Alternatives to TeX Live
The reference cross-platform TeX and LaTeX distribution. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
TeX Live
The reference cross-platform TeX and LaTeX distribution.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as TeX Live.
MiKTeX
TeX distribution that installs missing packages on demand.
MiKTeX keeps the base install small by fetching packages on demand, but that needs network access while compiling and it is less commonly assumed by Linux documentation.
Also worth comparing
These listings name TeX Live as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
Overleaf
Collaborative LaTeX editor that runs in the browser.
TeX Live is the free reference TeX and LaTeX distribution for local compiling on Linux, macOS and Windows, without browser collaboration, and a full install is several gigabytes.
Typst
A typesetting system as capable as LaTeX but far easier to learn, with fast incremental compilation and readable error messages.
TeX Live gives the full LaTeX ecosystem many journals require, but needs several gigabytes of installation and has less readable error messages than Typst.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
LyX
Document processor that writes LaTeX for you.
Pandoc
Converts documents between almost any two markup formats: Markdown, Word, LaTeX, EPUB, HTML, PDF and dozens more.
Quarto
Publish technical documents from Markdown and executable code.
JabRef
An open-source reference manager for collecting, organising and citing literature in BibTeX and BibLaTeX.
