The Collaboration Tax
You're working on a multi-author paper. The LaTeX source lives on Overleaf. Everything seems fine until:
- Author #7 tries to join and hits the collaborator limit
- Someone has to be removed to add the new contributor
- Or you upgrade—again—for just one more collaborator slot
Sound familiar? You're paying a collaboration tax.
Overleaf's Collaborator Limits
Let's look at the actual limits:
| Plan | Price | Collaborators | Real Cost per Collaborator | |------|-------|---------------|---------------------------| | Free | $0 | 1 | N/A | | Standard | $15/mo | 6 | $2.50/collaborator/mo | | Professional | $30/mo | 10 | $3.00/collaborator/mo | | Team | $30/user/mo | Variable | $30.00/collaborator/mo |
For a research group of 20 people: $7,200/year just for collaboration.
Why Limits Don't Make Sense for Research
Research is Inherently Collaborative
Modern academic work involves:
- Multi-institutional collaborations spanning countries
- Large author lists (physics papers routinely have 100+ authors)
- Rotating team members (students graduate, postdocs move)
- External reviewers who need temporary access
- Visiting collaborators for short-term projects
Artificial limits create artificial friction.
The Real Costs of Limits
Beyond subscription fees, collaborator limits cost you:
Time waste:
- Managing who has access
- Removing and re-adding people
- Coordinating "please edit this section now" workflows
Version chaos:
- Emailing LaTeX files when limits are hit
- Merge conflicts from parallel editing
- Lost changes from poor coordination
Missed contributions:
- Colleagues who could improve the paper but aren't "important enough" for a slot
- Advisors who review less because access is awkward
- Students who can't learn by watching the process
Thetapad: Unlimited by Design
No Collaborator Limits
Every Thetapad plan includes unlimited collaborators:
| Feature | Free | Pro | |---------|------|-----| | Collaborators | Unlimited | Unlimited | | Real-time editing | Yes | Yes | | Comments | Yes | Yes | | Concurrent editors | No limit | No limit |
Share with your entire research group. No upgrade prompts. No artificial scarcity.
How We Make It Work
You might wonder: if unlimited collaboration is possible, why do competitors limit it?
The answer: architecture.
Overleaf's server-centric model makes each collaborator expensive—they consume server resources for every session.
Thetapad's local-first approach means:
- Most work happens on your device
- Server load is minimal
- Collaboration syncs efficiently
- More collaborators don't proportionally increase costs
Real-World Collaboration Scenarios
Scenario 1: The Multi-Author Paper
Typical research paper:
- 5 primary authors
- 2 senior advisors with edit access
- 3 grad students contributing sections
- 2 external collaborators from partner institutions
On Overleaf: Requires Professional plan ($30/mo) minimum. Still only 10 slots—cutting it close.
On Thetapad: Everyone has access. No planning required.
Scenario 2: The Large Collaboration
Physics experiment paper:
- 50+ contributing authors
- Multiple institutions
- Various permission levels needed
On Overleaf: Team plan required. At $30/user/month: $18,000/year.
On Thetapad: Same project, unlimited collaborators, fraction of the cost.
Scenario 3: The Teaching Environment
Course with LaTeX assignments:
- 1 instructor
- 2 TAs
- 40 students
On Overleaf: Each student needs their own plan for group projects, or complex project-sharing arrangements.
On Thetapad: Create shared course workspace. Everyone has access.
Beyond Just Numbers: Better Collaboration
Permission Levels
Not every collaborator needs full edit access:
| Role | Can View | Can Edit | Can Comment | Can Manage | |------|----------|----------|-------------|------------| | Owner | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Editor | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | | Commenter | Yes | No | Yes | No | | Viewer | Yes | No | No | No |
Assign appropriate access without wasting "full" collaborator slots.
Temporary Access
Research collaboration is often time-bounded:
- Conference reviewers need a week of access
- Visiting scholars collaborate for a semester
- Grant reviewers need one-time access
Set expiration dates on invitations. No need to remember to remove people later.
Guest Access
Not everyone needs an account:
- Generate a share link
- Set permissions (view/comment/edit)
- Send to collaborators
- They join immediately—no signup required
Perfect for external reviewers and one-time collaborators.
Comparing Collaboration Features
| Feature | Thetapad | Overleaf Free | Overleaf Pro | |---------|----------|---------------|--------------| | Max collaborators | Unlimited | 1 | 10 | | Real-time editing | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Guest access | Yes | No | No | | Permission levels | 4 levels | Binary | Binary | | Expiring invites | Yes | No | No | | Comment-only access | Yes | No | Yes | | Offline collaboration | Yes | No | No |
The Math: What Teams Actually Save
Small Research Group (8 people)
| Platform | Monthly Cost | Annual Cost | |----------|--------------|-------------| | Overleaf Professional | $30 × 8 = $240 | $2,880 | | Thetapad Team | Much less | Much less |
Medium Collaboration (25 people)
| Platform | Monthly Cost | Annual Cost | |----------|--------------|-------------| | Overleaf Team | $30 × 25 = $750 | $9,000 | | Thetapad | Fraction of the cost | Fraction of the cost |
Large Collaboration (100 people)
| Platform | Monthly Cost | Annual Cost | |----------|--------------|-------------| | Overleaf Team | $30 × 100 = $3,000 | $36,000 | | Thetapad | Still affordable | Still affordable |
Migration Path
Already on Overleaf with team projects? Here's how to switch:
Step 1: Export Projects
For each project:
- Menu → Download → Source
- Save the ZIP file
Step 2: Import to Thetapad
- Create new project
- Import from ZIP
- Verify compilation
Step 3: Invite Collaborators
- Click Share
- Add team members (unlimited!)
- Set appropriate permissions
- Send invitations
Step 4: Coordinate Transition
- Announce the new platform
- Give everyone time to access
- Set a cutoff date for the old platform
- Archive old project once everyone's moved
Conclusion
Collaboration limits are artificial constraints that don't reflect how research actually works. Teams are large, membership is fluid, and access needs vary.
Thetapad's unlimited collaboration means:
- No per-seat calculations when planning projects
- No difficult decisions about who gets access
- No upgrade pressure as your team grows
- No compromise on who can contribute
Your research team should be limited by ideas, not software licenses. Remove the collaboration tax.
Start a team project today—invite everyone who should be involved.