Comparison of TeX editors

This page shows a table contrasting the features of the text editors that interface to TeX (or LaTeX or its other incarnations). RTL support means Right to Left language support.

Table of editor properties

Properties of TeX editors
Editing style[Note 1] Native operating systems[Note 2] Latest stable version Costs License Configurable Integrated viewer Inverse search[Note 3] DDE support[Note 4] Organises Projects Menu for inserting symbols Document comparison Spell-checking Multiple undo-redo Collapsible sections Find and replace using RegEx Intelligent error handling Autocompletion of LaTeX commands Parenthesis matching Starts up to previous state[Note 5] Unicode support RTL Support
Archimedes Home Source M 1.3 (2014-11-07) cost Proprietary Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Archimedes
AUCTeX Source L, M, W 11.88 (2014-10-29) Free GPL Yes Yes Yes ? ? Yes Yes Yes[Note 6] Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes[Note 7] Yes Yes AUCTeX
  Authorea   Home Source / partial-WYSIWYG B N/A Free Proprietary Yes Yes Yes N/A Yes No No Yes Yes No Yes No No Yes Yes Yes ? Authorea
BaKoMa TeX Home WYSIWYG / Source W, M, L 10.40 (2014-04-14) cost Proprietary Yes (scriptable) Yes
(Live update)		 Yes Yes Partial[Note 8] Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Partial[Note 8] Yes ? BaKoMa TeX
Eclipse (By plugin TeXlipse) Source L, M, W 1.5.0 (2011-11-26) Free EPL Yes[Note 9] Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? Eclipse (By plugin TeXlipse)
EmilTex Home Source W 1.2.80 (2014) Free Proprietary Yes Yes Yes N/A Yes No No Yes Yes No No Yes No Yes No Yes ? EmilTex Home
Fidus Writer Home Source / partial-WYSIWYG B 1.1-beta (2014-04-01) Free AGPL[1] ? Yes ? ? No Yes No Yes Yes No No No No No No Yes ? Fidus Writer Home
Geany LaTeX Plugin Home Source L,W 0.50 (2010-06-12) Free GPL Yes Yes No N/A Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes ? Geany LaTeX Plugin
Gedit LaTeX Plugin Home Source L 3.8 (2013-07-11) Free GPL Yes Yes Yes N/A Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes[2] Yes[Note 10] Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Gedit LaTeX Plugin
Gummi Source L, W 0.6.5 (2012-10-20) Free MIT Yes Yes (Live update) Yes N/A Yes No No Yes Yes No No No No Yes No Yes ? Gummi
Inlage Source W 5 (2013-06-27) Non-free Proprietary Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? Inlage
JaxEdit Home Source B 0.30(2013-12-13) Free Free Yes Yes Yes N/A No No No No Yes No No No No Yes Yes Yes ? JaxEdit
JLatexEditor Home Source L (M, W) 0.2.10 Free GPL Yes No Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Partial[Note 11] No JLatexEditor
SCaViS Source L (M, W) 1.7 ( 2014-04-01) Free Free Yes No Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? SCaViS
Kile Source L (M, W)[Note 12] 2.1.3 (2012-09-23) Free GPL Yes Yes (Quick preview) Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Kile
LaTeXila source L 3.14 (2014-09-22) Free GPL Yes No Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Planned Yes Yes Yes Yes (just same files) Yes Yes LaTeXila
LatexLab Source B ? Free Apache License ? Yes Yes N/A ? Yes No Yes Yes No No No No Yes No Yes ? LatexLab
Latexian Source M 1.0.6 cost Proprietary Yes Yes (Live Preview) Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes ? Latexian
Sublime Text (By plugin LaTeXing) Source L, M, W 1.2.1(2014-06-14) Non-free Proprietary Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Sublime Text (By plugin LaTeXing)
LEd Source W 0.53 (2009-10-09) Free Proprietary ? Yes (dvi) Yes ? Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes ? Yes Yes No (just same files) No ? LEd
LyX WYSIWYM L, M,[Note 13] W 2.1.3 (2014-02-10) Free GPL Yes Yes (InstantPreview) Yes ? No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes LyX
MeWa Source W 1.4.0 (2007-06-06) Free GPL Yes No No No No Yes No Yes Yes No Yes No No No No Yes ? MeWa
Notepad++ Source W 6.6.6(13-06-2014) Free GPL Yes No, but can be integrated [Note 14] Yes, with SumatraPDF Yes, with a DDE client Yes Partial[Note 15] Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Partial[Note 16] Yes Yes Yes Yes Notepad++
Papeeria Home Source B N/A Free Proprietary Yes Yes No No Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? Papeeria
QuatraTeX Home Source B Beta Free Proprietary Yes Yes No No Yes No Yes No No No No No No No Yes Yes No QuatraTeX
Scientific WorkPlace WYSIWYM W 5.5 cost Proprietary Yes Yes (TrueTex®) N/A ? ? Yes No Yes No (one level) No ? ? N/A Yes No Yes ? Scientific WorkPlace
ShareLaTeX Home Source B N/A Free AGPL Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? ShareLaTeX
cloudTeX home Source B 20.11.2013 pricing Proprietary Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes cloudTeX
TeXCoding Home Source W 2011.6 cost Proprietary Yes Yes (pdf, dvi) Yes No Yes Yes No No Yes Yes Yes ? Yes Yes No Yes ? TeXCoding
Editing style Native operating systems Latest stable version Costs License Configurable Integrated viewer Inverse search DDE support Organises Projects Menu for inserting symbols Document comparison Spell-checking Multiple undo-redo Collapsible sections Find and replace using RegEx Intelligent error handling Autocompletion of LaTeX commands Parenthesis matching Starts up to previous state[Note 17] Unicode support RTL Support
TexitEasy Source L, M, W 0.19.1 (2015-04-24) Free GPL Yes Yes Yes No Partial (master file) No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes TexitEasy
Texmaker Source L, M, W 4.4.1 (2014-11-26) Free GPL2 Yes Yes Yes No Partial (master file) Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Texmaker Home
TeXnicCenter Source W 2.02 Stable (September 29, 2013) [±] Free GPL Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes since v2.0 since v2.0 Yes Yes Yes Yes since v2.0 ? TeXnicCenter
Texpad Home Source M, iOS 1.7.4 Non-free Proprietary Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? Texpad
TeXShop Source M 3.36.2 (2014-06-06) Free GPL Yes Yes (InstantPreview with Flashmode) Yes No No Yes[Note 18] No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? TeXShop
TeXstudio Source L, W, M 2.9.0 (2015-03-06) Free GPL2 Yes Yes (pdf, selection with dvi2png) Yes Yes Partial (master file) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes TeXstudio Home
TeXworks Source L, M, W 0.4[3] Free GPL No Yes (pdf) Yes No No No No Yes[Note 19] Yes No Yes[Note 20] No Yes[Note 21] Yes No Yes Yes TeXworks
TeXpen Source L, M, W 0.6.4[4] Free GPL Yes Yes (pdf since 0.7) No No No No No Yes Yes No No Yes Yes No No Yes Yes TeXpen
RTextDoc Source M, iOS, W, L (Java enabled) 1.9 (2013-11-19) Free Proprietary Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? RTextDoc
Verbosus Source B, A,[5]

iOS[6]

 3.8.7(2014-04-01) Free[7] Non-free Yes Yes (pdf) No No Yes Yes No No Yes No No Yes Yes Yes No Yes ? Verbosus
SCaVis Source M, iOS, W, L (Java enabled) 2.2 (2013-11-19) Free Free Yes No Yes Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No ? SCaVis
Vim with plugin vim-latexsuite[8] Source L, M, W 7.4(2013-08-10) Free Free Yes No Yes ? Partial (master file and Makefile) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? Yes Yes ? Yes No Vim
WinEdt Home Source W 9.0 (2014-08-15) cost Proprietary Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes (modified) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? WinEdt
Winefish Source L 1.3.3 Free GPL Yes No No N/A Yes No No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes ? Winefish
WinShell Source W 3.3.2.6 Free Proprietary Yes No Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No (just same files) Yes ? WinShell
writeLaTeX Home Source / partial-WYSIWYG B N/A Free Proprietary Yes Yes No N/A Yes No No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes ? writeLaTeX Home
Editing Style Native Operating Systems Latest stable version Costs License Configurable Integrated viewer Inverse search DDE Support Organises Projects Menu for inserting symbols Document comparison Spell-checking Multiple undo-redo Collapsible sections Find and replace using RegEx Intelligent error handling Autocompletion of LaTeX commands Parenthesis matching Starts up to previous state[Note 22] Unicode support RTL Support
  1. ↑ "Source" means you see and edit the TeX source files. "WYSIWYM" = What You See Is What You Mean, i.e. you see and edit formatted text. WYSIWYG means that see the output file automatically updated during the edit. Note that some PDF viewers (e.g. evince) automatically reload the PDF document when it is updated on the disk. So, any "source" TeX editor can be turned into partial WYSIWYG editor by opening such a reader in an adjacent window.
  2. ↑ L, M, W, B, A refer to Linux, Mac OS, Windows, Browser-based and Android respectively (of course other combinations are possible, using emulators or other software)
  3. ↑ Inverse search means that one can locate the relevant part of the source code from the viewer (e.g., double-clicking in dvi or pdf file brings up the appropriate line/paragraph in the latex code)
  4. ↑ On Windows some pdf viewers like Sumatra PDF or Adobe Reader don't use command line arguments for forward search, but the editor sends the document position to them using Dynamic Data Exchange
  5. ↑ Starts up to previous state including the current editing point.
  6. ↑ Requires installation of extra package.
  7. ↑ configurable as an option of the Emacs editor
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Source editor only.
  9. ↑ Additional plugin Pdf4Eclipse for preview of pdf files with SyncTeX support
  10. ↑ requires an additional plugin
  11. ↑ Can open/save files with UTF-8 encoding, but characters often do not appear correctly in editing screen.
  12. ↑ Support for non-linux systems considered experimental.
  13. ↑ No Retina support available or planned.
  14. ↑ Notepad++ can execute Tex viewers; See GNU Octave, LaTex and Notepad++ for more details.
  15. ↑ A plug-in is required. See this list of plugins for Notepad++ for details.
  16. ↑ This will have to be set up manually.
  17. ↑ Starts up to previous state including the current editing point.
  18. ↑ LaTeX panel & Matrix panel
  19. ↑ Requires installation of extra package ( → How to install spelling dictionaries for the TeXworks editor )
  20. ↑ Provides a subset of the regular expression syntax implemented in the Perl scripting language, but fully supports Unicode ( → Issue 194: Add advanced regexp options to Find/Replace )
  21. ↑ Template file in resource directory ( → Documentation of the code completion feature )
  22. ↑ Starts up to previous state including the current editing point.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Fidus GitHub Repo".
  2. ↑ User:rgbpe; Ubuntu Forums; http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=7841972#post7841972
  3. ↑ TeXworks 0.4 released on March 21, 2011 for Windows and Linux
  4. ↑ TeXpen 0.6.4 released on Jul, 2014 for Windows,Linux, and OSX. Support grammar and expression checking
  5. ↑ "VerbTeX". 2010-07-28. Retrieved 2010-07-28. VerbTeX is a LaTeX Editor for Android devices. It uses the LaTeX service available at verbosus.com to generate PDFs.
  6. ↑ "iVerbTeX". 2010-07-28. Retrieved 2010-07-28. iVerbTeX is a LaTeX Editor for iOS devices. It uses the LaTeX service available at verbosus.com to generate PDFs.
  7. ↑ "Terms and Conditions". 2010-02-23. Retrieved 2010-03-06. The service is free to use (you are allowed to create four resources of any type for free). Additional costs arise if you decide that you don't want this restriction and explicitly purchase its removal.
  8. ↑ "LaTeX-Suite-aka-Vim-LaTeX". mirror of official repository and website