Comparison · August 29, 2026
LetX vs Overleaf: A Sourced Decision for Research Teams
A dated comparison of free collaboration, AI features, history, Git, pricing, and institutional options in LetX and Overleaf.
By Shihab Shahriar Antor · Updated 2026-08-29
LetX and Overleaf are both browser-based collaborative LaTeX editors, but they make different trade-offs around free collaboration, AI workflows, history, integrations, and institutional deployment.
Free plans
LetX publishes unlimited collaborators on every plan, with 40 compiles per day and the last 15 versions on Free. Overleaf’s current plan page lists one collaborator per project on Free, a basic compile-time allowance, unlimited projects, and five AI uses per day.
Those limits make LetX attractive for a student team that needs several co-authors without a paid seat. They do not make it universally better: a researcher may already receive Overleaf premium through an institution.
AI features
Overleaf includes AI tools across plans, with allowance depending on the tier. Lexi is a LetX Pro feature that reads project files and logs, edits source, compiles, and keeps a recoverable version. The products expose different workflows and plan limits.
History and Git
LetX lists the last 15 versions on Free and full history on Pro. Overleaf documents the last 24 hours plus labeled versions on Free, with full project history on premium. GitHub import/export is a LetX Pro feature; Overleaf’s Git and GitHub integrations are premium features.
Where Overleaf is stronger
Overleaf is the established category leader with a mature institutional ecosystem. Its organization offering advertises SSO, global controls, optional FedRAMP authorization, and optional on-premises deployment. If a university has already standardized on that environment, migration cost and policy may matter more than individual plan price.
Where LetX is differentiated
LetX combines unlimited free collaborators, its own published template catalogue, Lexi’s compiler-aware editing loop, and an OAuth-protected MCP server for compatible AI clients. Its Pro plan is currently listed at $18 per month, with separate student and yearly pricing.
Compile speed
LetX publishes a typical end-to-end compile time of about six seconds from its production window. Overleaf describes compile-time limits by plan. Those are different measurements, so this article does not claim that one service is universally faster.
The complete LetX vs Overleaf comparison table includes the verification date, scenarios where each product is stronger, and direct primary-source links.