windows and Linux. It is simple to use but contains all-around key features when you create or modify a LaTeX file. For instance, it allows you to edit syntax and formatting errors simultaneously with a two-panel window. This function will extremely improve your work efficiency. Also, Gummi is in favor of viewing a PDF file directly without compiling it manually. Other advanced features, such as image insertion, spell checking, and file viewing, are also accessible.

Gummi LaTeX Editor

Gummi LaTeX Editor

12. LaTeX Base

LaTeX Base is another suggested web-based LaTeX document editor. It is an online tool, so you don’t have to install any desktop software and extensions to create or edit LaTeX files. It will help you automatically compiles the code, and when you finish, you can download or share it with others directly. Except for several commonly used editing features, LaTeX Base also allows you to highlight parts in the file, work offline, back up in Dropbox and Google Drive, etc.

LaTeX Base LaTeX Editor

LaTeX Base LaTeX Editor

13. Chrome LaTeX Editor

Chrome LaTeX Editor is a Chrome extension that can help you deal with LaTeX files, including viewing, editing, and sharing. It is a free and easy-to-use plug-in available on Google Chrome. Using it, you don’t have to download and install desktop software to view and edit LaTeX files. Also, it will highly protect your document privacy. In this extension, you are able to compile the code and see the rendered document. Also, you can select to download the edited file as PDF or print it directly.

Chrome LaTeX Editor

Chrome LaTeX Editor

14. Vim LaTex

Vim LaTex is a prevalent choice for professional programmers to cope with LaTeX documents. It is actually a plugin for creating and editing LaTeX files. It provides various smart features, such as visual editing, error tracking, mode mapping, auto-compiling, and code folding. Therefore, it is widely loved by professionals. Meanwhile, this tool has a swell of customized templates for you to select from. It is powerful, free, and open-source for Windows, Mac, and Linux users.

Vim LaTex Editor

Vim LaTex Editor

15. TeXworks

TeXworks is an open-source and cross-platform LaTeX editor available on Windows, Mac, and Linux. It is entirely free to edit LaTeX documents with various functions, including code folding, insertion of graphics/tables, interaction with external editors, etc. Also, it allows you to view and export the document as a PDF. This function makes document transfer easier. It is a handy editor for novices to modify their TeX or LaTeX files.

For more open-source options in document editing, see also the 17 Best Open-source PDF Editors.

TeXworks LaTeX Editor

TeXworks LaTeX Editor

FAQs

1. What is the best LaTeX editor for Windows?

There is various LaTeX editing software available on Windows. Among them, the best LaTeX editors are:

  • Texmaker
  • TeXstudio
  • LyX
  • TeXnicCenter
  • Dreamweaver
  • Kile LaTex
  • Gummi
  • Vim with LaTeX-Suite
  • TeXworks

2. What is the best LaTeX editor for Mac?

The recommended best LaTeX editors for Mac are listed here:

  • Texmaker
  • TeXstudio
  • LyX
  • Kile LaTex
  • Vim with LaTeX-Suite
  • TeXworks

3. What is the best online LaTeX editor?

The best online LaTeX editors in the field now are:

  • Overleaf
  • Papeeria
  • Authorea
  • LaTeX Base
  • Chrome LaTeX Editor

4. What is the best LaTeX editor for Linux?

On the Linux operating system, the best LaTeX editors are:

  • Texmaker
  • TeXstudio
  • LyX
  • Kile LaTex
  • Gummi
  • Vim with LaTeX-Suite
  • TeXworks

5. What is the best LaTeX editor for mathematicians?

Many mathematicians prefer to use LaTeX to create, edit and modify their papers, books, exams, etc. Basically, the best LaTeX editors for mathematicians are:

  • TeXmaker
  • TeXstudio
  • TeXnic Center
  • Vim with LaTeX-Suite
  • TeXworks

The Bottom Line

This post has shown you the best LaTeX editors compatible with different operating systems. Admittedly, LaTeX is helpful and can help you do more with less effort when checking or creating a LaTeX document. After your prudential comparison, select one tool to use in the following work.

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