MarkLook vs Read.md
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
MarkLook
This app transforms raw Markdown text into beautifully typeset documents for effortless reading on Apple devices. It offers customizable themes, advanced syntax support, and optimized mobile viewing for documents with images, code, and equations.
- Read .md files on iPhone, iPad, and Mac
- Customizable reading themes
- Code highlighting for 180+ languages
- LaTeX math equation rendering
- Mermaid flowchart and diagram support
- Optimized mobile reading experience
- Immersive image preview
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Open .md files on iPhone, iPad, or Mac, or paste raw Markdown from a social post or chat. MarkLook turns it into a clear, beautifully typeset document for reading. MarkLook stores no files, offers no editor, requires no account, and has no monthly subscription. It is made for reading. On iPhone and iPad, choose an .md file from the Files app or paste Markdown from the clipboard. On Mac, open files from Finder, Quick Look, or the Open With menu. --- FIND YOUR FAVORITE READING VIBE --- To cater to different reading habits and aesthetic preferences, we offer several built-in themes. For each theme, we've fine-tuned the typography, font sizes, and line spacing to ensure reading is effortless, while specifically optimizing the visual balance when mixing English and non-English text. We have prepared several built-in appearances (themes) for you: • Default: The cleanest, foundational system font typography. • Essay: Looks like a meticulously typeset book, perfect for reading long articles. • Typewriter: Recreates the monospace texture of a typewriter, bringing back classic manuscript styling. • Notebook: A rounded, soft notebook style. • GitHub: The classic style familiar to all programmers. All built-in themes support Dark Mode. If you are a loyal Typora user, you can also directly import your commonly used Typora theme packages (.zip or .css formats) to continue your most familiar reading experience. --- OPTIMIZED MOBILE READING EXPERIENCE --- Reading documents on mobile devices is often constrained by the system environment or narrow screen layouts. MarkLook has made targeted optimizations: • Folder Browsing: Add a folder to browse Markdown and TextBundle documents from it and its subfolders in one place, with search by file name, path, or content. • One-Tap Local Image Authorization: Due to iOS sandbox restrictions, apps cannot read external images by default. With a simple one-tap authorization of your document directory, images in your text appear instantly. • Immersive Image Preview: Tap an image to go full-screen. Supports pinch-to-zoom and swipe gestures, allowing you to see every detail clearly even on a limited screen. • Smooth Wide Table Scrolling: Optimized algorithms for narrow screens ensure complex tables are no longer crowded or distorted. Supports horizontal scrolling to view complete data, keeping the text looking as it should. --- COMPREHENSIVE ADVANCED FEATURE SUPPORT --- Beyond basic syntax, the following contents are also well-supported: • Code Highlighting: Supports 180+ programming languages with clear logical presentation. • Math Equations: Flawless support for LaTeX math, rendering even complex formulas quickly and elegantly. • Flowcharts & Diagrams: Supports Mermaid flowcharts and sequence diagrams, which can be enlarged for full-screen viewing. --- ONE-TIME PURCHASE, NO SUBSCRIPTIONS --- The app offers both a free and a full version. The "Default" theme is completely free with a clean interface. When you try out other built-in themes, a subtle upgrade prompt will appear at the bottom of the preview page. If you desire a more refined and pure experience, consider a one-time purchase to unlock the full version (no subscriptions, no ads): • Unlock All Built-in Themes: Switch freely between your favorite typography styles without any prompt bars. • Unlock Typora Theme Import: Bring in your custom community theme packages (.zip or .css formats). One-time purchase, universal for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Simply tap "Restore Purchase" on your other device. We hope to provide you with a quiet, comfortable little tool for reading. If you happen to read Markdown files frequently, welcome to give it a try.
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.
- 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
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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 PDF & HTML Turn any document into a clean, paginated, print-quality PDF or a self-contained HTML file — diagrams and syntax highlighting intact. Share it, print it, archive it. Or export the original Markdown source. (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 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 PDF/HTML export and GitHub browsing. Everything else stays free, forever. WHAT PEOPLE USE IT FOR Reading AI-generated markdown exports. 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
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: MarkLook at 100% against Read.md's 90%. On price, update cadence, ads 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
Both are free to download. MarkLook sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Read.md sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
MarkLook ships an update fortnightly, Read.md every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 17, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | MarkLook | Read.md |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (35 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 90.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 35 — better |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.2 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 15 MB | 35 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | 乙丑 蒋 | Pavel Abin |
Customer experience
MarkLook
Read.md
In-app purchases
MarkLook
- MarkLook完全版$4.99
Read.md
- Read.md Pro Yearly3 Days trial$9.991 Year
- Read.md Pro (Lifetime)$24.99







