Comparison

MathDown vs MarkUp

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

Head to head
About

MathDown

Create markdown documents with live LaTeX math rendering. Define variables and functions, and enjoy automatic algebraic simplification for beautifully typeset equations. Perfect for math notes, homework, and tutorials.

Highlights
  • Live LaTeX math rendering
  • Define and reuse variables
  • Create and evaluate functions
  • Automatic algebraic simplification
  • Full LaTeX support
Features
Read full description

Pay once, use forever. No subscriptions! Write markdown documents with live LaTeX math rendering. Expressions inside $ and $$ blocks are automatically parsed, evaluated, and displayed as beautifully typeset equations. • Define variables and reuse them across your document • Create functions like let f(x) = x^2 and evaluate them • Automatic algebraic simplification combines like terms • Full LaTeX support: fractions, roots, subscripts, superscripts Perfect for math notes, homework, tutorials, or any document where you want calculations that update as you type.

About

MarkUp

A plain-text writing app supporting Markdown and LaTeX math equations for notes, research, and long-form content. Offers live preview, multiple export options, and folder syncing.

Highlights
  • Markdown formatting with live preview
  • LaTeX math equation rendering
  • Split view for writing and preview
  • Export to PDF, HTML, RTF, and more
  • Sync any folder from iCloud or device
  • Customizable toolbar and keyboard shortcuts
Features
Read full description

MarkUp is a writing app for notes, research, and long-form work. Edit Word documents with a true page layout, write in Markdown with live preview, or typeset a full LaTeX thesis with a real XeTeX engine that runs entirely on your device. For students, researchers, and technical writers — with the same features on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, in one universal purchase. Word (.docx) documents • Create and edit fully formatted Word documents with a real page layout • Tables you can type straight into — fonts, colors, shading, and bullets inside cells, with full undo • Charts with editable data, plus shapes and text boxes — drag anything anywhere and resize from any corner • Photos with text wrap: in line with text, in columns, behind text, or in front of text • Table of contents, captions and cross-references, citations with a works-cited list • Footnotes and endnotes, comments with replies, and tracked changes • Custom styles, multilevel and clause numbering, and newspaper columns • Page size, margins, line spacing, and headers & footers — saved per document • Calibri and Cambria render with matching character widths, so line breaks and page counts stay where Word put them • LaTeX math inside Word documents (Pro) LaTeX, offline (Pro) • A real XeTeX engine on your device — no internet, no account, nothing uploaded • Download the typesetting files once, then compile on a plane • Tap the rendered page to jump to the line that made it, and back again (SyncTeX) • Autocomplete for commands, citations, references, environments, and file paths • Errors and warnings marked in the margin, with plain-English explanations • Code check that catches common LaTeX mistakes before you compile • Search the typeset PDF, follow its outline, fold sections, step through pages • Math symbol palette, visual table builder, live preview of the equation at your cursor • Multi-file projects, BibTeX bibliographies, and ready-made templates Write in Markdown • Live rendered preview as you type • LaTeX math equation rendering (KaTeX) • Split view — write and preview side by side • Table editor with a visual grid • Find & replace with match highlighting • Word count and character count One app, all your devices • The same features on iPhone, iPad, and Mac — not a cut-down mobile version • One universal purchase: buy Pro once, use it everywhere • Documents, templates, and settings sync through iCloud Templates • Start from a ready-made article, paper, thesis, problem set, presentation, or CV • Save any document as a reusable template, for any file type (Pro) Version history • Automatically keeps earlier drafts as you edit • Compare any version against the current file with side-by-side rendered differences • Restore any earlier version in a tap (Pro) Files & workflow • Works with txt, md, tex, rmd, fountain, yaml, yml, json, csv, html, rtf, and docx files • Export to PDF, HTML, RTF, Markdown, LaTeX, Word, and plain text • Open and sync any folder from iCloud or your device, including subfolders • Find & replace across an entire folder • Customizable toolbar — show only what you need • Spell check that understands LaTeX, in the language you write in • Autosave, dark mode, and full keyboard shortcut support MarkUp is free to use. MarkUp Pro unlocks offline LaTeX typesetting, LaTeX math in Word documents, version history, your own templates, and unlimited file exports — as a one-time purchase or a yearly subscription, across all your devices. Privacy Policy: https://appsvaldonchevdeveloper.com/privacy/markup Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

MathDown4 screens
MarkUp4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: MarkUp at Free against MathDown's $9.99. MarkUp also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 3 weeks) and iOS requirement (17.6 vs 26.0). MathDown's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2). On 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

MarkUp is free to download; MathDown costs $9.99 up front. MarkUp sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per year. MathDown asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MathDown ships an update every 3 weeks, MarkUp every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on September 9, 2026 and September 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
MathDown versus MarkUp: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMathDownMarkUp
Price$9.99Free — better
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS26.017.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size13 MB60 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMilestone Made, LLCValentin Donchev

Customer experience

MathDown

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

MarkUp

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

MathDown

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

MarkUp

Subscriptions1
  • MarkUp Yearly$3.991 Year
One-time1
  • MarkUp Lifetime$9.99

Questions

Is MathDown free?
MathDown costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is MarkUp free?
MarkUp is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do MathDown or MarkUp have ads?
Neither MathDown nor MarkUp shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MathDown or MarkUp?
MathDown ships an update every 3 weeks, and MarkUp every 4 days. Most recently, MathDown was updated on September 9, 2026 and MarkUp on September 15, 2026.

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