MacDown vs MarkText (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, MarkText grades higher than MacDown: 3.0 against 2.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 9, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
MarkText grades higher on platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Which one is for you
Pick MacDown if
- Fits if you write Markdown on a Mac and want a preview beside it
- Works for blog or Jekyll writers
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you're not on a Mac, as other platforms aren't planned
- Watch out: the latest release is 0.7.3 and the footer says 2014 to 2021, so updates are infrequent
- Watch out: the app is unsigned, and macOS asks you to open it manually the first time
- Too light for long documents, as it's an editor with a preview
Pick MarkText if
- Fits if you want Markdown formatted in place as you type, on Mac, Windows or Linux
- Works for technical notes with math, code blocks and diagrams
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you write on a phone or in a browser, as it's desktop only
- Not for you if you need Word or ebook files at the end, because export covers PDF and HTML only
- Tight if your Mac is an older one, since the Mac builds need macOS 11, with separate Apple Silicon and Intel installers
- Watch out: Windows builds need Windows 10 or 11, and it connects to no other apps
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAMacDownGood | 3.0GPAMarkTextVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree under the MIT License, with no account. | AFree and open source under the MIT License, with no subscription and nothing to buy, where the middle of this category is $8.33 a month. Download it and go; the project asks for optional GitHub sponsorship and that's all. |
| Free plan and trial | AThe whole app is free and open source, with nothing to cap. | AThe whole editor is free, every feature and all 33 themes, with no account to make. There's no paid tier above it, so nothing is held back. |
| Features | CLive preview, syntax highlighting, math, task lists and Jekyll front matter. A Markdown editor and not a full writing suite. | CMarkdown renders in place as you type, with tables, footnotes, KaTeX maths, highlighted code and Mermaid or Vega diagrams, plus focus and typewriter modes. It does that one job fully, but it is a smaller job: the listing says export stops at PDF and HTML, so no Word file and no ebook at the end. |
| Ease of use | BNo store rating on record, but it's a Mac app with a preview pane and nothing to set up. macOS asks you to open it manually the first time. | BNo store rating on record, so this rests on day one: it's a download with no account and one pane to type in, nothing to connect or configure. On a Mac you do have to know whether you want the Apple Silicon or the Intel installer. |
| Platforms and integrations | DMac only, and the FAQ says other platforms are not planned. | CDesktop only, even if that's Mac, Windows and Linux. No web version, no iPhone, no Android, and the things it talks to are the maths and diagram libraries inside it rather than other apps. |
| Best for | a Markdown editor for Mac | free Markdown editing with no split preview |
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: MacDown and MarkText. How we grade
Price against what you get
MacDown has no paid plan and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. MarkText has no paid plan and scores 2.3.
MarkText scores higher for the same starting price. Of the other writing tools on the chart, none scores higher than MacDown for less, and none scores higher than MarkText 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
In commonFree planmacOSOpen sourceMarkdown
At a glance
| MacDown | MarkText | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Starts at | Free | Free |
| Free plan | MacDown is open source under the MIT License and free to download, with no account. | The whole application is free and open source under the MIT License, with no account and no subscription. The project asks for optional sponsorship through GitHub Sponsors. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| Made by | Tzu-ping Chung | Jocs and contributors |
| Price read from | macdown.uranusjr.com | marktext.me |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Worth knowing
MacDown
- It runs on macOS only; the FAQ says other platforms are not planned for now.
- The latest release on the site is 0.7.3 and the footer says 2014 to 2021, so updates have been infrequent.
- The app is not signed with an Apple developer certificate, so macOS asks you to open it manually the first time, according to the FAQ.
MarkText
- Desktop only: no web, iOS or Android version is offered.
- macOS builds need macOS 11 or later and come as separate Apple Silicon and Intel installers; no universal build is published.
- Windows builds require Windows 10 or 11.
- Export covers PDF and HTML files only.
Key features
MacDown
- Live preview
- Hoedown renders Markdown to HTML as you type, and the rendering options can be changed in Preferences.
- Syntax highlighting
- Fenced code blocks with a language name are highlighted using Prism.
- Math and task lists
- It renders TeX-like math such as $$...$$ blocks and GitHub-style task lists.
- Jekyll front matter
- Jekyll front matter is among the additional rendering tools the features page lists.
- Auto-completion
- The features page describes auto-completion built for the author's own needs, and says it can be turned off.
MarkText
- Real-time preview
- Markdown is rendered in place as it is typed, in a single pane with no split view. A source code mode shows the raw Markdown when full control is needed.
- Extended Markdown
- Supports the CommonMark and GitHub Flavored Markdown specs, plus tables, footnotes, KaTeX math, syntax-highlighted code blocks and YAML, TOML or JSON front matter.
- Diagrams
- Flowcharts and charts written in Mermaid, Vega or Vega-Lite are drawn inside the document.
- Themes
- Ships with 33 built-in light and dark themes. Each theme is plain CSS, so one can be copied and adjusted or replaced with a custom stylesheet.
- Focus and typewriter modes
- Focus mode dims everything except the line being written, and typewriter mode keeps that line centered in the window.
- PDF and HTML export
- Exports a document to PDF or to a self-contained HTML file with the chosen theme applied.
Plans
MacDown
Free$0
The full Markdown editor for macOS, also installable with Homebrew.
MarkText
Free$0
The complete editor for macOS, Windows and Linux, with every feature and theme included and no account required.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, MacDown or MarkText?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both MacDown and MarkText are free to use.
Which has a free plan, MacDown or MarkText?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both MacDown and MarkText have a free plan.
Which platforms do MacDown and MarkText run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only MarkText lists Windows and Linux apps. Both list a macOS 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.