Comparison

Vim vs One Markdown

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Vim

A highly configurable text editor with a long history, designed for efficient editing from both command lines and graphical interfaces. It offers extensive customization options for programmers and writers alike.

Highlights
  • Text editing
  • Command-line interface support
  • Graphical user interface support
  • Highly configurable
  • Free and open source
Features
Read full description

Vim is a text editor first released publicly in 1991. Based on the vi editor common to Unix-like systems, Vim is designed for use both from a command line interface and as a standalone application in a graphical user interface. Vim is free and open source software and is released under a license which includes some charityware clauses, encouraging users who enjoy the software to consider donating to children in Uganda. https://vim.sourceforge.io/about.php

About

One Markdown

A fast and simple editor for plain text, Markdown, and Textbundle formats. It offers full Markdown display, image previews, math formula rendering, and extensive customization options for themes and fonts. Includes tools for syntax input, table generation, and document outlining.

Highlights
  • Supports CommonMark and GitHub Flavored Markdown
  • Full Markdown document display
  • Image and math formula previews
  • Customizable themes and fonts
  • Markdown syntax input menu and keyboard
  • Outline and word count view
  • Editor & Preview mode
Features
Read full description

One Markdown is a simple and fast editor that supports plain text, Markdown and Textbundle. It has the following features: * Base on CommonMark syntax and GitHub Flavored Markdown (GFM) extended syntax, supporting TOC, tables, code blocks, math formulas, task lists, footnotes, etc. * Display the text of the Markdown document completely without any deletion. * Images can be displayed directly in the Editor, supporting jpg, png, gif, webP, HEIC and etc. * Math formulas, mermaid and Echarts drawings can be previewed in the editor. * You can set your favorite font or multiple fonts for writing. * You can choose from 11 light themes and 21 dark themes, and also support custom themes. * There is a menu to facilitate the input of Markdown syntax, and a special Markdown syntax keyboard is also provided in iOS. * Convenient tools for generating and formatting Markdown table syntax. * You can view the outline and word count of Markdown documents. * Markdown documents can be previewed and support Editor & Preview mode. Terms of Use: https://www.mweb.im/onemarkdown-terms.html Privacy Policy: https://www.mweb.im/onemarkdown-policy.html PS: The lightweight choice is One Markdown. If you need a complete and powerful app, please take a look at MWeb, I hope you like it!

Screenshots

Vim1 screens
One Markdown4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: One Markdown at 4.6 against Vim's 2.9. One Markdown also leads on review sentiment (82% vs 46%) and update cadence (monthly vs every 9 months). Vim's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 14.5). On price, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. One Markdown sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per year. Vim asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

One Markdown holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 2.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: One Markdown has 141 ratings behind it against 21, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 46% of Vim's written reviews are positive against 82% of One Markdown's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Vim ships an update every 9 months, One Markdown monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Vim versus One Markdown: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVimOne Markdown
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.9 (21 ratings)4.6 (141 ratings) — better
Positive reviews46.2% of reviews81.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings21141 — better
Update frequencyEvery 9 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS9.0 — better14.5
Further details — not scored
Size37 MB50 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperApplidium禄海 区

Customer experience

Vim

All ratings21 ratings
Positive42.9%
Neutral9.5%
Negative47.6%
Written reviews117 reviews
Positive46.2%
Neutral15.4%
Negative38.5%

One Markdown

All ratings141 ratings
Positive91.5%
Neutral2.1%
Negative6.4%
Written reviews149 reviews
Positive81.9%
Neutral7.4%
Negative10.7%

Bugs and requests

Vim

Reported bugs

13 issues
  • Escape key not recognized on external keyboards
  • Space bar non-functional with external keyboards
  • Font illegible on Retina and newer displays
  • Significant input lag between keystrokes and display
  • Window focus not maintained in multitasking
Show 8 more
  • Keyboard recognition delays
  • Graphics scrambled on iPhone 6 and newer
  • Character rendering issues (missing 'f' character)
  • Command line errors with certain commands (:ls, :echo)
  • Syntax highlighting broken
  • App crashes on older iOS versions
  • 32-bit app incompatibility with iOS 11+
  • Slow response to Bluetooth keyboard input

Requested features

15 requests
  • Custom keyboard row with Esc, Tab, Ctrl, and common symbols
  • Dropbox and cloud service integration
  • iOS copy/paste and clipboard integration
  • File browser and file management system
  • Better font rendering and scaling options
Show 10 more
  • Swipe gestures for common operations (Esc, Tab)
  • Plugin support
  • SSH/FTP connectivity
  • Customizable color schemes and themes
  • Better Bluetooth keyboard support and detection
  • MacVim-style tabs
  • iCloud synchronization
  • Open source project status
  • Support for external shell integration
  • Email attachment opening support

One Markdown

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Vim

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

One Markdown

Subscriptions1
  • One Markdown Yearly Subscribe$3.991 Year
One-time2
  • One Markdown for Mac$9.99
  • One Markdown for iPhone/iPad$9.99

Questions

Is Vim free?
Vim is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is One Markdown free?
One Markdown is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Vim or One Markdown?
One Markdown is rated higher. Vim averages 2.9 out of 5 from 21 ratings, while One Markdown averages 4.6 from 141 ratings.
Do Vim or One Markdown have ads?
Neither Vim nor One Markdown shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Vim or One Markdown?
Vim ships an update every 9 months, and One Markdown monthly. Most recently, Vim was updated on October 12, 2026 and One Markdown on October 5, 2026.

Other comparisons