Comparison

Markdown Reader & Editor vs Markdown Editor

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

Head to head
About

Markdown Reader & Editor

Features
Read full description

Markdown, beautifully rendered. Read, write and highlight on iPhone, iPad and Mac. Open any .md file and read it as a clean, typeset document with real LaTeX math, colored code, tables and diagrams. Highlight and add notes as you read, and with Pro, write right on the page on Mac and iPad. Reading is free. ON iPHONE A calm, focused reader: open, read, find, highlight and present, with no risk of changing your file by accident. With Pro, export to PDF and HTML, print, and sync your highlights. READ IT BEAUTIFULLY β€’ Full Markdown: headings, nested and task lists, tables, block quotes, footnotes, links and images β€’ LaTeX math typeset with KaTeX, inline and on its own line β€’ Code colored by a real syntax highlighter, with a one-tap Copy button β€’ Mermaid diagrams drawn as pictures β€’ Four themes (GitHub, Aurora, Dark and Apple) in light and dark mode, and adjustable text size HIGHLIGHT AND TAKE NOTES β€’ Highlight in color, as a background or an underline β€’ Add a note to any highlight and browse them all in the Highlights panel β€’ Highlights live in the app, never in your file: the .md stays untouched β€’ With Pro, they sync across your devices through your own iCloud, and export as a Markdown study sheet FIND YOUR WAY β€’ An outline built from your headings that follows you as you read β€’ Find highlights every match, with a counter and next/previous (⌘F with a keyboard) β€’ Links to a section jump straight there β€’ Recent files one tap away β€’ Present any document as full-screen slides, with a laser pointer and a marker (free) WRITE ON THE PAGE (Pro, iPad) β€’ Type directly in the reading view, like a word processor β€’ Split view, with the Markdown source beside the page β€’ Edit mode for the source alone, plus New and Save, back to your own .md files SHARE IT (Pro) β€’ Export to PDF, with paper size, margins, header and page numbers, or to HTML β€’ On iPhone, also print, export a single section, share a section or a formula as an image, and copy with formatting SAFE BY DESIGN β€’ A downloaded document's links can't launch apps or scripts: web links open in your browser, other kinds ask first β€’ A linked HTML page opens in MD Reader's own viewer β€’ On iPhone and iPad, when a document's images are in a folder iOS hasn't shared, MD Reader says so and brings them in with one tap AND ON YOUR MAC The same purchase includes the full Mac app: Split with synced scrolling and mirrored selection, Live Studio's seven ready-made blocks, tabs, live statistics, reading fonts and keyboard shortcuts for everything. FREE AND PRO Reading is free, with no time limit: open any Markdown file and use the outline, Find, all four themes, highlights and notes, and Present mode. Pro is a single one-time purchase, no subscription. It unlocks writing and editing (Edit and Split modes, typing in the reading view, New and Save), export to PDF and HTML, Live Studio, multiple tabs and highlight sync through iCloud. Every new install can try all of Pro free for 7 days. One purchase covers iPhone, iPad and Mac, and if you used MD Reader before version 1.2, you keep everything you had. YOUR FILES STAY YOURS Ordinary .md text files. No proprietary format, no MD Reader account, no sign-up, no analytics, no tracking and no subscription. The app goes online only to load images your document links to and, with Pro sync, to keep your highlights and notes in your private iCloud database, which the developer cannot access. Your documents are never uploaded. Opens .md, .markdown, .mdown, .mkd and .mkdn 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

About

Markdown Editor

This app offers a seamless Markdown editing experience with real-time preview, allowing for instant formatting and easy organization of notes. It integrates with cloud storage and AI tools for enhanced content creation and management.

Highlights
  • Real-time input and preview
  • AI summarization and drafting
  • Google Drive integration
  • Plain Markdown file editing
  • Syntax highlighting for code
  • Diagram and math rendering
Features
Read full description

There is no separate input and preview screen. Everything happens on one screen: what you type takes shape right where you typed it. Headings, nested lists and code get distinct colors and shapes, so the structure of a note is clear at a glance. You don’t have to memorize Markdown β€” type / at the start of a line and pick headings, tables, checklists or diagrams from a menu. With no styling to fiddle with, you can keep writing as you think. On Mac and Windows you can edit plain Markdown (.md) files right where they are. Connect Google Drive and you can pick the same notes up on any device; the files are saved in your own Google Drive. No Google account is needed for local files on Mac and Windows. On iPhone and iPad, notes are kept in the app’s folder or in Google Drive. β–  Open what AI writes Ask ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or another AI to summarize something in Markdown, then open it here as is β€” it reads cleanly and stays editable. It's a plain Markdown file, so you can paste it back into an AI to keep going, or drop it straight into Notion or GitHub without reformatting. β–  Ask AI (with your own API key) Add an API key for OpenAI (GPT), Anthropic (Claude) or Google (Gemini) and you can ask AI from inside the app. Β· On selected text β€” polish, shorten, make formal, translate, turn into a table or a diagram Β· From the whole note β€” meeting notes & to-dos, summarize, extract to-dos, tidy into Markdown, continue writing Β· In your own words β€” have it draft a how-to or a first version Check the answer before it goes into your note, and undo it in one step. Usage is billed by the service you choose, and your key stays on this device. β–  What people use it for Β· A notepad that reads better β€” jot things down and they turn into tidy headings and bullet points. As light as a plain text editor, far easier to read back Β· Meeting notes β€” organize the discussion as it happens and put decisions in a table Β· To-do lists and tasks β€” list what needs doing as a checklist and tick items off Β· Journal, diary and daily log β€” keep a note per day and find anything later with full-text search Β· A personal wiki β€” link notes to one another and build a notebook of what you know Β· Docs, how-tos and blog drafts β€” outline with headings, then paste the plain Markdown anywhere Β· A Markdown viewer β€” open an .md file and read it with its tables and headings in place Β· Code and command snippets β€” kept with syntax highlighting, copied in one click β–  Features Β· Styling as you type β€” headings, bold, italic, quotes, rules, footnotes and nested lists are formatted the moment you write them Β· Type / at the start of a line to insert tables, checklists, diagrams, math and more Β· Tables render as tables β€” click one to go back to the raw Markdown and edit it Β· Diagrams (flowcharts, sequence diagrams and more) from mermaid syntax, and math from TeX, drawn inline Β· Collapsible sections (details) and clickable checkboxes Β· Code blocks with syntax highlighting and a one-click copy button Β· Images and file attachments, with PDFs opening right in the app Β· Paste a URL and get a link preview card Β· Full-text search across all your notes Β· Six themes (Light, Sepia, Solar, Dark, Night, Contrast) and three text sizes Β· Available in 12 languages β–  Choose where your notes live Β· Google Drive β€” saved automatically, with no save button. Your Drive folders stay as they are, and shared drives and multiple Google accounts are supported Β· On this device β€” no sign-in needed. On Mac and Windows you can also open any folder you already have Β· In Google Drive, the app only touches files it created and files you explicitly open β–  About usage Β· Free to use.

Screenshots

Markdown Reader & Editor4 screens
Markdown Editor4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Markdown Editor at none against Markdown Reader & Editor's 1. Markdown Editor also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs fortnightly) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Both are free to download. Markdown Reader & Editor sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Markdown Editor asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Markdown Reader & Editor ships an update fortnightly, Markdown Editor every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences Β· 5 level
Markdown Reader & Editor versus Markdown Editor: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMarkdown Reader & EditorMarkdown Editor
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviewsβ€”0.0% of reviews
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 2 days β€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo β€” better
Monetizationβ€”Free
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac β€” better
Requires iOS18.015.0 β€” better
Further details β€” not scored
Size15 MB15 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperVictoria Rodriguez DiazMakoto Kobayashi

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Markdown Reader & Editor

One-time1
  • Pro$2.99
None

Markdown Editor

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Markdown Reader & Editor free?
Markdown Reader & Editor is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Markdown Editor free?
Markdown Editor is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Markdown Reader & Editor or Markdown Editor have ads?
Neither Markdown Reader & Editor nor Markdown Editor shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Markdown Reader & Editor or Markdown Editor?
Markdown Reader & Editor ships an update fortnightly, and Markdown Editor every 2 days. Most recently, Markdown Reader & Editor was updated on October 31, 2026 and Markdown Editor on November 6, 2026.

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