Comparison

MD Preview vs Curio

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

Head to head
About

MD Preview

This app provides a clean and elegant way to read markdown files from various cloud storage services. It offers beautiful formatting, syntax highlighting for numerous programming languages, and customizable themes. An optional one-time purchase unlocks additional features like PDF export and custom font sizes.

Highlights
  • Open .md files from cloud storage
  • Beautifully formatted markdown rendering
  • Syntax highlighting for 180+ languages
  • Toggle between preview and raw markdown
  • Collapsible table of contents
  • 6 free reading themes
  • Export to PDF (premium)
Features
Read full description

MD Preview is a fast, elegant Markdown reader for the .md files AI assistants write, your notes, and technical docs. Open a file from Files, iCloud Drive, or anywhere else, and it formats beautifully in an instant. READING • Open any .md or HTML file • Headings, tables, code blocks, task lists, and images, rendered cleanly • Syntax highlighting for 30+ common programming languages • Math (LaTeX) and Mermaid flowcharts, sequence diagrams and pie charts • Collapsible table of contents: tap a heading to jump to it • Switch between the preview and the markdown source in one tap • Right-to-left languages such as Arabic and Hebrew read right to left automatically • Distraction-free reading: tap the page to hide everything but the text READING FOLDER • Pick a folder once, and it's on the home screen every time • Works with local folders and iCloud Drive • Pin recent files so the ones you use most stay on top 6 FREE THEMES Paper, Midnight, Forest, Rosé, Ocean, and Lavender, in light and dark. Chinese, Japanese and Korean text uses the system's native fonts, crisp and easy on the eyes. PREMIUM: ONE-TIME PURCHASE • Read Aloud: natural voices read your docs to you, on a walk or when your eyes need a rest • PDF export: share formatted docs by AirDrop, email, or print • Reading fonts & text size: four fonts made for long reading, sized from compact to large • 4 extra themes: Solarized, Dracula, Nord and Tokyo Night • No subscription. Buy once, keep it forever. PRIVACY FIRST No account, no ads, no tracking. MD Preview reads your files where they are. It never uploads, copies, or stores them. Built by a solo developer.

About

Curio

This alarm clock requires you to answer a trivia question to turn it off, ensuring you're awake. It offers a wide range of topics and a premium version for more features. It's designed to be a reliable wake-up tool.

Highlights
  • Trivia questions to disable alarm
  • Multiple question categories
  • Offline functionality
  • No internet required
  • Points-based system
  • Free and premium tiers
Features
Read full description

Start your brain, start your day. Set an alarm. Answer trivia to turn it off. Get it right and you're up, sharper, a little smarter, and ready for the day. HOW IT WORKS A trivia, and a field of answer bubbles. Tap the right one and the alarm stops. Tap a wrong one and it costs a heart, and the alarm keeps going. Curio rings through silent mode. Force it off without answering and it comes back. Over 2,000 trivia across general knowledge, science, geography, history, entertainment, vocabulary, arts & literature, and sports. Alarms and trivia work fully offline, with no email or password to set up. POINTS AND BONUS PACKS Every alarm you answer earns points. So does the Daily Curio, and so does every friend who plays trivia you send. Spend them on Spellbound, '90s, R&B & Hip Hop, Flags, and new alarm tones, or buy any one for $0.99. A DAILY CURIO TO SHARPEN YOUR TRIVIA SKILLS Once a day, everyone gets the same round. No alarm required, play it whenever you like. Send it to a friend and see who scores more. Keeps its own streak, for the days you showed up. Play it right from a Home Screen widget, too. 7 days free: unlimited alarms, all eight topics, every theme, full wake history. We'll remind you before it renews. Then $1.99/month or $17.99/year. Cancel any time in Settings. Questions about billing? Write to support@curioalarm.com. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the period ends. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://curioalarm.com/privacy Curio Terms of Service: https://curioalarm.com/terms

Screenshots

MD Preview4 screens
Curio4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: MD Preview at none against Curio's shown. MD Preview also leads on ratings volume (31 vs 5) and iOS requirement (16.6 vs 26.0). Curio's advantage is update cadence (daily vs every 3 days). On price, rating, review sentiment and in-app purchases 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. MD Preview sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Curio sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for MD Preview against 5.0 for Curio. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: MD Preview has 31 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MD Preview ships an update every 3 days, Curio daily. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
MD Preview versus Curio: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMD PreviewCurio
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (31 ratings)5.0 (5 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings31 — better5
Update frequencyEvery 3 daysDaily — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.6 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB181 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGejun ZhuCRWD App

Customer experience

MD Preview

All ratings31 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Curio

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

MD Preview

One-time1
  • MD Preview Premium$3.99
8 purchases

Curio

Subscriptions2
  • Curio Premium (Monthly)7 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Curio Premium (Annual)7 Days trial$17.991 Year
One-time6
  • Spellbound$0.99
  • R&B & Hip Hop$0.99
  • Flags$0.99
Show 3 more
  • '90s$0.99
  • Haunted$0.99
  • Bones$0.99

Questions

Is MD Preview free?
MD Preview is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Curio free?
Curio is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, MD Preview or Curio?
MD Preview and Curio are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 31 and 5 ratings respectively.
Do MD Preview or Curio have ads?
Curio shows ads; MD Preview does not.
Which is updated more often, MD Preview or Curio?
MD Preview ships an update every 3 days, and Curio daily. Most recently, MD Preview was updated on October 28, 2026 and Curio on October 29, 2026.

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