Marp vs Slidev (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Marp and Slidev share a 2.6 GPA, both are free, so the choice depends on which features you need.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on all five counts.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Which one is for you
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
Pick Slidev if
- Fits if you give talks with code on screen and write slides in a text editor
- Works for developers who want slides as a web page with live components
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you do not use a command line, as it needs Node.js 22.12 or later
- Skip it if you want drag-and-drop, as there is no visual editor
- Watch out: the default PPTX export turns slides into pictures, so text is not selectable
- Watch out: interactive features may not survive export, so the web build is the safe way to share
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAMarpGood | 2.6GPASlidevGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | AFree under the MIT licence, with no paid plan. You can run it locally with Node.js or start in the browser through StackBlitz. |
| Free plan and trial | AFree outright, with no paid plan and no account. The vendor says all its tools are open source. | AFree outright, with no account and nothing to buy. |
| Features | 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. | COne Markdown file, code-first slides, Vue components, recording and export. It does that job fully, but it is a smaller one, with no visual editor. |
| Ease of use | 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. | DNo store rating on record. It needs Node.js 22.12 or later and a command line, and export needs the playwright-chromium package. |
| Platforms and integrations | CRuns through VS Code or the command line on a computer. The site does not list operating systems. | CRuns on a computer through Node, with a hosted web build for sharing. One kind of device, and no phone or app version. |
| Best for | slide decks written in Markdown | developer slide decks in Markdown with Vue |
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: Marp and Slidev. How we grade
Price against what you get
Marp has no paid plan and scores 1.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Slidev has no paid plan and scores 1.7.
On this chart the two sit in the same place: the same score for the same starting price. Of the other presentation tools on the chart, none scores higher than Marp for less, and none scores higher than Slidev 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 planWebOpen sourceMarkdownPresentations
At a glance
| Marp | Slidev | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Starts at | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Free. The vendor says all Marp tools and libraries are open source under the MIT license. | Free and open source under the MIT license. There is no paid plan. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Marp team | Anthony Fu and contributors |
| Price read from | marp.app | sli.dev |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Slidev
- It is a command-line tool that needs Node.js 22.12 or later, with no visual drag-and-drop editor.
- Exporting to PDF, PPTX or PNG through the CLI needs the playwright-chromium package installed.
- The default PPTX export turns slides into images, so text is not selectable. Editable PPTX is CLI-only, and some elements such as SVG and videos stay as pictures.
- Interactive features may not survive export, so interactive decks are best shared as a hosted web build.
Key features
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.
Slidev
- One Markdown file
- The whole deck lives in a single plain-text file in an extended Markdown format, so it works with Git and any editor.
- Code-first slides
- Code snippets use Shiki highlighting, and the Monaco editor is built in for live coding during a talk.
- Vue components and interactivity
- Slides can include Vue components and anything else a web app can do, such as iframes or API requests.
- Themes and addons
- Themes and addons are shared as npm packages and applied with a line of configuration. The site keeps a gallery of both.
- Recording and camera view
- Built-in recording and a camera view let you record the screen and camera, or show yourself in the corner while presenting.
- Export and hosting
- Decks export to PDF, PPTX (as images, or as editable shapes through the CLI), PNG and Markdown, or build into a static single-page app.
Plans
Marp
Open source$0
Marp for VS Code, Marp CLI, Marp Core and Marpit, all MIT-licensed and free to use.
Slidev
Open source$0
The full project, released under the MIT license. Run it locally with Node.js or start in the browser through StackBlitz.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Marp or Slidev?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Marp and Slidev are free to use.
Which has a free plan, Marp or Slidev?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Marp and Slidev have a free plan.
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.