Markdown Monster vs Zettlr
We give Markdown Monster a 2.6 GPA and Zettlr a 3.6, out of 4.0. Zettlr grades higher on value for money, the free plan and platforms. They get the same grade on features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Markdown Monster
Markdown editor and weblog publisher for Windows
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAMarkdown MonsterGood | 3.6GPAZettlrExcellent | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | B$99 once per user, on any number of machines, with free minor updates. But that licence is for version 4 only, and upgrading to the next major version costs about half the full price. The Lifetime License with every future upgrade is $399. | AFree and open source, with no paid tier at all. Development runs on voluntary donations through Patreon, PayPal, GitHub Sponsors or Ko-fi. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan, but the evaluation is a free download with every feature and no stated time limit. It shows occasional notices, and the vendor requires a paid licence for continued use. | AThe whole app is free on Windows, macOS and Linux. There's no paid tier, so nothing is held back. |
| Features | AA syntax-coloured editor with a live preview that scrolls as you type, an interactive table editor, screenshot capture, PDF and HTML export, a Git commit dialog and publishing to WordPress, Medium or Jekyll. AI chat and grammar checking run on your own API key. | ACitations from Zotero, JabRef or Juris-M in more than 9,000 styles, one-click export profiles for papers and slides, and Zettelkasten links with a graph view. LaTeX math and Mermaid charts render inline, and there are projects, snippets and writing statistics. |
| Ease of use | BThere's no App Store rating on record, so a B is as high as we go. It's a Windows app you install and start typing in. The AI features are the fiddly part, since you have to bring a key from an OpenAI-compatible provider. | BThere's no App Store rating on record, so a B is as high as we go. It's a desktop app you install, and the editor can look like anything from raw Markdown to rich text. The academic extras take some wiring: citations come from an outside reference manager, and grammar checks from LanguageTool. |
| Platforms and integrations | DWindows only. The download page asks for Windows 10 or later, and no Mac, Linux, mobile or web version is listed. It does connect to plenty: WordPress, Medium, Jekyll, Git, SnagIt and GitHub Gist. | BWindows 10 or newer, macOS 12 or newer and Linux, hooked up to Zotero, JabRef, Juris-M, LanguageTool and Pandoc. It's desktop only, with no mobile or web app and no cloud sync of its own. |
| Best for | Markdown docs and blog posts on Windows | free academic writing 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: Markdown Monster and Zettlr. How we grade
Where they differ
- Markdown Monster starts at $99 one-time per user (version 4 license). Zettlr is free.
- Zettlr has a free plan. Markdown Monster does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Zettlr lists macOS and Linux apps.
- Markdown Monster can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Zettlr is open source, according to its own site.
- Zettlr also covers linked notes, citations and long-form writing.
At a glance
| Markdown Monster | Zettlr | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free |
| Starts at | $99 one-time per user (version 4 license) | Free |
| Free plan | None | The whole app is free and open source, with no paid tier. Development is funded by voluntary donations through Patreon, PayPal, GitHub Sponsors or Ko-fi. |
| Free trial | Free evaluation download with every feature and no stated time limit; it shows occasional evaluation notices. | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| Made by | West Wind Technologies | Hendrik Erz |
| Price read from | markdownmonster.west-wind.com | zettlr.com |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Markdown Monster
- Windows users who write documentation or blog posts in Markdown
- Developers who want Git status and commits inside the editor
- Bloggers publishing to WordPress, Medium or Jekyll from Markdown files
- Buyers who prefer a perpetual license to a subscription
Zettlr
- Researchers and students writing papers or theses in Markdown
- Zotero users who want citations inside a plain-text editor
- People who keep a Zettelkasten of linked notes
- Writers who want their files kept on their own computer
Worth knowing
Markdown Monster
- Windows only: the download page gives Windows 10 or later as the requirement, and no Mac, Linux, mobile or web version is listed.
- A standard license covers one major version. Upgrading to the next costs about half the full price unless the license was bought within a year of its release.
- The AI features need your own API key from an OpenAI-compatible provider; the license includes no AI usage.
- The free evaluation has every feature but shows occasional notices, and the vendor requires a paid license for continued use.
Zettlr
- Desktop only: downloads are listed for macOS 12 or newer, Windows 10 or newer and Linux, with no mobile or web app.
- It has no cloud service of its own: files stay on the computer, with no built-in cloud synchronization.
- Citations draw on a library kept in an external reference manager such as Zotero, JabRef or Juris-M.
- Grammar and style checking beyond the spellchecker relies on connecting LanguageTool.
Key features
Markdown Monster
- Editor with synced live preview
- Syntax-colored Markdown editing beside a collapsible HTML preview that updates and scrolls as you type, with inline spell checking and word counts.
- Image, table and code helpers
- Paste images from the clipboard, capture and embed screenshots, edit tables in an interactive table editor and insert formatted code snippets.
- Export and weblog publishing
- Export to PDF or HTML, or publish to a WordPress, MetaWeblog, Jekyll or Medium blog, then edit and republish posts or download existing ones.
- Git integration
- Shows Git status on files and folders and has a commit dialog for reviewing and committing changes from inside the editor.
- AI features with your own key
- Chat, image generation, text suggestions, summaries, grammar checking and translation run on your own API key for OpenAI-compatible providers such as OpenAI, Azure, Gemini or Ollama.
- .NET addins and command line
- A .NET addin model lets extensions hook into the interface, editor, rendering and publishing, and a command line converts Markdown to HTML and PDF.
Zettlr
- Citations from a reference manager
- Loads a library from Zotero, JabRef or Juris-M, previews citations in the text and formats them in any of more than 9,000 citation styles.
- Export profiles with Pandoc
- A profile pairs an export format with a template, so a paper can be exported for a journal or conference in one click. Beamer, reveal.js and PowerPoint slides are supported too.
- Zettelkasten tools
- Supports note IDs, wiki-style links between notes, related files and a graph view for building a personal knowledge base.
- Adjustable Markdown rendering
- The editor can show anything from raw Markdown to rich text. LaTeX math and Mermaid charts render inline, and the look can be changed with custom CSS.
- Spelling, grammar and style checks
- Includes a spellchecker and a Markdown linter, and can connect to LanguageTool for grammar and style checking.
- Projects, snippets and statistics
- Project support groups the files of a longer work, snippets insert reusable text with variables and tab stops, and writing statistics track progress.
Plans
Markdown Monster
Single User$99
one-time purchase, per user, for version 4
A perpetual license for one person on any number of machines, with free minor updates and a 60-day money-back guarantee.
5 User License$399
one-time purchase for 5 users
The same perpetual version 4 license for five users.
Lifetime License$399
one-time purchase, per user
A single-user license that includes every future major-version upgrade at no further cost.
10 User License$749
one-time purchase for 10 users
The same perpetual version 4 license for ten users.
25 User License$1,899
one-time purchase for 25 users
The same perpetual version 4 license for twenty-five users.
Site License$5,999
one-time purchase, per organization
Any number of users within a single organization, with a 5-year free upgrade guarantee.
Zettlr
Free$0
The full editor for Windows, macOS and Linux, free and open source, with optional donations to support development.
Ways to pay less
Markdown Monster
- Lifetime license
Lifetime single-user license for $399
The Lifetime License includes all future major-version upgrades for one user, against $99 for a license tied to version 4.
- Other savings
Upgrade from an earlier version for $49
Holders of a version 1, 2 or 3 single-user license can move to version 4 for $49. Version 3 licenses bought on or after December 1, 2024 upgrade free.
- Other savings
Free licenses for Microsoft MVPs and employees
Microsoft MVPs, ASP.NET Insiders, Microsoft employees and staff of companies that give free tools to the MVP program can apply for a free license.
- Other savings
Location-adjusted discount on application
People in countries where the list price is prohibitive can apply for a discounted license, adjusted for their location using the Big Mac Index.
Zettlr
No public discounts listed.
