Markflow vs BetterText
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Markflow
This app allows you to open and read markdown files from various sources like Files, Mail, and Safari. It supports GitHub-flavored markdown, code syntax highlighting, and diagrams, with an integrated editor and a clean preview mode.
- Open .md, .markdown, .mdown files
- GitHub-flavored markdown rendering
- Syntax-highlighted code blocks
- Mermaid diagram support
- Markdown editing toolbar
- Pinch to zoom
- Export edited files
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The markdown reader you've been missing. Markflow opens .md files from Files, Mail, Safari downloads, or the share sheet and renders them properly. GitHub-flavored markdown, syntax-highlighted code, mermaid diagrams, tables, task lists, and more. Originals are never touched. Edits live in memory until you explicitly Save, Save as New File, or Share a copy. WHAT YOU CAN DO • Open any .md, .markdown, or .mdown file from any app • Read with a clean, native preview • Edit with a markdown toolbar above the keyboard. Bold, italic, headings, lists, links, images, code, quotes, all one tap away. • Pinch to zoom in both Preview and Edit • Export an edited copy via the system share sheet • Tap Create to start a new blank file, or "Welcome to Markflow" for a full feature tour WHAT IT RENDERS • Headings, lists, blockquotes, links, images • Syntax-highlighted code blocks • Mermaid flowcharts and diagrams • GitHub-flavored markdown tables • Task lists with checkboxes • Inline images (absolute URLs) PRIVACY Markflow makes zero network requests and collects zero data. No accounts. No login. No analytics. No tracking. No ads. The renderer is a sandboxed local file with a Content Security Policy that blocks all remote resources. Your files stay on your device. DESIGN Built native with SwiftUI and the Liquid Glass nav bar. Light and dark mode. Adaptive home screen. Stock Apple Human Interface Guidelines throughout. WHO IT'S FOR • Writers who keep notes in markdown • Developers reading READMEs and docs on the go • Anyone who's been emailed a .md and had nowhere to open it • People who want a markdown reader that does one thing well Open source. MIT licensed. github.com/madebysan/markflow
BetterText
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BetterText is a clean, fast plain-text editor for iPhone and iPad. Open any text file — .txt, .md, .json, .csv, source code and more — from iCloud Drive, Dropbox, On My iPhone, or any location in the Files app, and edit it right where it lives. Changes save automatically. RESPECTS YOUR FILES BetterText detects each file's text encoding (UTF-8, UTF-16, Windows-1252, Latin-1) and line endings (LF, CRLF, CR) and writes the file back exactly the same way. No surprise conversions, no corrupted config files. BUILT FOR TEXT • Find & replace • Optional line numbers • Monospaced or proportional fonts, adjustable size • Custom background colour with automatic text contrast • No smart quotes or autocorrect getting in the way of code • Keyboard ready the moment a file opens • Save a Copy to any location PRIVATE BY DESIGN No accounts, no tracking, no ads. Your files never leave your control.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is iOS requirement: BetterText at 18.0 against Markflow's 26.0. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
| Parameter | Markflow | BetterText |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better | — |
| Number of ratings | 2 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 18.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 7 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Santiago Alonso Alexandre | Kobus Marneweck |
In-app purchases
Markflow
No in-app purchases
BetterText
No in-app purchases









