Thetapad vs Lilia

Thetapad7.5Visit LLilia7.4Visit

Higher score Thetapad #6 in Collaborative Research Writing Tools Software 7.5/10 Free plan · 7-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 4 of 4 features Visit Thetapad

vs

L Lilia #7 in Collaborative Research Writing Tools Software 7.4/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 4 of 4 features Visit Lilia

• Thetapad fits best

  Teams wanting offline-first LaTeX collaboration

• Lilia fits best

  Visual LaTeX teams needing many export formats

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Side by side

Feature	Thetapad 7.5/10 Visit ↗	LLilia 7.4/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	7.5	7.4
Ranking	#6 in Collaborative Research Writing Tools Software	#7 in Collaborative Research Writing Tools Software
Best for	Teams wanting offline-first LaTeX collaboration	Visual LaTeX teams needing many export formats
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Free plan + paid
Starting price	—	—
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	7 days	—
Deployment	Cloud	Cloud
Platforms	Web	Web
Compliance	GDPR	SSO/SAML
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Solo, Small business, Mid-market
Features Thetapad 4/4 · Lilia 4/4
LaTeX editor	✓	✓
Real-time coauthoring	✓	✓
Revision history	✓	✓
Document comments	✓	✓
Specs
Citation workflow	Built_in	Built_in
Export formats	PDF, ZIP	PDF, LaTeX, DOCX, EPUB, Typst, Markdown
Our review
Pros	Local WebAssembly compilation with live PDF preview Real-time editing, cursor presence, comments, and suggestions Built-in citations, 77+ templates, AI tools, and Git integrations	Visual and editable raw-TeX editing in one browser workspace Real-time presence, comments, and version history support coauthoring Exports include PDF, LaTeX, DOCX, EPUB, Typst, and Markdown
Cons	Free plan is limited to 3 projects and basic templates AI usage is capped on Student, Pro, and Team plans Web-only platform with cloud storage limits on paid tiers	Free plan exports only to PDF and LaTeX Available through the web and cloud deployment only Priority rendering, support, and administration require paid tiers
Our verdict	Thetapad is a browser-based LaTeX editor for researchers, students, educators, and research teams. Its local WebAssembly compilation produces live PDF previews while documents remain stored locally by default. The editor includes syntax… Read the review →	Lilia is a browser-based editor for papers, theses, and technical documents. It combines a visual block editor with editable LaTeX source, including visual and raw-TeX mathematical formula editing. Individual authors and research groups… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Thetapad — where it wins

  • Local WebAssembly compilation with live PDF preview
  • Real-time editing, cursor presence, comments, and suggestions
  • Built-in citations, 77+ templates, AI tools, and Git integrations

  Where it doesn't

  • Free plan is limited to 3 projects and basic templates
  • AI usage is capped on Student, Pro, and Team plans
  • Web-only platform with cloud storage limits on paid tiers

• Lilia — where it wins

  • Visual and editable raw-TeX editing in one browser workspace
  • Real-time presence, comments, and version history support coauthoring
  • Exports include PDF, LaTeX, DOCX, EPUB, Typst, and Markdown

  Where it doesn't

  • Free plan exports only to PDF and LaTeX
  • Available through the web and cloud deployment only
  • Priority rendering, support, and administration require paid tiers

• Thetapad7.5/10 · Free plan · 7-day trial

  Offline-first LaTeX collaboration with local compilation, AI help, and Git integration.

  Visit ThetapadFull verdict →
• LLilia7.4/10 · Free plan

  Visual and raw-TeX collaboration with citation tools and broad document exports.

  Visit LiliaFull verdict →