# CoCalc review (2026): is the free plan enough? > Shared online workspace for LaTeX, Jupyter notebooks and code Checked Nov 13, 2026 ยท graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA. CoCalc is a hosted workspace where collaborators share projects containing a Linux terminal, Jupyter notebooks and an online LaTeX editor with PDF preview. It also runs AI coding agents inside projects. A free tier and paid memberships are offered. - **Category:** Writing Tools - **Made by:** SageMath, Inc. - **Website:** https://cocalc.ai - **Runs on:** Web - **Who should skip it:** Skip it if you only want a LaTeX editor: it is a whole computing platform. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 13, 2026, CoCalc has a free plan, and paid plans start at $6 per month, billed annually ($8 billed monthly). - **Pricing model:** Free plan - **Free plan:** Free membership with basic shared resources, enough to explore the platform and do basic work. - **Free trial:** None listed. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Free | $0 | Basic shared resources to explore the platform. | | Basic | $6 per month, billed annually ($8 billed monthly) | More shared resources and better shared hosts; for occasional light use. | | Standard | $18 per month, billed annually ($24 billed monthly) | Higher priority, more backups, snapshots, projects and collaborators. | | Pro | $150 per month, billed annually ($200 billed monthly) | Best shared resources, many projects running at once; for advanced users and researchers. | Read from https://cocalc.ai/pricing on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with CoCalc before buying. ## Ways to pay less - **Save 25% with annual billing** (Annual discount): The pricing page states a 25% saving on Basic, Standard and Pro when billed annually. Source: https://cocalc.ai/pricing ## Key features - **Online LaTeX editor:** Write LaTeX with collaboration, PDF preview, source synchronization, anchored discussions and edit history. - **Jupyter notebooks:** Collaborative notebooks with cell chat, TimeTravel history and local or remote kernels. - **AI agents in projects:** An integrated Codex agent works with project files, and Claude Code where a site enables it. - **Linux terminal and software:** Each project has a terminal, project storage and installed software such as Python, R, Julia and SageMath. - **Course tools:** Distribute assignments, collect work and grade notebooks or other project files. ## Good for - Researchers who mix LaTeX papers with notebooks and code - Instructors running technical courses ## Worth knowing - It is a general computing platform, so LaTeX writing is one of many tools in it. - Network access and larger resources need paid memberships; dedicated VMs are priced separately. - CoCalc Plus and CoCalc Star are customer-operated versions; the pricing page says Star is free. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.0 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. CoCalc is an online computing platform with a LaTeX editor, Jupyter notebooks, a Linux terminal and AI agents. LaTeX is one of many tools in it, and network access and larger resources need a paid membership starting at $6 a month. - **Value for money: C.** Basic is $6 a month billed annually, $8 monthly. Standard is $18 and Pro $150, with dedicated VMs priced separately. - **Free plan and trial: C.** Free membership gives basic shared resources, enough to explore the platform and do basic work. Network access needs a paid plan. - **Features: C.** Online LaTeX, Jupyter, a terminal, course tools and AI. The listing says LaTeX is one of many tools, so it is a broad computing platform rather than a writing tool. - **Ease of use: C.** No store rating on record. A workspace this broad has a learning curve. - **Platforms and integrations: C.** Web only, with no integrations listed. CoCalc Plus and Star are separate customer-run versions. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from CoCalc's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among writing tools - CoCalc's GPA of 2.0 is higher than 18 of the 136 other writing tools we grade, and level with 16. - Its paid plans start at $6 a month, against a middle price of $8.66 for the category: 23 of the 81 others that charge start lower. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.0 out of 4. 27 tools score higher and cost less. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/writing ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** To replace CoCalc you would be making an AI agent, with the models and the safeguards behind it. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one. That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 102 of the 136 other writing tools grade higher. It costs $72 a year. - You could make: Documents: an app builder makes this well. - You could not: An AI agent, with the models and the safeguards behind it. - You could not: An endless canvas that stays smooth with hundreds of things on it. - You could not: Several people working in it at the same moment. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. **Tags:** Real-time collaboration, AI agents, Documents, Whiteboard ## Alternatives - [Overleaf](https://toolgpa.com/tools/overleaf): Collaborative online LaTeX editor for papers and theses. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/cocalc-vs-overleaf) - [Papeeria](https://toolgpa.com/tools/papeeria): Online LaTeX and Markdown editor with real-time collaboration. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/cocalc-vs-papeeria) - [TeXPage](https://toolgpa.com/tools/texpage): Online LaTeX editor with cloud compilation and AI proofreading. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/cocalc-vs-texpage) - [Typst](https://toolgpa.com/tools/typst): Markup-based typesetting system with a collaborative web app. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/cocalc-vs-typst) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026: - https://cocalc.ai/pricing - https://cocalc.ai/features - https://cocalc.ai/about Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/cocalc Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).