Reaching six million users in an unprecedented six months

It has certainly been an unexpected six months since the start of 2020. Back on January 1st, when we all celebrated the start of the new year, none of us expected the lockdown and global pandemic that would follow, nor the events in the USA that would galvanise Black Lives Matter around the world.

In amongst all of this, in early June we reached the milestone of six million users worldwide, after hitting five million last November. We also saw our best-ever month for active users in May, driven both by the natural growth of Overleaf we’ve seen each year since we started back in 2012, and also the accelerated move to online collaborative tools in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic which has swept across the globe in a few short months.

Six million users is an amazing milestone to reach, although I think we would all have preferred to reach it in simpler times. But even in these times—or perhaps especially in these times—it’s worth taking a brief moment to recognise this achievement, to appreciate the efforts of everyone here who keeps Overleaf running smoothly, and for us to thank our users and partners who continue to support our growth and evolution.

I’d also like to thank everyone on the Overleaf team for their help in launching our Work From Home programme, which helped over 45,000 people keep working with free Overleaf Professional accounts from April-June. These joined the 250,000 people who receive upgrades through their institution’s provision of Overleaf Commons to their students, faculty and staff. We’re continuing the Work From Home programme with discounts and other initiatives, which you can find here.

Thanks everyone. Wherever you are, I wish you a safe and secure rest of 2020. Take care.