Alternatives to Etherpad
Real-time collaborative plain-text editor you host yourself. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
Etherpad
Real-time collaborative plain-text editor you host yourself.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as Etherpad.
CryptPad
End-to-end encrypted collaborative office suite.
CryptPad offers end-to-end encrypted real-time editing with rich documents, sheets and slides under AGPL-3.0, but encryption limits server-side features like full-text search.
Collabora Online
LibreOffice running in the browser with real-time collaboration.
Collabora Online provides full LibreOffice word processing in the browser with real-time collaboration, but its server rendering is resource hungry and production use is paid.
Google Workspace
Google's online office suite with Docs, Sheets, Slides, Gmail, Drive and Meet in one account.
Google Workspace gives rich collaborative documents in the browser with nothing to host, but is closed source and stores files on Google's servers.
ONLYOFFICE DocSpace
A document collaboration platform built around rooms where teams and guests co-edit and review office files.
ONLYOFFICE DocSpace offers hosted or self-hosted co-editing of office files with version history, but it is not open source and is heavier than Etherpad.
Microsoft 365
Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook with cloud storage and collaboration.
Microsoft 365 provides real-time co-authoring in Word across desktop, web and mobile, with subscription pricing and closed source instead of free self-hosting.
Lex
A minimalist online word processor with built-in AI feedback, rewriting and live collaboration.
Lex is a hosted, closed-source web word processor with live collaboration and AI editing help, but it cannot be self-hosted like Etherpad.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
Overleaf
Collaborative LaTeX editor that runs in the browser.
Excalidraw
Collaborative whiteboard with a hand-drawn look.
LanguageTool
Grammar, spelling and style checker for more than thirty languages.
Zoho Workplace
An online suite from Zoho combining mail, team chat, meetings, file storage and office editors.
Docmost
An open-source, self-hosted wiki for team documentation with real-time collaborative editing.
