Overleaf
Overleaf is a cloud-based collaborative LaTeX editor serving 25 million users and 8,900+ organizations including universities, research institutions, and enterprises. It monetizes via tiered subscriptions (Free, Student, Standard, Pro, Enterprise) and site licenses, integrating AI writing assistance, version control, and reference management.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Overleaf does
Overleaf is a collaborative online LaTeX editor operated by Digital Science UK Limited (formerly Writelatex Ltd), headquartered in London with a US office in Cambridge, MA. The platform provides a cloud-based environment for scientific and technical writing, combining a WYSIWYG Visual Editor with a traditional Code Editor, both powered by the TeX Live distribution and supporting over 5,000 LaTeX packages server-side. Core capabilities include real-time collaboration, commenting, track changes, version control, advanced reference search, and integrations with Git/GitHub, Dropbox, Zotero, Mendeley, and Papers, plus an AI Assistant for LaTeX-fluent writing support. Overleaf serves 25 million users across 8,900+ organizations including CERN, University of Manchester, Caltech, Samsung, Adobe, Toshiba, and various government agencies.
The business model is a freemium SaaS with tiered individual subscriptions (Free, Student at $98/year, Standard at $199/year, Pro at $399/year) supplemented by group subscriptions, site licenses for universities and research institutions, and custom enterprise plans for 20+ user organizations that include SSO, FedRAMP authorization, and on-premises Server Pro deployment. Go-to-market combines product-led growth for individuals with an enterprise sales motion for institutions, supported by a 40% academic discount and ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification. Additional revenue mechanics include nonprofit discounts, purchase order acceptance for 5+ user groups, and multi-year enterprise contracts. Distribution is web-based globally with localized sites in 12+ languages spanning North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific.
Overleaf was founded in 2011 (with ShareLaTeX/WriteLaTeX roots) and is a privately held subsidiary of Digital Science, a research and scholarly communication technology group. The company has no disclosed external venture funding rounds in the public record beyond early seed activity, indicating parent-company capital support. Product evolution has progressed from a simple LaTeX editor to a comprehensive collaborative writing platform with AI-powered features, extensive publisher-approved template libraries (4,000+ templates), and compliance certifications targeting government and regulated enterprise segments.
Overleaf firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Overleaf
- Legal name
- Digital Science UK Limited
- Website
- https://overleaf.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2011
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Overleaf is a cloud-based collaborative LaTeX editor serving 25 million users and 8,900+ organizations including universities, research institutions, and enterprises. It monetizes via tiered subscriptions (Free, Student, Standard, Pro, Enterprise) and site licenses, integrating AI writing assistance, version control, and reference management.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Overleaf industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Collaborative Cloud-Based LaTeX Writing Software
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (5132)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Rapid eLearning Authoring Tools (EDAFAHAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Self-Publishing & Author Platforms (BPAMAJAF), OER Authoring, Remixing & Publishing Tools/Platforms (EDAGAJAM)
Keywords
Where Overleaf is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Overleaf business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Individual Subscriptions: Tiered subscription plans for individual users: Free (limited features), Student, Standard, and Pro. Each tier offers different collaborator limits, AI allowances, compile timeouts, and feature access. Annual billing provides 20% savings.
- Group/Organization Licenses: Bulk license purchases for teams of 5 or more users. Group plans provide discounted per-seat pricing with centralized administration, usage metrics, and audit logging. Enterprise features include SSO, managed accounts, and on-premises options. 40% academic discount available for educational groups.
- Site Licenses: Institution-wide site licenses for large organizations such as universities, research institutions, and government agencies. Custom pricing based on organization size and requirements.
- Enterprise Custom Plans: Custom-tailored plans for organizations with 20+ users including FedRAMP authorized options, on-premises deployment (Server Pro), and dedicated support and account management.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free tier with basic features for individuals getting started |
| Subscription | Annual | Affordable plan for students with essential collaboration features |
| Subscription | Annual | Mid-tier plan ideal for collaboration with enhanced features |
| Subscription | Annual | Premium plan for individuals and teams on complex projects |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Enterprise plans for organizations with 20+ users |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels9 records
Overleaf product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Overleaf provides a cloud-based collaborative LaTeX editor that enables real-time document creation, editing, and compilation via TeX Live in the browser, eliminating local software installation. The platform supports simultaneous multi-author editing, commenting, track changes, version control, advanced reference search, AI-assisted writing, and integration with reference managers, Git/GitHub, and Dropbox. It is sold through freemium individual subscriptions, group/site licenses for academic and research institutions, and enterprise plans with on-premises and FedRAMP options.
Product overview
Overleaf is a collaborative online LaTeX editor platform that provides a unified cloud-based environment for scientific and technical writing. The core offering consists of Overleaf Cloud, featuring both Visual Editor (WYSIWYG) and Code Editor modes, which work together seamlessly. The platform includes AI-powered features through the AI Assistant (a LaTeX-fluent AI built into the editor) and Writefull for Overleaf (an AI writing assistant from ThinqLab). Overleaf serves multiple segments through tiered subscription plans: Free (basic), Student (discounted), Standard and Pro (individual/team), and Organizations (enterprise). Additional products include On-Premises Server Pro for self-hosting, Overleaf Commons for group subscriptions, and a library of thousands of free templates. The platform integrates with reference managers (Zotero, Mendeley, Papers), version control (Git/GitHub), and cloud storage (Dropbox).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Writefull for Overleaf: AI-powered writing assistant integrated into Overleaf for LaTeX-specific writing support and AI tools.
Products and services
- Overleaf Cloud (Visual & Code Editor) Cloud-based collaborative LaTeX editor providing browser-native document creation, editing, and PDF compilation via TeX Live, with Visual Editor and Code Editor modes, real-time collaboration, commenting, track changes, and version control. Sold via tiered subscriptions (Free, Student, Standard, Pro) to individual students and researchers worldwide.
- Overleaf Organizations (Enterprise Plan) Enterprise subscription for organizations of 20+ users including all Pro features, SSO, managed user accounts, audit logging, user administration, global feature controls, personalized onboarding/support, dedicated account manager, and optional FedRAMP and on-premises deployment. Targeted at enterprises, universities, and government agencies via the Overleaf Sales team.
- Overleaf On-Premises (Server Pro) Self-hosted deployment of the Overleaf platform that lets organizations run the LaTeX editor in their own secure environment with enhanced administrative control over projects, users, and access. Available as an add-on to the Organizations plan and targeted at regulated enterprises and government agencies.
- Overleaf Commons Subscription option aimed at collaborative groups that need shared resources and centralized administration on the Overleaf platform, bridging individual subscriptions and full enterprise site/organization licenses.
- Writefull for Overleaf AI-powered writing assistance tool integrated with Overleaf, provided in partnership with ThinqLab Ltd, offering LaTeX-specific writing and language support to Standard and Pro subscribers as an Overleaf AI Tool.
Quantifiable outcome
- The University of Manchester more than quadrupled the number of institutions with which it collaborates and saw a 310% jump in new projects
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Overleaf
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Overleaf technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration9 records
AI capability3 records
Feature8 records
Overleaf partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Google Cloud PlatformcoreOverleaf uses Google Cloud Platform for data storage. Google provides the infrastructure for Overleaf's main storage space with data centers featuring layered security including custom-designed electronic access cards, alarms, vehicle barriers, perimeter fencing, biometrics, and laser beam intrusion detection.
- GitcoreGit integration available on Standard and higher plans, allowing users to sync their Overleaf projects with Git repositories.
- GitHubcoreGitHub synchronization available as integration on Standard and higher plans, enabling bidirectional sync between Overleaf projects and GitHub repositories.
- DropboxcoreDropbox integration allows PDF file syncing and backup for Overleaf projects. Available on Standard and higher plans with option to disable at organizational level.
- ZoterocoreZotero reference manager integration available on Standard and higher plans for bibliography management and citation insertion.
- MendeleycoreMendeley reference manager integration available on Standard and higher plans for bibliography management and citation workflows.
- Digital SciencecoreDigital Science UK Limited (formerly Writelatex Ltd) operates and controls Overleaf. Digital Science is a company focused on research and scholarly communication technology. Parent company provides corporate structure, compliance certifications (ISO 27001), and shared infrastructure with other Digital Science products.
- ThinqLab LtdminorWritefull for Overleaf is deemed an Overleaf AI Tool. ThinqLab Ltd is an affiliate that may provide related products and services to Writefull users, with details shared in accordance with Overleaf's privacy policy.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Overleaf competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Authorea: Authorea is a collaborative writing platform purpose-built for researchers, supporting LaTeX, Markdown, and rich text in the same document. It is the most direct functional competitor to Overleaf in the online scientific authoring space, serving the same academic author and research team persona.
- Paperpile: Paperpile is a reference manager and Google Docs/LaTeX workflow tool popular with academic researchers. It competes with Overleaf on the LaTeX-aware productivity layer, particularly through its Google Docs integration and reference management depth.
- Manuscripts.app: Manuscripts (formerly Manuscripts.app) is an online writing and collaboration environment for researchers with strong LaTeX support and real-time collaboration. It targets the same author-collaborator-supervisor workflow as Overleaf.
- Fidus Writer: Fidus Writer is an open-source online collaborative editor focused on scholarly writing with native LaTeX export and reference management. It targets the same academic author use case as Overleaf, but as a self-hostable open-source alternative with a smaller feature set and less commercial polish.
Others
- Zotero: Zotero is a leading open-source reference manager widely used by Overleaf customers (and integrated into it). It is a complementary ecosystem participant rather than a direct competitor, but it influences the broader academic writing stack and user workflow choices.
- Writefull: Writefull is an AI writing assistant for academic text that is also embedded into Overleaf via the ThinqLab partnership. As a sibling product under the Digital Science ecosystem, it is more of an ecosystem partner than a competitor, but its standalone offering targets the same AI-for-academic-writing buyer.
Emerging players
- SciSpace (formerly Typeset): SciSpace is an AI-powered research writing and discovery platform that includes an online LaTeX/Word editor, citation tools, and AI literature review features. It overlaps with Overleaf's authoring and submission workflow but is differentiated by a stronger AI-discovery orientation.
Broad incumbents
- Google Docs: Google Docs is the default cloud-based collaborative word processor with real-time editing and comment workflows. It competes with Overleaf for non-LaTeX scientific drafting, especially for cross-disciplinary co-authors who prefer WYSIWYG over markup.
- Notion: Notion is a broad collaborative workspace used widely in academia and startups for note-taking, drafting, and shared documents. It competes with Overleaf for general academic writing use cases that do not require LaTeX typesetting.
- Microsoft Word (Microsoft 365): Microsoft Word is the dominant general-purpose word processor with collaboration features via Microsoft 365. It competes for any writing workload that does not specifically require LaTeX-grade mathematical typesetting.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat7 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Overleaf social profiles
Digital presenceOverleaf compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Overleaf financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Overleaf leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Overleaf funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors3 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Overleaf M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Overleaf
What does Overleaf do?
Overleaf provides a cloud-based collaborative LaTeX editor that enables real-time document creation, editing, and compilation via TeX Live in the browser, eliminating local software installation. The platform supports simultaneous multi-author editing, commenting, track changes, version control, advanced reference search, AI-assisted writing, and integration with reference managers, Git/GitHub, and Dropbox. It is sold through freemium individual subscriptions, group/site licenses for academic and research institutions, and enterprise plans with on-premises and FedRAMP options.
Is Overleaf a public or private company?
Overleaf is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Overleaf founded?
Overleaf was founded in 2011. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Overleaf based?
Overleaf is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Overleaf make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Individual Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are group/Organization Licenses, site Licenses and enterprise Custom Plans.
Who are Overleaf's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Authorea, Paperpile, Manuscripts.app and Fidus Writer. Others are Zotero and Writefull. SciSpace (formerly Typeset) is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are Google Docs, Notion and Microsoft Word (Microsoft 365).
Does Overleaf have an API?
No public API is recorded for Overleaf.
What industry is Overleaf in?
Overleaf's product category is Collaborative Cloud-Based LaTeX Writing Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAFAHAA, Rapid eLearning Authoring Tools, with a secondary code of BPAMAJAF, Self-Publishing & Author Platforms. Its NAICS code is 5132 and its SIC code is 7372.