Obsidian vs MarkDown Reader
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Obsidian
Organize your thoughts and ideas with a powerful knowledge base that utilizes local Markdown files. This app acts as your personal second brain, accessible on your mobile device for seamless note-taking and idea connection.
- Local Markdown file storage
- Customizable toolbar
- Graph view for connections
- Community plugins
- Themes
- iCloud sync
Read full descriptionHide full description
Obsidian is a powerful knowledge base that works on top of a local folder of plain text Markdown files. It is a second brain, for you, forever. Now available on the go for iOS! Features include: - Customizable toolbar - Pull down quick actions - Graph view - Community plugins - Themes - Sidebar pinning for tablet - iCloud vaults
MarkDown Reader
Read full descriptionHide full description
MarkDown Reader is a free, lightweight viewer for Markdown files. Double-click any .md file and read it beautifully rendered — no editor chrome, no distractions, just your document. It also turns a checklist into somewhere to work. Tick a task and the change is written straight back to the file, one character, instantly. Add a note to any item and it is saved as an ordinary indented bullet, so every other Markdown tool still reads it. On the Mac, drag a file onto an item to attach it, and click the chip to open it again later. Nothing is locked in a database. Everything this app writes is plain Markdown you can read in any editor. - Clean rendering of headings, tables, code blocks, and images - LaTeX math, typeset offline: $…$ inline and $$…$$ display - Interactive task lists: click a checkbox and the .md file updates instantly - Notes on any checklist item, saved as plain Markdown - Attach files to checklist items by dragging them in (macOS) - Clickable file references: a path in a code span opens in your editor (macOS) - Table of contents sidebar for long documents - Full-text search with match navigation - Live reload — edit the file elsewhere and the view keeps up - Zoom, print, and export to PDF - Light or Dark on your terms: follow the system, or pin the reader to either (macOS) - Copy the document's path or reveal it in the Finder (macOS) - Opens .md, .markdown, .mdown, .mkd, and .mkdn files - Sandboxed and private: no accounts, no analytics, no data collection
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is chart position: Obsidian at #131 against MarkDown Reader's unranked. Obsidian also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 5 weeks) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Obsidian ships an update every 3 weeks, MarkDown Reader every 5 weeks. Both last shipped on October 11, 2026.
| Parameter | Obsidian | MarkDown Reader |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (2.8K ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 62.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 2.8K — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 5 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Best chart rank | #131 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 40 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Dynalist Inc. | Edward Juden |
Bugs and requests
Obsidian
Reported bugs
3 issues- Sync issues leading to data loss
- Freezing and crashing on mobile devices
- Editing bugs and text input issues
Requested features
5 requests- Improved sorting and organization options
- WYSIWYG editing on mobile
- Better integration with other cloud storage services
- More intuitive onboarding process for new users
- Native mobile widgets and share sheet integration
MarkDown Reader
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Obsidian
No in-app purchases
MarkDown Reader
No in-app purchases









