# MarkText

> Free, open-source Markdown editor with in-place live rendering

MarkText is a free desktop Markdown editor released under the MIT License and built by volunteers. It renders Markdown in place as it is typed instead of showing a separate preview pane, and it handles tables, KaTeX math, footnotes, front matter and diagrams. It runs on macOS, Windows and Linux with no account, and exports documents to PDF and HTML.

- **Category:** Writing Tools
- **Made by:** Jocs and contributors (since 2017)
- **Website:** https://marktext.me
- **Runs on:** macOS, Windows, Linux
- **Facts last checked:** Oct 9, 2026

## Pricing

MarkText is free to use.

- **Pricing model:** Free
- **Free plan:** 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.

| Plan | Price | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Free | $0 | The complete editor for macOS, Windows and Linux, with every feature and theme included and no account required. |

Read from https://marktext.me/ on Oct 9, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with MarkText before buying.

## Key features

- **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.

## Good for

- Writers who want Markdown rendered as they type, without a split preview
- People who want one free editor on macOS, Windows and Linux
- Technical notes with math, code blocks and diagrams

## Worth knowing

- 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.

## Works with

KaTeX, Mermaid, Vega, Vega-Lite

**Tags:** Open source, Markdown

## Alternatives

- [Typora](https://toolgpa.com/tools/typora): Minimal Markdown editor that renders formatting as you type. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/marktext-vs-typora)
- [ghostwriter](https://toolgpa.com/tools/ghostwriter): Free, open-source Markdown editor from KDE for focused writing. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/ghostwriter-vs-marktext)
- [Zettlr](https://toolgpa.com/tools/zettlr): Free, open-source Markdown editor for academic writing. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/marktext-vs-zettlr)
- [iA Writer](https://toolgpa.com/tools/ia-writer): Minimal plain-text Markdown writing app with Focus Mode. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/ia-writer-vs-marktext)
- [Markdown Monster](https://toolgpa.com/tools/markdown-monster): Markdown editor and weblog publisher for Windows. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/markdown-monster-vs-marktext)

## Sources

The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 9, 2026:

- https://marktext.me/
- https://github.com/marktext/marktext

Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/marktext
Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).