MiaoYan vs The Archive

MiaoYan

• Mac users who want to write Markdown source with a live preview beside it
• People who keep notes as plain files in iCloud Drive or another synced folder
• Presenting slides straight from a Markdown note

The Archive

• Writers and researchers practicing the Zettelkasten method
• Mac users who want notes kept as plain text files
• People who liked nvALT and want a similar search-first app

MiaoYan

• No Windows, Linux, Android or web version: the Mac app needs macOS 12.0 or later and the iPhone and iPad app needs iOS 18.0 or later.
• The free open-source build receives fixes only. New features and the iPhone and iPad app come with the $14.99 App Store edition.
• There is no WYSIWYG editing and no plugin system: you write Markdown source and read the result in a separate preview.
• The app has no sync service or account of its own, so a cloud-drive client has to keep the notes folder in step across devices.

The Archive

• It is a Mac app only; the site lists no iPhone, iPad, Windows or web version.
• There is no sync service of its own: notes sync only by keeping the folder in a cloud storage service.
• The developers plan a paid version 2 and say version 1 owners will get a discount on it.
• It ignores Finder tags on purpose; a separate converter turns them into #hashtags for notes coming from nvALT or DEVONthink.

MiaoYan

Split editor and preview

Markdown source and its rendered preview sit side by side, updating in real time with scrolling kept in step in both directions. The editor is deliberately not WYSIWYG.

Wikilinks, backlinks, LaTeX and Mermaid

Notes link to one another with wikilinks and show their backlinks. LaTeX formulas and Mermaid diagrams are supported alongside standard Markdown.

Plain files in a folder you choose

Notes are ordinary Markdown files in a local folder. The app does not collect note data or sign in to cloud accounts; iCloud Drive, Nutstore or Dropbox can sync the folder.

Presentation mode

A note can be presented as slides in PPT mode, with --- lines separating one slide from the next.

Command-line tool

The miao command opens, creates, searches, lists and prints notes from the terminal, and is installed separately with a script from the repository.

iPhone and iPad app

The App Store edition includes an iPhone and iPad app that reads and edits the same Markdown folder through iCloud Drive, with folders, note previews and search.

The Archive

Plain text file storage

Every note is a plain text file in a folder you pick, so notes stay readable without the app and can sync through iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, Box or similar services.

Search-first navigation

One search field, the Omnibar, finds notes by their text and creates a new note from the search term. Saved searches switch between subsets of your notes.

Wiki-links and note IDs

Double-bracket wiki-links look up the target note by its ID, giving clickable links between notes without file paths or a proprietary format.

Markdown editor

Markdown highlighting, inline image preview, typewriter mode, hashtags, auto-completion of tags and links, and customizable themes.

Plug-ins

Plug-ins, added in version 1.8, automate tasks such as extracting a note from selected text or building a list of links. They cannot delete notes or reach the internet.

URL scheme

Links starting with thearchive:// let other apps such as Alfred and Keyboard Maestro open a matching note, run a search or launch a plug-in.

MiaoYan

• Open-source edition$0

  The MIT-licensed Mac app from Homebrew or GitHub Releases, for macOS 12.0 or later. It now receives fixes only.

• App Store edition$14.99

  one-time purchase (US App Store)

  One purchase covers the Mac, iPhone and iPad apps, with automatic updates and Family Sharing. New features land in this edition.

The Archive

• The Archive$19.99

  one-time purchase

  A license for version 1 of the Mac app, with the features announced for version 1 shipped as free updates. The press kit also gives the price as 19.99 EUR.