Markdown Reader & Editor vs Notedown
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ with what reviewers say about each.
Markdown Reader & Editor
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Markdown, beautifully rendered โ on iPhone, iPad and Mac. MD Reader turns plain .md files into clean, readable documents with real LaTeX mathematics, colored code blocks and elegant tables. Native, fast, and built around one idea: your words stay yours. ON iPHONE A calm, focused, read-only reader. Open, read, search and navigate โ with no risk of changing your file by accident. With Pro you can also export to PDF and HTML. WRITE, NOT JUST READ (iPad) โข An editor with a live side-by-side preview that updates as you type โข New, Open and Save โข Your edits go back to your own .md files BEAUTIFUL RENDERING โข Full Markdown: headings, bold, italic, strikethrough, nested lists, tables, block quotes, links and images โข LaTeX mathematics typeset with KaTeX โ inline formulas and centered display equations โข Colored code blocks with a one-tap Copy button โข Smart typography: curly quotes, em dashes and ellipses applied automatically FIND YOUR WAY โข Instant search that highlights every match, with a counter and next/previous โข Table of contents built from your headings โ a sheet on iPhone, a sidebar on Mac โข In-document links jump straight to any section โข Recent files always one tap away MAKE IT COMFORTABLE โข Four themes โ GitHub, Aurora, Dark and Apple โ each adapting to light and dark mode โข Adjustable text size AND ON YOUR MAC The same purchase includes the full Mac app: โข AI Markdown โ describe what you need and Apple's on-device model writes the Markdown. Nothing leaves your Mac. โข Live Studio โ seven ready-made building blocks: section, table, checklist, code, quote, storyboard and action plan โข Several documents open at once, in tabs, with synced scrolling โข Live statistics, a choice of reading fonts, and a full menu bar with keyboard shortcuts for everything FREE AND PRO Reading and writing are both free. Open any Markdown file, use all four themes, LaTeX, colored code, tables, search, contents and the bundled samples โ and on iPad and Mac, write in the editor with its live side-by-side preview, create new documents and save them. Pro is a single one-time purchase โ no subscription โ and it covers taking the document back out of the app: export to PDF and HTML on iPhone, iPad and Mac, and on iPhone and Mac also printing, exporting a single section, sharing as an image and copying with formatting. On Mac it adds Live Studio, AI Markdown and several documents open at once. One purchase covers all three. YOUR FILES STAY YOURS Ordinary .md text files. No proprietary format, no account, no sign-up, no analytics, no tracking and no subscription โ one purchase, that's all. The only time the app uses the network is to load images your own document links to. Opens .md, .markdown, .mdown, .mkd and .mkdn โ from the Files app, iCloud Drive or a share sheet. Available in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Turkish, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Arabic. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.natural-apps.com/MDReader/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://www.natural-apps.com/MDReader/privacy.html
Notedown
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Notedown is a featherweight markdown notes app for people who just want to write. No accounts, no sync, no clutter โ every note is saved as a plain .md text file on your device and never leaves it. WRITE IN MARKDOWN Use familiar markdown to structure your thoughts: headings, bold and italic, bulleted lists, checkboxes, quotes, code, and links. A one-tap formatting toolbar inserts the syntax for you, so you never have to remember it. EDIT OR PREVIEW Flip between a distraction-free editor and a clean rendered preview with a single tap. See exactly how your note looks, then jump back to writing. FULLY OFFLINE, FULLY YOURS Your notes are stored as standard markdown files in the app's own folder on your device. There is no cloud, no login, and nothing to set up. What you write stays with you. FIND ANYTHING FAST Search across all of your notes instantly. The list keeps your most recently edited notes at the top. SHARE WHEN YOU WANT Export any note as markdown text through the standard share sheet. SIMPLE BY DESIGN - Light and dark themes - English and Japanese - Portrait, one-handed friendly layout - Free to use (contains ads) Notedown is the calm, lightweight alternative to heavy note apps โ just markdown, and nothing in your way.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Notedown at every 4 days against Markdown Reader & Editor's every 2 weeks. Markdown Reader & Editor's advantage is device support (3 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Markdown Reader & Editor ships an update every 2 weeks, Notedown every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Markdown Reader & Editor | Notedown |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 4 days โ better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac โ better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 17.0 โ better |
| Further details โ not scored | ||
| Size | 10 MB | 24 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Victoria Rodriguez Diaz | Yuki Okawa |
In-app purchases
Markdown Reader & Editor
No in-app purchases
Notedown
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Markdown Reader & Editor free?
Is Notedown free?
Do Markdown Reader & Editor or Notedown have ads?
Which is updated more often, Markdown Reader & Editor or Notedown?
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