iA Presenter vs Marp (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Marp grades higher than iA Presenter: 2.6 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 9, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 9, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
iA Presenter grades higher on ease of use. Marp grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
iA Presenter
Markdown presentation app that builds slides from your script
Which one is for you
Pick iA Presenter if
- Fits if you'd rather write what you're going to say than fiddle with slide layouts
- Works for teachers who keep detailed notes behind slides with little on them
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you're on Windows or Android, as it's Apple devices only
- Not for you if you want it free, because after 7 days it needs a subscription or a purchase
- Pricey if you buy outright for every device, since one-time payments are per platform and major updates may cost extra
- Watch out: Web Sharing runs from the Mac app, and the $49.99 Mac license gets only a month of it before a $9.99-a-year add-on
- Tight if you hand decks to PowerPoint users, as PowerPoint export is labeled beta
Pick Marp if
- Fits if you already write in Markdown and want slides from the same text file
- Works for developers who keep decks in Git
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want to drag boxes around, as there is no visual editor
- Skip it if you do not use a command line or VS Code
- Watch out: HTML, PDF and PowerPoint export needs Google Chrome or Chromium installed
- Watch out: the site does not say which operating systems it supports
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAiA PresenterFair | 2.6GPAMarpGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AThe yearly plan is $39.99, about $3.33 a month, covering Mac, iPad and iPhone, where this category's cheaper quarter starts at $7.00 and the middle is $9.99. Or buy once, per platform: $49.99 for the Mac, well under a year of that middle subscription, $19.99 for iPad and $9.99 for iPhone. | AFree under the MIT licence, and anyone can download and run it. Marp for VS Code, the command-line tool and the core library are all free. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan at all. What you get is a 7-day trial on the Mac with no credit card asked for, and after that it's a subscription or a one-time purchase per platform. | AFree outright, with no paid plan and no account. The vendor says all its tools are open source. |
| Features | CWrite the talk, get the slides: automatic layouts, a teleprompter beside what the audience sees, Markdown tables that turn into charts, themes you can write in HTML and CSS. It finishes that job, but it is a smaller job than the rest of this category, PowerPoint export is beta, and Web Sharing runs from the Mac app. | CMarkdown slides, themes in CSS, and export to HTML, PDF and PowerPoint. It does that job fully, but it is a smaller job: there is no visual editor. |
| Ease of use | CNo App Store rating on record. The app picks each layout for you, which saves fiddling, but you need a bit of Markdown and writing a script instead of dragging boxes is a different habit to learn. | DNo store rating on record. You write Markdown and use a command line or VS Code, and exports depend on Chrome or Chromium being present. |
| Platforms and integrations | COne family of devices: Mac, iPad and iPhone, with no Windows, Android or web version on the pricing page. Unsplash and YouTube are the only hook-ups listed, though a deck can go out as a web link from the Mac app. | CRuns through VS Code or the command line on a computer. The site does not list operating systems. |
| Best for | speakers who'd rather write a script than build slides | slide decks written in Markdown |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: iA Presenter and Marp. How we grade
Price against what you get
iA Presenter starts at $3.33 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Marp has no paid plan and scores 1.7.
iA Presenter scores higher, and starts $3.33 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other presentation tools on the chart, 3 score higher than iA Presenter for less, and none scores higher than Marp for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- iA Presenter can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Marp is open source, according to its own site.
At a glance
| iA Presenter | Marp | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free |
| Starts at | $39.99 per year ($7.99 billed monthly); one-time from $9.99 per platform | Free |
| Free plan | None | Free. The vendor says all Marp tools and libraries are open source under the MIT license. |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial on Mac, no credit card required | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| iOS | ||
| Made by | Information Architects AG | Marp team |
| Price read from | ia.net | marp.app |
| Checked | Nov 9, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
iA Presenter
- There is no free plan: after the 7-day Mac trial it needs a subscription or a one-time purchase, and one-time purchases are charged per platform.
- The pricing page lists Mac, iPad and iPhone only; there is no Windows, Android or web version on it.
- Subscriptions include 1 GB of Web Sharing; one-time purchases from iA get a one-month trial of it, then need the $9.99-a-year add-on.
- iA says a one-time payment covers the current version and major updates may cost extra. PowerPoint export is labeled beta.
Marp
- There is no standalone visual editor; you write Markdown in VS Code or any text editor and convert with the CLI.
- HTML, PDF and PowerPoint export is powered by Google Chrome or Chromium, which has to be present.
- The site does not list operating systems, so supported platforms were not confirmed beyond the VS Code extension and the command line.
Key features
iA Presenter
- Text-first editor
- A talk is written in a Markdown editor. Titles and visuals show on the slide, while regular paragraphs stay as speaker notes that only the presenter sees.
- Automatic layouts
- The app analyzes each slide's content and chooses a layout that adapts to the display. Fixed aspect ratios are also available, including 16:9, 4:3, 9:16 and square.
- Themes and custom themes
- Built-in themes can be adjusted for fonts, colors, headers and footers, and every slide updates to match. Custom themes can be written from scratch in HTML and CSS.
- Teleprompter
- Presentation mode shows the script on a teleprompter beside the slides the audience sees, with a timer. On iPhone and iPad, speaker notes appear as subtitles instead.
- Tables and charts
- Tables are written in Markdown, and adding a line of metadata turns a table into a chart that stays in sync with its data. CSV blocks handle larger datasets.
- Export and Web Sharing
- Exports to PDF, PowerPoint (beta), HTML, images and Markdown. Web Sharing, in the Mac app, publishes a deck as a link that stays available for one year by default.
Marp
- Markdown based on CommonMark
- Slides are ordinary CommonMark Markdown, with a horizontal rule separating pages.
- Directives and extended syntax
- Directives and extra syntax cover image placement, math typesetting and auto-scaling text.
- Themes in CSS
- Three themes ship with the core engine (default, gaia and uncover), and you can write your own theme in plain CSS.
- Export to HTML, PDF and PowerPoint
- Markdown converts directly to HTML, PDF and PowerPoint files, using Google Chrome or Chromium.
- Marp for VS Code
- An extension that previews slide Markdown and custom themes inside the editor's Markdown preview pane.
- Marp CLI
- A command-line tool that converts Markdown into the supported formats, watches for changes and can run a server for on-demand conversion.
Plans
iA Presenter
Yearly$39.99
per year
Subscription covering Mac, iPad and iPhone, with 1 GB of Web Sharing. Also sold as an in-app purchase on the US App Store.
Monthly$7.99
per month
The same subscription billed monthly: Mac, iPad and iPhone with 1 GB of Web Sharing.
One-Time Payment: iPhone$9.99
one-time payment, per platform
The current iPhone version for one user. Each platform is bought separately.
One-Time Payment: iPad$19.99
one-time payment, per platform
The current iPad version for one user. Each platform is bought separately.
One-Time Payment: Mac$49.99
one-time payment, per platform
The current Mac version for one user, with a one-month Web Sharing trial; after that Web Sharing is $9.99 a year for 1 GB or $19.99 for 10 GB.
Marp
Open source$0
Marp for VS Code, Marp CLI, Marp Core and Marpit, all MIT-licensed and free to use.
Ways to pay less
iA Presenter
- Annual discount
Yearly plan marked as 58% off
The pricing page labels the Yearly plan "SAVE 58%": $39.99 a year against $7.99 a month on the Monthly plan.
- Education
Student and faculty discount
Students and faculty get a discount on non-renewing yearly subscriptions bought from iA, on request. App Store purchases are not eligible, and schools can buy multiple licenses.
Marp
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, iA Presenter or Marp?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Marp is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $3.33 a month when paid by the year for iA Presenter. iA Presenter starts at $39.99 per year ($7.99 billed monthly); one-time from $9.99 per platform, and Marp is free.
Which has a free plan, iA Presenter or Marp?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Marp has a free plan. iA Presenter does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do iA Presenter and Marp run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only iA Presenter lists macOS and iOS apps and only Marp lists a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.