$19.99, once, after a free 7-day trial, including all updates, forever. No subscription and no account.

macOS Free 7-day trial · $19.99 to keep · v1.6.0

ModernTex

Q: Is there a free trial?

Yes. The trial is the complete app for seven days from first launch, with no account and nothing to enter. When it ends the window shows a notice and a Buy button; your .tex files are ordinary files on disk and are not touched. Buying is $19.99 once and gives you a license key that unlocks the copy you already have.

A native macOS LaTeX editor for researchers, not a programmer's IDE with LaTeX bolted on. Multi-file editing, synchronized PDF preview, and the full academic manuscript workflow in one app.

Download the free 7-day trial

Refunded if you email within 14 days of purchase. Updates are included forever.

From the studio behind Scholar Utility Belt, which 1,000 researchers use and the Chrome Web Store rates 4.5 out of 5.

The trial is the full app for seven days, no account, nothing to enter. Buying is $19.99 once, with all updates included, forever (terms); the receipt email includes a permanent license key. After the seven days the app asks for it. Not useful? Email ben@purplelink.llc within 14 days of purchase and it is refunded. Already using the trial? Choose Enter license key in the app, paste the key, and the copy you have unlocks straight away, with no reinstall. Version 1.4.0 · 18 MB disk image · macOS 14 or later · Apple silicon and Intel. Requirements. Also in the Mac Suite with Outbound Veil, Legroom, Keyfeel, Tapefolio and Vitae Plus for life, $54.99 once. First ten minutes: install and first build.

ModernTex editor: document outline, LaTeX source with syntax highlighting, and live PDF preview side by side — ModernTex on a sample manuscript: source on the left, the PDF it builds on the right.

Watch the tour

Sixty-five seconds, start to submission

A mistyped command caught as you type, TikZ and tables built visually, a searchable symbol palette, revision snapshots, and the submission checker. Real footage of the app on a sample manuscript.

Play the tour on YouTube

In the app

Source and PDF, always in sync

New in 1.3

Two things nobody enjoys writing by hand

A TikZ diagram and a results table are both perfectly capable LaTeX, and neither is a pleasant place to start from a blank line and a syntax reference. ModernTex builds both visually and drops in the real source underneath: nothing hidden, nothing you couldn't have typed yourself.

TikZ Designer

Drag boxes and arrows into place, pick colors from a swatch, resize by the corner, connect two shapes by dragging between them. Start from a flowchart, pipeline, state machine, or tree preset, or a blank canvas. Reopen an existing diagram from the Figures menu to keep editing it instead of redrawing it.

Table Editor

Paste a range straight from Excel or Google Sheets and it lands in the right cells, growing the table if the data is bigger and leaving the rest untouched if it's smaller. Return moves down a row, ⌥Return breaks a line inside a cell, and dragging a column edge resizes it, the way a spreadsheet does, producing booktabs-style tabular underneath.

Everything the manuscript needs

Multi-file manuscript navigation

Navigate complex projects with root file detection and a structured sidebar. Jump between chapters, sections, and bibliography files without losing context.

Three compile modes

Fast, Live, and Full compile modes let you move at the speed you need. Live mode keeps the PDF in sync as you type. Full mode does the deep pass before submission.

Synchronized PDF preview

Forward and inverse search: click the source to jump to the PDF, click the PDF to jump to the source. Side by side, always in sync.

Citation management

BibTeX autocomplete that searches your bibliography by author, title, or key, not only the keys you have already cited. Cite-as-you-type with smart suggestions from your .bib files.

Plain-language error diagnostics

LaTeX error messages are hostile by design. ModernTex translates them into clear explanations with suggested fixes, reducing the debugging spiral that breaks flow.

Submission readiness checks

Automatically check anonymization, page limits, required sections, and submission packaging before you hit send, so formatting problems are caught before a journal returns the paper.

Version snapshots

Take a snapshot at any point: before a major revision, after peer review, before resubmission. Diff between snapshots with meaningful context.

Live TikZ figure editor

Build flowcharts and diagrams by dragging boxes and drawing connections on a canvas. ModernTex generates the TikZ code as you go; insert it at your cursor when it's ready.

Table editor

Paste a range from Excel or Google Sheets straight into the right cells. Resize columns by dragging, set a table-wide font, and generate clean booktabs-style LaTeX underneath.

Native macOS experience

Built in Swift for macOS 14+. Native dark and light mode, system fonts, proper keyboard shortcuts, and performance that doesn't make you wait.

Plain-language errors

From a cryptic error to a fix

LaTeX reports a mistake in its own terms and leaves you to work out what it means. ModernTex reads the error and says what went wrong in plain language, with a suggested fix.

What LaTeX prints

! Undefined control sequence.
l.42 As shown by \citeauthr
                           {smith2024}, the effect holds.

What ModernTex tells you

LaTeX does not recognize the command \citeauthr on line 42. This is usually a misspelled command, or a package that defines it is not loaded.

Suggested fix

\citeauthr{smith2024}

\citeauthor{smith2024}

An illustrative example, not a capture from the app; the wording varies with the error.

Who it's for

For academic authors

PhD students

Writing dissertation chapters and conference papers across multiple files, with deadlines and a committee watching over your shoulder.

Faculty & researchers

Managing journal submissions, coauthor workflows, multiple concurrent manuscripts, and the full resubmission lifecycle.

Technical coauthors

Jumping into someone else's LaTeX project and needing to understand the structure, fix compilation issues, and contribute without breaking things.

Not the right fit if several co-authors need to type in the same document at the same moment (keep Overleaf for that draft), you work on Windows, Linux or an iPad, or you would rather not have a TeX distribution on your Mac. ModernTex is also new, first released in September 2026, so it has less of a track record than TeXShop or Texifier. The comparison of Mac LaTeX editors covers the alternatives.

At a glance

ModernTex, in facts

Price	$19.99 once, after a free 7-day trial. All updates included, forever. No subscription.
Trial	The complete app for seven days from first launch. No account, nothing to enter.
License	A permanent key in the receipt email. There is one download: it runs free for seven days, then asks for the key. Paste it in and the same copy unlocks, updates included.
Runs on	macOS 14 Sonoma or later, Apple silicon and Intel. Signed and notarized disk image.
TeX distribution	Uses MacTeX or TinyTeX. If neither is installed, ModernTex offers a one-click TinyTeX install.
Your files	Ordinary .tex, .bib and figure files in a folder on your disk. No cloud storage and no account.
Working with co-authors	No real-time co-editing. Get Changes and Send Changes sync between your Macs or with a co-author.
AI features	Optional. Fix with AI proposes a repair for a build error and shows it as a diff before anything changes. It runs on Apple Intelligence on your Mac, or on your own Claude or OpenAI account; Purplelink charges nothing for it.
Updates	Checks once a day and installs in place, or choose Check for Updates.
Current version	1.6.0, which builds a PDF of your project with your edits marked since the last time you synced, and can mark what the last Get Changes brought in. 1.5.0 builds projects kept in iCloud Drive and OneDrive, flags a Figure that points at a table, suggests the label you meant, shows a checks summary in the status bar and saves automatic checkpoints. 1.4.0 made ModernTex one download: free for seven days, then a license key, with copies you already bought left as they are. 1.3.6 made the free trial show the right price and adds one note near the end of the trial. 1.3.5 made the plain Light and Dark themes change the whole window and toolbar tooltips are drawn by the app. 1.3.4 fixed Command-click in the PDF not scrolling the editor and made the toolbar fit narrow windows. 1.3.3 added fixes to jumping between the editor and the PDF, a PDF-only layout, a sidebar toggle and plain light and dark editor themes. 1.3.2 changed the key used to verify updates. 1.3.1 added one Settings window with editor fonts, line spacing, syntax colors and Zen mode. Changelog

Thirteen updates since launch on September 4

Oct 91.6.0Changes Since Last Sync: a PDF with your edits marked since you last synced, and what the last Get brought in.
Oct 91.5.0Builds projects in iCloud Drive and OneDrive; catches a Figure that points at a table; checks summary in the status bar; automatic checkpoints.
Oct 71.4.0One download: free for seven days from first launch, then a license key. Copies you already bought keep working with no key.
Oct 71.3.6The free trial shows the right price; one dismissible note on days 5 and 6 of the trial.
Oct 71.3.5Light and Dark themes change the whole window; tooltips you can see; Reading width in editor-only mode.
Oct 61.3.4Command-click in the PDF scrolls the editor again; the toolbar fits narrow windows.
Oct 61.3.3Editor and PDF jumps land in view, a PDF-only layout, a sidebar toggle, plain light and dark editor themes.
Oct 51.3.2A maintenance release: changes the key that verifies updates. Nothing else is different.
Oct 41.3.1One Settings window (⌘,) with editor fonts, line spacing, syntax colors and Zen mode.
Sep 131.3.0Table Editor: paste from a spreadsheet, get booktabs LaTeX.
Sep 121.2.0TikZ Designer: draw the diagram, get the code.
Sep 121.1.0Sync with co-authors, compile one chapter, formatting shortcuts.
Sep 111.0.2A free seven-day trial.
Sep 51.0.1Clearer bibliography build errors, pointing at the .bib line.

Every update is included in the $19.99, forever, and the app installs it in place. Your work stays in ordinary .tex files, so you can open it in Overleaf or TeXShop whenever you like. Full changelog

Coming from Overleaf? What changes when you write locally, or see how the Mac LaTeX editors compare, including ModernTex against TeXShop and TeXstudio.

Submitting soon? Work through the free submission checklist, or try the free reference and retraction check on your PDF, and see a sample Paper Review report ($9, back in minutes).

Comparison

ModernTex compared with Overleaf

Overleaf pricing is from its plans page, checked September 29, 2026.
Topic	ModernTex	Overleaf
Price	$19.99 once, after a free 7-day trial. No subscription.	Standard plan: $199 per year. A free plan is also offered.
Compiling	On your Mac, so there is no server compile timeout.	On Overleaf's servers. The free plan has a compile timeout.
Account	None.	Required.
Where it runs	Native macOS app. Files are ordinary .tex and .bib files in a folder on your disk.	In the browser.
Co-authors	No real-time co-editing. Get Changes and Send Changes sync with a co-author.	Real-time collaboration in the browser.
Manuscript tools	Multi-file navigation, synchronized PDF preview, plain-language errors, submission-readiness checks, revision snapshots, BibTeX completion.	See Overleaf's own feature list.

Prefer Overleaf when several people edit the same draft at the same time, or when you work on Windows, Linux or an iPad. Prefer ModernTex when you write mostly alone on a Mac and want no subscription, no account and no compile limit. Moving over is a zip download or a Git clone; see the FAQ.

Before you install

What ModernTex needs.

A Mac running macOS 14 or later and a TeX distribution. MacTeX or TinyTeX both work, and you do not have to set either up first: if ModernTex cannot find one when you compile, it offers a one-click TinyTeX install right in the editor. After checkout you get a signed disk image: open it and drag ModernTex to Applications. Bookmark the download page; it always hands you the newest version.

First ten minutes: install and first build

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Your email is used for release notes and nothing else. Privacy Policy · Why ModernTex →

Frequently asked questions

How do I get updates?

ModernTex checks for a new version once a day and offers to install it in place. You can also choose Check for Updates from the ModernTex menu at any time. Updates are included in the purchase, and each download is code-signed by Purplelink LLC.

What macOS version is required?

ModernTex requires macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later.

I lost my license key. How do I get it back?

Enter the email address you used at checkout on the Find a purchase page. If that address bought ModernTex, a new license key and your download page are emailed to that address. Any key you had before keeps working.

Is there a free trial?

Yes. The trial is the complete app for seven days from the first time you open it, with no account and nothing to enter. When it ends, the window shows a notice and a Buy button; your .tex files are ordinary files on disk and are not touched. When you buy, the receipt email includes a license key: choose Enter license key in the app and paste it, and that same copy unlocks, with no reinstall. There is only one download, and it updates itself. If you bought before version 1.4.0, your copy keeps working with no key.

What does it cost?

$19.99, once, after a free 7-day trial. That covers all updates, forever. There is no subscription and no account; the optional AI features run on Apple Intelligence or your own Claude or OpenAI account.

How is ModernTex different from TeXShop or Overleaf?

ModernTex is a native macOS app designed specifically for the academic manuscript workflow. It is not a web app and not a general-purpose code editor. It combines multi-file manuscript navigation, synchronized PDF preview, BibTeX autocomplete that searches by author or title, plain-language error diagnostics, and submission-readiness checks. Designed for researchers, not programmers.

Coming from Overleaf: download the project as a zip, or clone it with Overleaf's Git integration, and open the folder. The files stay ordinary .tex, .bib and image files, so you can upload them back to Overleaf or open them in TeXShop at any time. There is no real-time co-editing; for a draft several people type in at once, keep Overleaf. See how the best LaTeX editors for Mac compare, or read what changes when you move from Overleaf to a Mac editor.

Can I move a project from Overleaf?

Yes. Download the project as a zip, or clone it with Overleaf's Git integration, and open the folder in ModernTex. The files stay ordinary .tex, .bib and image files, so you can upload them back to Overleaf at any time. What changes when you write locally

Why not just use a free editor like TeXstudio?

TeXstudio is free, cross-platform, and already parses compile errors into a readable list, so it's a legitimate choice, especially if you also work on Windows or Linux. ModernTex is narrower on purpose: Mac only, built around the manuscript workflow specifically. Three things TeXstudio doesn't do: BibTeX autocomplete that searches your whole .bib by author or title rather than just the keys already cited in the file, submission-readiness checks for what journals actually reject on, and an anonymized export for double-blind review. If none of those matter to you, TeXstudio is a perfectly good free option.

Does ModernTex support multi-file projects?

Yes. ModernTex has built-in multi-file manuscript navigation with root file detection and a structured sidebar for jumping between chapters, sections, and bibliography files without losing context.

Does it work for a dissertation?

Yes. A dissertation is a multi-file project like any other: open the folder and ModernTex finds the root file and lists the chapters in the sidebar. The bibliography can be BibTeX or biblatex with biber (a switch in the compile profile), reading any .bib in the project, including one exported from Zotero. A class file your university supplies goes in the project folder, where the compile picks it up and the submission export includes it. A generic thesis template is bundled.

Will I have to pay again for a new version?

No. Every update to ModernTex is included in the $19.99, forever, including future major versions. There is no upgrade fee.

Try it on your own manuscript.

Seven days of the full app, no account and nothing to enter. If it earns a place in your workflow, it's $19.99 once, with all updates included, forever.

Download the free trial Buy ModernTex — $19.99

macOS 14 or later · Apple silicon and Intel · Signed and notarized