LyX vs Zoho Writer

LyX is a document processor for structured writing, combining TeX and LaTeX capabilities with a graphical interface. It suits work ranging from academic articles, theses, and books to letters, novels, plays, and film scripts. Its equation editor accepts point-and-click input or LaTeX commands and renders formulas on screen. For document organization, LyX includes labels, references, indexes, and bibliography tools, with advanced BibTeX support. Configurable converters handle imports and exports including LaTeX, PDF, PostScript, DVI, ASCII, HTML, OpenDocument, RTF, and MS Word. It supports multilingual documents, right-to-left writing, CJK writing systems, and Unicode. Basic links to Maple, Maxima, Octave, and Mathematica are available, while modules can add Noweb, Sweave, and LilyPond support. LyX works offline on Linux, macOS, and Windows, and supports track changes and external version control systems such as Git. It is free software under the GPL. Windows requires a TeX distribution; Mac installations require a TeX system such as MacTeX.

Zoho Writer is a web-based word processor for creating, editing, sharing, and collaborating on documents. Its formatting options include multi-column layouts, section breaks, custom borders, headers, footers, tables, images, and charts. Zia can help generate, edit, rephrase, and rewrite content, while review tools include tracked changes, comments with @mentions, version management, grammar and spelling checks, and plagiarism checking. Writer can generate documents from templates and business data, create fillable forms, and support digital signature collection and approval workflows. Desktop apps for Windows, Mac, and Linux support offline work and sync when a connection returns. It can import, edit, save, and export DOCX, DOC, ODT, PDF, TXT, and HTML files; imports are limited to 50 MB for DOCX and 10 MB for other listed formats. There is no limit to the number of documents users can create. The free individual edition costs nothing and includes 200 document automation credits per month per organization; additional credits can be purchased. Organizations also have free Writer access with 1,000 such credits monthly.