Comparison

Read.md vs PlainMark

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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 WORD, PDF & HTML Turn any document into a real Word (.docx) file with proper headings, tables, lists and code blocks, a clean, paginated, print-quality PDF, or a self-contained HTML file — diagrams and images intact. Share it, print it, archive it. Or export the original Markdown source. (Word, 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 and plain-text 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 Word/PDF/HTML export and GitHub browsing. Everything else stays free, forever. WHAT PEOPLE USE IT FOR Reading AI-generated markdown exports. Turning markdown into Word documents for colleagues. 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/

About

PlainMark

Features
Read full description

PlainMark is a clean, privacy-focused Markdown and plain text reader for iPhone and iPad. Open local .md, .markdown, and .txt files, then read them in a calm, native interface designed for notes, documentation, drafts, project files, and long-form text. PlainMark keeps the reading experience simple: choose a file, view beautifully rendered Markdown, adjust your reading preferences, and move through longer documents with helpful navigation tools. Features include: Open Markdown and plain text files Render headings, lists, links, code blocks, quotes, and tables Navigate longer documents with a table of contents Adjust typography and reading settings Use light, dark, and comfortable reading themes Reopen recently used documents Open files from the Files app and other document sources Read offline without an account PlainMark is built for people who want a focused Markdown viewer without clutter, accounts, ads, tracking, or document uploads. Your files stay on your device, and the app is designed around local reading first. Whether you use Markdown for notes, technical documentation, writing drafts, project plans, README files, or personal reference material, PlainMark gives you a simple way to read your files comfortably on iOS and iPadOS.

Screenshots

Read.md4 screens
PlainMark4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PlainMark at none against Read.md's 2. PlainMark also leads on update cadence (weekly vs fortnightly). Read.md's advantage is device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price and ads 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. Read.md sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per year. PlainMark asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Read.md ships an update fortnightly, PlainMark weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Read.md versus PlainMark: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRead.mdPlainMark
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (81 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews88.2% of reviews—
Number of ratings81 — better—
Update frequencyFortnightlyWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size33 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPavel AbinElemental Development

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Read.md

Subscriptions1
  • Read.md Pro Yearly3 Days trial$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • Read.md Pro (Lifetime)$24.99
None

PlainMark

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Read.md free?
Read.md is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PlainMark free?
PlainMark is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Read.md or PlainMark have ads?
Neither Read.md nor PlainMark shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Read.md or PlainMark?
Read.md ships an update fortnightly, and PlainMark weekly. Most recently, Read.md was updated on October 13, 2026 and PlainMark on September 25, 2026.

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