Comparison

Markd.ly vs Boreal Markdown Editor

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

Head to head
About

Markd.ly

Features
Read full description

The markdown editor that respects your output. Markd.ly is a native Markdown editor for iPhone and iPad with live preview, built for people who write in plain .md and ship a real deliverable. Open a file, write, and watch the preview render as you type. The same Bravely Account unlocks Markd.ly on Mac, Windows, and Linux too, so the document you start on your phone is waiting on your desktop. WRITE & EDIT โ€ข Native SwiftUI editor with adjustable font size and syntax highlighting โ€ข Live preview with multiple themes, side by side โ€ข Mermaid diagrams render right inside the preview โ€ข KaTeX math, inline and block โ€ข Open .md, .markdown, .mdown, .mkd, and .mkdn files from anywhere DOCUMENT INTEGRATION โ€ข Open files from the Files app and from any Markdown share โ€ข Save back to iCloud Drive, Files, or any document provider โ€ข Multi-document tabs to switch between drafts โ€ข Recent files for one-tap return FOLDER-BASED, NO LOCK-IN Your files stay plain .md on disk โ€” no vault, no proprietary format, nothing to migrate out of later. Git-friendly, and the same files open everywhere else you use Markd.ly. WHAT MARKD.LY IS FOR Blog posts. README files. Documentation. Technical writing. Markd.ly is for writing that lives in markdown but leaves the app as something polished โ€” not a note-graph or a second brain. If you need wikilinks and a graph, use a vault tool. If you want documents that look great when you ship them, this is the editor. ONE PURCHASE, EVERY PLATFORM Markd.ly is a tool, not a service. A single one-time purchase unlocks the complete app on every platform โ€” iPhone, iPad, Mac, Windows, and Linux โ€” carried by your Bravely Account. Buy it once on any platform and the rest unlock automatically, with no per-feature paywalls. The deeper export pipeline โ€” Pandoc to DOCX, EPUB, LaTeX, and slides, a custom CSS editor, a snippet library, vim mode, encrypted documents, the command-line tool, and an MCP server for AI agents โ€” lives on the desktop builds, included in the same one purchase. SIGN IN Signing in is free. Sign in with Apple, Google, or email โ€” the same sign-in works on every Markd.ly app you install. Try it free, then a single one-time purchase unlocks everything. Already bought Markd.ly on another platform? Sign in to restore it here at no extra charge. SUPPORT Questions, bug reports, and feature requests: support@bravely.dev Privacy: https://bravely.dev/privacy/markdly Terms: https://bravely.dev/terms

About

Boreal Markdown Editor

Features
Read full description

Boreal Markdown is a focused iOS document tool for people who already keep notes, drafts, specs, and reports in plain Markdown files. Open a .md or .markdown file from Files, read the rendered preview, edit the source, then save intentionally or export a clean PDF. Boreal Markdown is built around the small document loop, not a new notes database or cloud workspace. Included for everyone: - Open Markdown and plain text files through iOS file access - Read a rendered Markdown preview with clear document typography - Switch between preview and source editing - Apply headings, bold, italic, links, lists, and code to the cursor or selected text - See saved and unsaved states near the document title - Choose Save, Discard, or Cancel before leaving a document with unsaved edits - Save changes back to the opened file when iOS file access allows it - Export the rendered document as a PDF with paper, theme, text size, and title options - Share the PDF or save it back to Files - Persist appearance, accent, editor text, and PDF defaults between launches Boreal Pro is an optional one-time purchase. It unlocks: - Document outline navigation - Find and replace - Markdown cleanup - Split editing and preview on supported layouts - Advanced PDF themes, margins, table of contents, page numbers, headers, footers, and reusable presets Boreal Markdown is local-first. There is no account, subscription, hosted sync service, AI processing, backend document storage, or collaboration system. Use Boreal Markdown when you want a quiet iPhone and iPad workbench for opening, editing, saving, and sharing Markdown files as PDFs.

Screenshots

Markd.ly4 screens
Boreal Markdown Editor3 screens

Verdict

The call

Markd.ly and Boreal Markdown Editor are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters โ€” price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them โ€” neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Markd.ly sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $95.99 per year and Boreal Markdown Editor sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Markd.ly versus Boreal Markdown Editor: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMarkd.lyBoreal Markdown Editor
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyFortnightlyFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size18 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBravely StudiosBorealbit Technology Limited

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Markd.ly

Subscriptions1
  • Bravely Premium (Annual)$95.991 Year
One-time2
  • Markdly Pro$19.99
  • Bravely Premium (Lifetime)$399.99
1 purchases

Boreal Markdown Editor

One-time1
  • Boreal Markdown Editor Pro$6.99

Questions

Is Markd.ly free?
Markd.ly is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Boreal Markdown Editor free?
Boreal Markdown Editor is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Markd.ly or Boreal Markdown Editor have ads?
Neither Markd.ly nor Boreal Markdown Editor shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Markd.ly or Boreal Markdown Editor?
Markd.ly ships an update fortnightly, and Boreal Markdown Editor fortnightly. Most recently, Markd.ly was updated on October 9, 2026 and Boreal Markdown Editor on October 13, 2026.

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