remark vs Slidev (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, remark and Slidev share a 2.6 GPA, both are free, so the choice depends on which features you need.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 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 remark if
- Fits if you write notes in markdown
- Works for developers who keep slides in version control
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want to drag shapes around, as there is no visual editor
- Skip it if you need to know it is kept up, since the site does not say
- Watch out: you need HTML and CSS to change how it looks
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
| 2.6GPAremarkGood | 2.6GPASlidevGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree under an open licence that anyone can download and run, with no server to host. | 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 | AThe whole thing is free, with no plan to outgrow. | AFree outright, with no account and nothing to buy. |
| Features | CIt shows markdown as slides and does that job fully. The vendor's page is short, and the listing says to check GitHub for maintenance activity. | 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 | DYou write the deck in code or markup and run it yourself, with no visual editor. | 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 in the browser from a file you keep. No apps and no integrations listed. | 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 | slides 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: remark and Slidev. How we grade
Price against what you get
remark 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 remark 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
| remark | Slidev | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Starts at | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Free 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 | gnab (open-source project) | Anthony Fu and contributors |
| Price read from | remarkjs.com | sli.dev |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
remark
- Aimed at people who know HTML and CSS; there is no visual editor.
- The project's own site describes it simply; check the GitHub repository for current maintenance activity.
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
remark
- Markdown slides
- Slides are written in Markdown with extensions, separated by lines of dashes.
- Presenter mode
- A presenter view with a cloned slideshow window.
- Syntax highlighting
- Supports a range of languages in code blocks.
- Slide scaling
- Slides scale to different screen sizes.
- Touch support
- Swipe to move between slides on phones and tablets.
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
remark
Open source$0
MIT-licensed code on GitHub.
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, remark or Slidev?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both remark and Slidev are free to use.
Which has a free plan, remark or Slidev?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both remark 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.