Mathpix Snip — The Complete Guide: Equations and Tables from a Screenshot to LaTeX
Mathpix Snip specialises in what most OCR tools fail at: equations. Capture a screenshot of a printed or handwritten equation and you get LaTeX code. It is available for Windows, macOS, Linux, the browser and mobile.
Mathpix Snip
Mathpix
Captures equations, tables and text from a screenshot and converts them to LaTeX, Markdown or CSV; the free plan gives 10 images and 10 PDF pages a month.
Get it from the vendorWhat you get
- Equations to LaTeX — handwriting included.
- Tables — output as LaTeX, TSV, CSV or Markdown.
- PDF conversion — to Word, LaTeX and Markdown.
- Every platform — desktop, browser and phone.
- A fast workflow — capture, copy and paste into a document or code.
What is free and what is paid
This is not a fully free tool. The free plan requires an account and allows 10 images and 10 PDF pages a month; users who sign up with an academic .edu email get double. The paid Pro plan (4.99 US dollars a month) raises this to 5,000 images and 1,000 PDF pages. All files are processed on Mathpix servers, so do not upload sensitive client documents.
Related tools
For a local alternative that recognises equations as LaTeX — Surya. For writing the report in LaTeX — Overleaf. For a desktop LaTeX editor — TeXstudio.
Surya
Datalab
Python OCR toolkit for 90+ languages with layout and reading-order analysis, tables and equations as LaTeX; models free for personal use and research.
Get it from the vendorOverleaf
Overleaf (Digital Science)
Browser LaTeX editor with no installation, cloud compiling and ready templates — the free plan is limited to a 10-second compile and one collaborator.
Get it from the vendor
TeXstudio
TeXstudio team
Desktop LaTeX editor with a built-in PDF viewer, auto-completion, table and formula wizards, and reference and spell checking.
Get it from the vendor
LyX
LyX team
A graphical LaTeX-based document editor — theses, papers and technical reports with equations.
Get it from the vendorThe bottom line
For a student who occasionally copies an equation from a textbook, the free plan is enough. For heavy everyday use you need a paid plan or a local tool.