Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Typst VS Quarto

Compare Typst VS Quarto and see what are their differences

Typst logo Typst

Focus on your text and let Typst take care of layout and formatting. Join the wait list so you can be part of the beta phase.

Quarto logo Quarto

Open-source scientific and technical publishing system built on Pandoc.
  • Typst Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-08
  • Quarto Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-20

Typst features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    Typst provides a user-friendly interface that makes it easier for users to create documents without dealing with the intricate syntax often associated with similar typesetting tools.
  • Real-time Collaboration
    The platform supports real-time collaboration, allowing multiple users to work on a document simultaneously, which is beneficial for team projects and group assignments.
  • Fast Rendering
    Typst is known for its fast rendering capabilities, allowing users to quickly see the results of their formatting and content changes.
  • Template Availability
    It offers a variety of templates to help users start their projects quickly without needing to design from scratch.
  • Customizability
    Typst is highly customizable, allowing users to modify templates and styles to meet their specific needs.

Possible disadvantages of Typst

  • Limited Feature Set
    Compared to more established typesetting systems, Typst might lack some advanced features, which could be a limitation for complex document creation.
  • Dependency on Internet
    As a web-based application, Typst requires an internet connection, which might not be ideal for users who need offline access.
  • Learning Curve for Advanced Features
    While the basic features are easy to use, mastering advanced functionalities may still require a learning curve for new users.
  • Platform Limitations
    Being a relatively new tool, Typst might not have the same level of community support and third-party integrations as more established platforms like LaTeX.

Quarto features and specs

  • Versatility
    Quarto supports a wide variety of output formats such as HTML, PDF, Word, and PowerPoint, making it highly versatile for different publishing needs.
  • Extensibility
    Users can extend Quarto with their own custom templates and formats, allowing for a high degree of customization and integration with existing workflows.
  • Interactivity
    Supports interactive features such as embedded plots and widgets, which enhance the reader's experience by allowing them to engage with the content.
  • Multi-language Support
    Quarto allows users to write documents with R, Python, Julia, and JavaScript, providing flexibility to data scientists and analysts working across different programming environments.
  • Reproducibility
    Promotes reproducible research by supporting literate programming where code and its output are embedded within the document, ensuring results can be independently verified.

Possible disadvantages of Quarto

  • Learning Curve
    New users may find the initial setup and learning phase challenging, especially if they are not familiar with markdown or programming concepts.
  • Limited Built-in Templates
    While users can create their own templates, the number of built-in templates is limited, potentially requiring more upfront work to design desired layouts.
  • Dependency Management
    Managing the environment and dependencies, especially with multiple programming languages, can be complex, potentially leading to version conflicts or execution issues.
  • Performance
    For very large documents or extensive interactive elements, performance can become an issue, leading to longer rendering times.

Typst videos

Typst: The LaTeX alternative in Rust

Quarto videos

Quarto Review and tutorial

More videos:

  • Tutorial - How to play Quarto
  • Review - Quarto Review with the Vasel Girls

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Typst and Quarto)
Text Editors
55 55%
45% 45
Configuration Management
0 0%
100% 100
Writing Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Document Management
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

Share your experience with using Typst and Quarto. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Social recommendations and mentions

Quarto might be a bit more popular than Typst. We know about 42 links to it since March 2021 and only 35 links to Typst. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Typst mentions (35)

  • TeX Live 2025 Released
    The masochism of latex is becoming increasingly irrelevant with every typst [1] release. No going back once you experience realtime rendering of your document, and support in VS Code is stellar IMO. [1] http://typst.app. - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • Show HN: Transform Your Codebase into a Single Markdown Doc for Feeding into AI
    I've never used Quarto, but I might give it a go someday. I currently have a convoluted workflow for generating math-heavy documents that involves generating equations using SymPy in a notebook, accumulating them in a string, and ultimately dumping the string into a Markdown. I would love to simplify this sooner rather than later. I'm also keeping an eye on https://typst.app/ and hoping for a sane alternative to... - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Markdown's Big Brother: Say Hello to AsciiDoc
    We could be using html based DSLs and powerful importable components instead of special characters. Monaco (VSCode editor framework) allows frontend devs to make special DSL editors with autocomplete for both desktop and web. Between Spectacle and Typst approaches, I would choose Spectacle. I read the 2003 book The art of Unix programming where the author praises plain text config and says hand editing xml is a... - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Microsoft deletes official Windows 11 CPU/TPM bypass for unsupported PCs
    > No way I'll use LaTeX for all my writing, and anything Markdown-based just won't cut it formatting-wise. Have a look at Typst[0]. It's a lot easier to use than LaTeX, while still offering full formatting and layout. Or you could give macOS a go. UNIX with proper desktop versions of the Office apps. ;) [0]: https://typst.app/. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • ArXiv LaTeX Cleaner: Clean the LaTeX code of your paper to submit to ArXiv
    I wish journals would start accepting Typst[0] files. It is definitely the format of the next decade in my opinion. It's both open source and highly performant. Sadly existing legacy structures prevent it from gaining the critical mass needed for it to thrive just yet. [0] https://typst.app/. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
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Quarto mentions (42)

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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Typst and Quarto, you can also consider the following products

Inkwell.net - Welcome to Inkwell, the ultimate writing platform for creators. Collaborate, write, and share your stories with ease. Explore powerful tools designed to inspire your creativity and bring your ideas to life.

R Markdown - Dynamic Documents for R

Overleaf - The online platform for scientific writing. Overleaf is free: start writing now with one click. No sign-up required. Great on your iPad.

Hugo - Hugo is a general-purpose website framework for generating static web pages.

Scrivener - Scrivener is a content-generation tool for composing and structuring documents.

Obsidian.md - A second brain, for you, forever. Obsidian is a powerful knowledge base that works on top of a local folder of plain text Markdown files.