Aldine / Overleaf free plan
Is Overleaf free? What the free plan includes and what is paid
Yes. Overleaf's documentation says "Overleaf is free to use" and that the free plan "includes unlimited projects, sharing with one collaborator per project, and many other features". Paid plans add more collaborators, a longer compile timeout, track changes, full history and the integrations. (Overleaf docs: free and premium plans, as of October 2026)
Written by the Aldine project, so read it with that in mind. Statements about other products are taken from the linked pages of that product's own documentation. Checked on 12 October 2026.
This page is a summary of what Overleaf's own pages said on 12 October 2026. Plans and prices change, so treat Overleaf's plans page as the authority and this page as a reading aid.
Free plan compared with the paid plans
| Free | Student | Standard | Pro | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collaborators per project (editors and reviewers) | 1 | 10 | 10 | Unlimited |
| Viewers | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Number of projects | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Compile timeout | 10 seconds | 240 seconds | 240 seconds | 240 seconds |
| Document history | Previous 24 hours, plus labeled versions | Full | Full | Full |
| Track changes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Git integration and GitHub synchronization | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Dropbox synchronization | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Zotero, Mendeley and ReadCube integration | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Advanced reference search | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Symbol palette | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Ready-to-use templates | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Offline editing of the current file | Up to 2 minutes | Up to 10 minutes | ||
Sources, all as of 12 October 2026: Overleaf's plans page for the rows on collaborators, projects, history, track changes, integrations, reference search, symbol palette and templates; plan limits for the timeout in seconds; premium features for viewers and offline editing; history and versioning for labeled versions. The plans page also lists AI allowances and administration features that are left out here.
Limits that are the same on every plan: 2000 files per project, 50 MB per uploaded file, and 7 MB of editable material per project. (Overleaf docs: plan limits, as of October 2026)
What the paid plans cost
These are the prices Overleaf's plans page showed for individual plans when it was fetched on 12 October 2026. The page states: "All prices displayed are in USD. Taxes may be added, depending on your billing address." (Overleaf: plans and pricing, as of October 2026)
| Plan | Billed monthly | Billed annually |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 |
| Student | $13 per month | $98 per year |
| Standard | $25 per month | $199 per year |
| Pro | $45 per month | $399 per year |
Figures copied from Overleaf's plans page on 12 October 2026. Prices change, and the amount you are charged can differ with taxes, discounts and where you are. Check the plans page before you decide.
- Student plan. The page describes it as "available to students currently enrolled at a degree-granting institution", and its FAQ says the student discount "includes graduate students". (Overleaf: plans and pricing, as of October 2026)
- Free trial. The page's FAQ describes a 7-day free trial of a paid plan; your card is charged at the end unless you cancel before then. (Overleaf: plans and pricing, as of October 2026)
- Groups and organizations. The Organizations column shows "Contact Sales" in place of a price, and the page mentions discounts for groups of 20 or more. (Overleaf: plans and pricing, as of October 2026)
- Through your university. Overleaf's premium features are also available to users whose organization or university has an Overleaf Commons subscription. Check whether yours has one before you pay yourself. (Overleaf docs: sharing a project, as of October 2026)
How the collaborator limit works
On the free plan you can invite one collaborator per project. Overleaf defines a collaborator as "an Editor or Reviewer that you invite to work with you on a project", and viewers are not counted: the number of viewers is unlimited on every plan. The limit is per project, so you can invite a different person to each project. (Overleaf: plans and pricing, as of October 2026) (Overleaf docs: premium features, as of October 2026)
What matters is the plan of the project owner. Track changes, compile time and full history "are based on the project owner's subscription", so "users on the free plan can use those features within that project" when the owner has a subscription. Only the subscriber's account is upgraded; collaborators do not get the features on their own projects. (Overleaf docs: premium features, as of October 2026) (Overleaf: plans and pricing, as of October 2026)
If you move from a paid plan back to the free plan, Overleaf says you keep access to all projects you own, you are allowed one collaborator with edit access on new and existing projects, existing tracked changes stay in the project, and the other premium features are no longer available. (Overleaf docs: premium features, as of October 2026)
The features people ask about most
Compile timeout
10 seconds on the free plan, 240 seconds on premium plans. (Overleaf docs: plan limits, as of October 2026) If your compile timed out, Overleaf compile timeout: the limit and how to fix it goes through the fixes from Overleaf's documentation.
Git and GitHub
Both are premium features. With git integration you can clone, push and pull a project; with GitHub synchronization you link a project to a GitHub repository. (Overleaf docs: premium features, as of October 2026) The details, including the limits Overleaf documents, are on using git and GitHub with Overleaf.
Track changes
"Track Changes is a premium feature." It lets you see what collaborators changed and accept or reject each change. (Overleaf docs: track changes, as of October 2026) (Overleaf docs: premium features, as of October 2026)
History
"Full Project History is a premium feature. For users on our free plan, the History panel will show edits made in the last 24 hours as well as any labeled versions." (Overleaf docs: history and versioning, as of October 2026)
Zotero and Mendeley
Linking a Zotero, Mendeley or ReadCube account is a premium feature. Overleaf also points out the free route: "If you don't have a paid Overleaf subscription you can always export .bib data from Zotero, or other reference manager software, and upload the resultant .bib file into your Overleaf project." (Overleaf docs: Zotero, as of October 2026) (Overleaf docs: premium features, as of October 2026) More on that workflow in Zotero with LaTeX.
Overleaf's free self-hosted edition
There is a second free Overleaf: Community Edition, which you run on your own server. Overleaf's comparison lists the LaTeX editor and full project history for it, and marks commenting, real-time track changes, git integration and single sign-on as Server Pro only. (Server Pro vs. Community Edition, as of October 2026) Its compile timeout is 180 seconds by default and you can change it. (Overleaf docs: on-premises project management, as of October 2026) The full comparison is on self-hosting Overleaf: what Community Edition includes.
When a self-hosted alternative fits, and when it does not
Aldine is an open-source, self-hosted collaborative LaTeX editor (AGPL-3.0). It has no plans: every feature is in the one free edition, and you provide the server. Whether that is a better deal than a free or paid Overleaf plan depends on what you need.
It fits when
- You have a server and someone to run it. A research group, a department or a homelab. The install is two containers with Docker Compose; see the self-hosting guide.
- More than two people write together. There is no collaborator limit.
- You want git without a subscription. Every project is a git repository with branches, and it pushes and pulls to GitHub, GitLab, Gitea and Forgejo.
- You want Zotero linked. A whole library or one collection, with a
.bibfile kept in sync. - You need to set the compile timeout yourself. It is one environment variable, 120 seconds by default.
- Your documents have to stay on your own infrastructure.
It does not fit when
- You do not want to run a server. Aldine has no hosted service today. overleaf.com needs only a sign-up, with nothing to install. (Overleaf docs: free and premium plans, as of October 2026)
- You need keystroke-level track changes. Aldine has review comments with suggested edits, which is a smaller feature. Overleaf has real-time track changes on its paid plans. (Overleaf docs: track changes, as of October 2026)
- You need a long track record. Aldine is at v0.x and its first release was in July 2026. Before 1.0 a minor version may change behaviour, so you have to keep backups and read release notes.
- You write alone or with one co-author and the free plan is enough. Then there is nothing to solve. The free plan covers unlimited projects and one collaborator.
- Your co-authors are already on Overleaf and will not move.
The complete list of Aldine's limits is in the self-hosting guide, and other self-hosted editors are compared on Overleaf alternatives you can self-host. You can try Aldine without installing anything:
No account, no install. The demo is a shared sandbox and resets every night.
Common questions
Is Overleaf free?
Yes. Overleaf's documentation says it "is free to use", and the free plan includes unlimited projects and sharing with one collaborator per project. (Overleaf docs: free and premium plans, as of October 2026)
How many collaborators does the Overleaf free plan allow?
One collaborator (an editor or reviewer) per project. Viewers are unlimited. Student and Standard plans allow 10 collaborators per project and Pro allows an unlimited number. (Overleaf docs: premium features, as of October 2026)
How much does Overleaf premium cost?
On 12 October 2026 Overleaf's plans page showed, in USD, Student at $13 per month or $98 per year, Standard at $25 per month or $199 per year, and Pro at $45 per month or $399 per year, with taxes possibly added. Prices change, so check the page. (Overleaf: plans and pricing, as of October 2026)
What is the compile timeout on the free plan?
10 seconds, against 240 seconds on premium plans. (Overleaf docs: plan limits, as of October 2026)
Is git or GitHub sync included in the free plan?
No. Overleaf's plans page marks the integrations (Git, GitHub, Dropbox, Zotero, Mendeley and ReadCube) as not included on the free plan and included on Student, Standard and Pro. (Overleaf: plans and pricing, as of October 2026)
Does the free plan have track changes and history?
Track changes is a premium feature. History on the free plan shows edits made in the last 24 hours and any labeled versions; full history is a premium feature. (Overleaf docs: track changes, as of October 2026) (Overleaf docs: history and versioning, as of October 2026)
Do my collaborators need to pay too?
No. Features such as track changes, compile time and full history depend on the project owner's subscription, so collaborators on the free plan can use them in that project. (Overleaf docs: premium features, as of October 2026)