Comparison

MarkLook vs Vault Reader

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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.

About

Vault Reader

Features
Read full description

A calm place to read the GitHub notes you already have. Vault Reader connects to any GitHub repository of markdown files, public or private, and renders it on iPhone as a focused, offline-ready reader. Built for the Obsidian vaults, dev notes, and journals that already live in GitHub. THE READER • Sign in with GitHub. Connect one repository on the free tier; every public or private repo you have access to with Vault Reader Pro. • Sync once, read offline. Every page caches on your iPhone and opens without a signal. • Smart incremental sync. SHA-based diffing only re-downloads files that actually changed, keeping API usage low. • Native SwiftUI rendering for headings, lists, tables, code blocks with syntax highlighting, task lists, blockquotes, and images. • Book-quiet typography: Iowan Old Style for body, Fraunces for display headings. • Full-text search across every cached file in your vault. FOR OBSIDIAN USERS Pairs with the Obsidian Git plugin. Point Vault Reader at the same repository and it picks up: • [[Wikilinks]], resolved locally. Tap to follow; unresolved links stay visible but disabled so nothing is silently broken. • YAML frontmatter, hidden from the rendered page. Tags surface as small chips above the title. • > TLDR: callouts, highlighted as cards so the gist of a note stands out. ON-DEVICE AI (VAULT READER PRO) A floating action button on every page opens a chat powered by Apple Foundation Models, running entirely on your iPhone. No API keys. No cloud inference. Nothing leaves the device. • Summarize the page you're on. • Ask it to explain a passage in simpler terms. • Ask free-form questions across your whole vault. Answers link back to source pages. READING, YOUR WAY • Two themes on the free tier: Plum Codex (light) and Midnight Vault (dark). • Six themes total with Pro: Plum Codex, Sepia Library, Forest Journal, Terracotta Press, Midnight Vault, and Obsidian Codex. • Four body-text sizes and three line-spacing presets with Pro. Dynamic Type respected throughout. PRIVACY BY CONSTRUCTION • Your GitHub token lives in the iOS Keychain. Minner Labs runs no backend and never sees it. • AI runs on-device via Apple Foundation Models. Prompts and answers never leave your iPhone. • Read-only. Vault Reader cannot create, edit, or delete anything in your repositories. • Your Pro subscription restores automatically across devices and reinstalls. PRICING • Free to download and read. One connected repository, two themes, and the core reader are always free. • Vault Reader Pro unlocks on-device AI, unlimited repositories, and the complete theme and typography library. Available as a monthly or annual subscription (with a 7-day free trial on the annual plan), or as a one-time lifetime purchase. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula Privacy Policy: https://vaultreader.minnerlabs.com/privacy

Screenshots

MarkLook4 screens
Vault Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is device support: MarkLook at 3 against Vault Reader's 1. MarkLook also leads on iOS requirement (16.2 vs 26.0). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. MarkLook sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Vault Reader sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MarkLook ships an update fortnightly, Vault Reader every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 6 level
MarkLook versus Vault Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMarkLookVault Reader
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.2 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer乙丑 蒋Minner Labs LLC

In-app purchases

1 purchases

MarkLook

One-time1
  • MarkLook完全版$4.99
3 purchases

Vault Reader

Subscriptions2
  • Vault Reader Pro - Monthly$1.991 Month
  • Vault Reader Pro - Yearly7 Days trial$14.991 Year
One-time1
  • Vault Reader Pro - Lifetime$39.99

Questions

Is MarkLook free?
MarkLook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Vault Reader free?
Vault Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do MarkLook or Vault Reader have ads?
Neither MarkLook nor Vault Reader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MarkLook or Vault Reader?
MarkLook ships an update fortnightly, and Vault Reader every 3 weeks. Most recently, MarkLook was updated on October 4, 2026 and Vault Reader on October 6, 2026.

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