Comparison

Render vs Read.md

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

Head to head
About

Render

This utility app renders HTML and Markdown content beautifully. It integrates with Apple Shortcuts to view, convert, and share formatted text. Features include dark mode, adjustable fonts, and a history view.

Highlights
  • View HTML content natively
  • Render Markdown with full formatting
  • Convert Markdown to HTML
  • Dark mode support
  • Adjustable font sizes
  • Share content via Share Extension
  • View history
Features
Read full description

Render is a powerful utility app designed to display HTML and Markdown content with beautiful, native rendering. SHORTCUTS INTEGRATION Render integrates seamlessly with Apple Shortcuts, providing actions to: • View HTML - Display any HTML content in a native viewer • View Markdown - Render Markdown with full formatting support • Convert Markdown to HTML - Transform Markdown to HTML for other uses FEATURES • Dark mode support that respects your system settings • Adjustable font sizes for comfortable reading • Copy rendered content or export as HTML/PDF • Share content directly from other apps via the Share Extension • View history to quickly access previously viewed content PERFECT FOR • Viewing formatted reports from automations • Previewing HTML email templates • Reading Markdown documentation • Displaying styled content from Shortcuts workflows Render is the missing piece for anyone building powerful Shortcuts automations that need to display formatted content.

About

Read.md

This app allows you to beautifully view markdown files on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. It offers perfect rendering of complex elements like tables, code blocks, and diagrams, with offline support and privacy in mind.

Highlights
  • Perfect markdown rendering
  • Syntax highlighting for 180+ languages
  • Mermaid diagram rendering
  • GitHub repository browsing
  • Export to PDF & HTML (Pro)
  • Smart diagram fixing
  • Auto-generated table of contents
Features
Read full description

Open any .md file and read it beautifully — on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Read.md is a markdown reader. Not an editor, not a note-taking app, not a vault system. A reader. Tap a .md file, it opens, it looks great, you read it. PERFECT RENDERING Tables, code blocks, nested lists, task lists, blockquotes, images, links — everything renders correctly. Syntax highlighting for 180+ programming languages. GitHub Flavored Markdown fully supported. MERMAID DIAGRAMS Flowcharts, sequence diagrams, Gantt charts, class diagrams, and more render natively. Tap to zoom into any diagram for a detailed view. EXPORT TO WORD, PDF & HTML Turn any document into a real Word (.docx) file with proper headings, tables, lists and code blocks, a clean, paginated, print-quality PDF, or a self-contained HTML file — diagrams and images intact. Share it, print it, archive it. Or export the original Markdown source. (Word, PDF and HTML export are Read.md Pro; Markdown export is free.) OPEN FROM GITHUB Read documentation straight from the source. Browse any GitHub repository — public or private — navigate its file tree, and open any .md file with the same beautiful rendering. Sign in with a personal access token; your token stays on your device. (Read.md Pro) SMART DIAGRAM FIXER ASCII art and box-drawing diagrams that look broken in other apps? Read.md detects and corrects misaligned characters automatically so your diagrams look the way they were intended. NAVIGATE LONG DOCUMENTS Auto-generated table of contents from your headings. Search within any document with match highlighting and next/prev navigation. Your scroll position is remembered when you come back to a file. ZERO FRICTION No account needed to read. No workspace. No vault. No setup. Works as your default .md file handler — open markdown and plain-text files from Files, Finder, email attachments, AirDrop, the share sheet, or drag and drop. ADAPTS TO YOUR DEVICE iPhone: stacked navigation with a frosted-glass nav bar and bottom sheets. iPad: landscape split-view, portrait slide-over panels, trackpad and keyboard support. Mac: split-view with sidebar, reader, and table-of-contents panel, keyboard shortcuts, and translucent panels. Everything adapts automatically when you resize windows or rotate your device. DARK AND LIGHT MODES Switch between dark and light themes, or follow your system setting. Adjust font size to your preference. Everything updates live. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Opens instantly, even large files. Your markdown is rendered entirely on your device — file contents are never uploaded, and reading works fully offline. No ads. No account required to read. The only feature that touches the network is GitHub browsing, and only when you choose to use it. We use anonymous, aggregate analytics to improve the app. READ.MD PRO A one-time purchase — or a yearly subscription with a free trial — unlocks Word/PDF/HTML export and GitHub browsing. Everything else stays free, forever. WHAT PEOPLE USE IT FOR Reading AI-generated markdown exports. Turning markdown into Word documents for colleagues. Reading GitHub README files on mobile. Viewing documentation and project specs on the go. Reviewing technical docs from colleagues. Browsing personal notes written in markdown. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Render4 screens
Read.md4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Read.md at 88% against Render's 40%. Read.md also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 3 months). Render's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2). On price and ads 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. Read.md sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per year. Render asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Read.md holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Read.md has 81 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 40% of Render's written reviews are positive against 88% of Read.md's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Render ships an update every 3 months, Read.md fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Render versus Read.md: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRenderRead.md
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (3 ratings)5.0 (81 ratings) — better
Positive reviews40.0% of reviews88.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings381 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB33 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNate OberPavel Abin

Customer experience

Render

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive40.0%
Neutral60.0%
Negative0.0%

Read.md

All ratings81 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews17 reviews
Positive88.2%
Neutral11.8%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Render

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Read.md

Subscriptions1
  • Read.md Pro Yearly3 Days trial$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • Read.md Pro (Lifetime)$24.99

Questions

Is Render free?
Render is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Read.md free?
Read.md is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Render or Read.md?
Read.md is rated higher. Render averages 4.7 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while Read.md averages 5.0 from 81 ratings.
Do Render or Read.md have ads?
Neither Render nor Read.md shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Render or Read.md?
Render ships an update every 3 months, and Read.md fortnightly. Most recently, Render was updated on October 2, 2026 and Read.md on October 13, 2026.

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