# MiaoYan

> Native Mac Markdown notes app with a split editor and preview

MiaoYan is a native Markdown note-taking app for the Mac, written in Swift, that keeps notes as plain files in a folder you choose. It pairs a Markdown source editor with a live preview and adds wikilinks with backlinks, LaTeX, Mermaid diagrams, version history and a presentation mode. The open-source edition is free and now receives fixes only, while a paid App Store edition gets the new features and includes an iPhone and iPad app.

- **Category:** Note-Taking Apps
- **Made by:** Tw93 (Tang Wei)
- **Website:** https://miaoyan.app
- **Runs on:** macOS, iOS
- **Facts last checked:** Oct 9, 2026

## Pricing

MiaoYan has a free plan. Paid plans start at $14.99 one-time purchase (App Store edition).

- **Pricing model:** Free plan
- **Free plan:** The open-source Mac edition is free under the MIT license through Homebrew or GitHub Releases. The README says it now receives fixes only, with new features going to the App Store edition.
- **Free trial:** None listed.

| Plan | Price | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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. |

Read from https://apps.apple.com/us/app/miaoyan/id6759252269 on Oct 9, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with MiaoYan before buying.

## App Store prices by country

"The app", as each country's App Store showed it on Oct 9, 2026. These are the app's prices, not the website's.

| Country | Price | In US dollars |
| --- | --- | --- |
| United States | $14.99 | |
| United Kingdom | £14.99 | about $19.82 (32% more) |
| Germany | 17,99 € | about $20.16 (34% more) |
| Canada | $19.99 | about $14.05 (6% less) |
| Australia | $22.99 | about $16.05 (7% more) |
| India | ₹ 1,499 | about $15.50 (about the same) |
| Brazil | R$ 99,90 | about $19.96 (33% more) |
| Mexico | $299.00 | about $16.43 (10% more) |
| Turkey | ₺799,99 | about $16.27 (9% more) |
| Indonesia | Rp 299ribu | about $16.72 (12% more) |
| Philippines | ₱ 999.00 | about $15.90 (6% more) |
| South Africa | R299.99 | about $18.14 (21% more) |

## Key features

- **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.

## Good for

- 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

## Worth knowing

- 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.

## Works with

iCloud Drive, Nutstore, Dropbox

**Tags:** Open source, Local-first, Notes, Markdown, Linked notes, Presentations, One-time purchase

## Alternatives

- [FSNotes](https://toolgpa.com/tools/fsnotes): Open-source Markdown notes app for Mac and iPhone. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/fsnotes-vs-miaoyan)
- [Obsidian](https://toolgpa.com/tools/obsidian): Markdown note-taking app that keeps your files on your device. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/miaoyan-vs-obsidian)
- [The Archive](https://toolgpa.com/tools/the-archive): Plain-text note-taking app for Mac built around Zettelkasten. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/miaoyan-vs-the-archive)
- [Bear](https://toolgpa.com/tools/bear): Markdown notes app for Mac, iPhone and iPad with tags and links. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/bear-vs-miaoyan)
- [NotePlus](https://toolgpa.com/tools/noteplus): Native Markdown notes app with kanban boards and AI chat. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/miaoyan-vs-noteplus)

## Sources

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

- https://miaoyan.app/
- https://miaoyan.app/llms.txt
- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tw93/MiaoYan/master/README.md
- https://github.com/tw93/MiaoYan
- https://apps.apple.com/us/app/miaoyan/id6759252269

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