Mellel vs Overleaf

Mellel

• Academics and students writing theses, papers and books on a Mac
• Long, structured documents with many notes and cross-references
• Writers mixing Hebrew, Arabic or Syriac with other languages
• Bookends users who want citations formatted as they write

Overleaf

• Researchers and students writing papers and theses in LaTeX
• Co-authors who need to edit the same LaTeX document at once
• Institutions that want LaTeX with SSO or on-premises hosting

Mellel

• Mac and iPad only: there is no Windows, Android or web version.
• A license covers two years of free updates; later versions need a paid upgrade, listed at $44 on the store page.
• Mellel Mobile runs on iPad only, lacks some editing options of the Mac version, and needs Premium for bibliography scanning.
• Citations and bibliographies rely on Bookends, a separate reference manager that is sold with Mellel as a $114.99 bundle.

Overleaf

• The Free plan allows 1 collaborator per project and keeps only the previous 24 hours of history.
• Track changes, full history, reference-manager sync and the Git, GitHub and Dropbox integrations need a paid plan.
• Free accounts get a basic compile timeout; paid plans get 24 times as long for large or complex documents.
• Monthly billing costs more: Standard is $25 a month, against $199 for a year.

Mellel

Auto-titles and outline

Automatically formatted headings and captions define a document's structure on several levels. The outline gives an overview for jumping to any part and rearranging it.

Footnotes and endnotes

Supports an unlimited number of footnote and endnote streams, with endnotes placed at the end of the document, chapter, section or any combination of these.

Bibliography with Bookends

Integration with the Bookends reference manager updates citations and the bibliography as you write, with one bibliography for the document, one per chapter, or both.

Styles and style sets

Styles apply to characters, paragraphs, pages, notes, sections, tables and lists, and are grouped into style sets that can be reused in other documents.

Multilingual and right-to-left text

Mixes languages, scripts and writing directions within one document, paragraph or sentence, with right-to-left support for Arabic, Hebrew and Syriac.

Import and export

Opens Word (docx), RTF, OPML and plain-text files, and exports to PDF, Word (docx), RTF, OPML and ePUB.

Overleaf

Code Editor and Visual Editor

Write LaTeX in the Code Editor or switch to the Visual Editor to edit without writing code. A toolbar adds figures and tables and formats text.

Real-time collaboration

Several people can edit and comment on a shared project at the same time, invited by link or email. The Free plan allows 1 collaborator per project.

Track changes and history

Paid plans show collaborators' edits as tracked changes and keep the full project history to compare, label and restore. Free accounts see the previous 24 hours.

Templates

A library of free templates and example projects, from publisher-approved research article templates to CVs and business proposals.

Reference and Git integrations

Paid plans connect Zotero, Mendeley and ReadCube for references, add advanced reference search, and sync projects with Git, GitHub and Dropbox.

AI tools

An AI Assistant, LaTeX error help, table and equation generators and Writefull language feedback, capped at 5 uses a day on Free and Student and 10 on Standard.

Mellel

• Mellel Mobile$0

  Free iPad app with in-app purchases: Standard at $29.99 and Premium at $9.99 on the US App Store, which does not show their billing basis.

• Mellel for Mac$69.99

  one-time license

  Personal license for up to 5 computers that never expires, with two years of free updates. The vendor's store page rounds the price to $69.

• Mellel + Bookends Bundle$114.99

  one-time purchase

  Mellel for Mac together with the Bookends reference manager, against $144.98 when the two are bought separately.

Overleaf

• Free$0

  Unlimited projects with 1 collaborator per project, a basic compile timeout and 5 AI uses a day.

• Student$8.25

  per month, billed yearly ($98); $13 billed monthly

  For students enrolled at a degree-granting institution: 10 collaborators per project, the AI Assistant and a 24x compile timeout.

• Standard$16.75

  per month, billed yearly ($199); $25 billed monthly

  10 collaborators per project, 10 AI uses a day, the AI Assistant and a 24x compile timeout, with premium features such as track changes and full history.

• Pro$33.25

  per month, billed yearly ($399); $45 billed monthly

  Unlimited collaborators per project and full access to every AI tool, subject to fair usage.

• OrganizationsCustom

  For 20 or more users: volume discounts of up to 35%, SSO, managed accounts, and optional on-premises or FedRAMP-authorized hosting.

Mellel

• Other savings

  Upgrade from any older license for $44

  The store lists a $44 upgrade to the latest version for holders of any Mellel license, however old, with two more years of free updates.

• Other savings

  Mellel + Bookends bundle

  A license for both Mellel and the Bookends reference manager costs $114.99, instead of $144.98 when each is bought separately.

• Other savings

  Crossgrade price for Nisus users

  Nisus users are offered a Mellel for Mac license at a discounted $51.75, with two years of free updates.

Overleaf

• Annual discount

  3+ months free with yearly billing

  The billing toggle advertises 3 or more months free on yearly billing: Standard is $199 a year against $25 a month, and Pro is $399 against $45 a month.

• Education

  Student plan at $98 a year

  Students at educational institutions, including graduate students, can buy the Student plan for $98 a year or $13 a month.

• Education

  40% academic discount on group plans

  Groups at degree-granting institutions can apply a 40% academic discount to Standard and Pro group licenses. It is meant for students or faculty using Overleaf mainly for teaching.

• Nonprofit

  Nonprofit discounts from 20 licenses

  Qualified nonprofits can get a discount on purchases of 20 licenses or more by contacting Overleaf's sales team.

• Other savings

  Group and volume discounts

  Group licenses on Standard and Pro save an extra 10%, and organizations with 20 or more users can save up to 35% on volume purchases.