Xmd vs cyberWriter
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Xmd
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Xmd turns a URL or a PDF into a clean Markdown file — ready to drop into Obsidian, Logseq, Bear, iA Writer, or your own notes vault. Paste a link, pick a PDF, hit Convert. That's it. WHY Xmd • Smart per-source extraction. Xmd detects WordPress, news articles, documentation sites, PDFs, X / Twitter threads, Reddit, App Store, Google Play and Amazon — and picks the right technique for each, not a one-size-fits-all clipper. • Works on X / Twitter. Longform articles AND tweet threads. Most clippers can't read X because it's a JavaScript app; Xmd renders the page in a real WebView and walks the DOM. • More than articles. Beyond web pages and PDFs, Xmd recognizes structured pages too — Reddit discussions, App Store / Mac App Store / Google Play listings, and Amazon product pages — and turns them into clean Markdown. App Store listings can include the app's public user reviews. • PDFs done right. Paragraphs are recomposed instead of being shredded into one line per visual row. • Built-in OCR for scanned PDFs. When a PDF page has no text layer (a scan, a photo of a document), Xmd falls back to on-device OCR via Apple's Vision framework — Italian and English out of the box. No cloud round-trip, no separate app. • Cookie banners handled. Iubenda, OneTrust, Didomi and IAB TCF prompts are auto-dismissed so they don't pollute your Markdown. • Documentation-aware. On docs.* / readthedocs / github.io sites, fenced code blocks keep their language hints. • Show WebView toggle. For SPA-heavy or login-protected pages, interact with the page first, then extract. • Extensible. Hit a site Xmd doesn't recognize yet? Build your own extractor — map a few fields with CSS selectors and a template, or an advanced one for trickier pages. Test it against a live URL, then import/export to share. BUILT-IN MCP SERVER ON MAC (FOR ANY AI AGENT) On Mac, Xmd doubles as a Model Context Protocol server. Open the MCP tab, hit Start, and any MCP-compatible AI agent — Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, Zed, custom clients you build yourself — can call: • convert_url_to_markdown • convert_pdf_path_to_markdown • scrape_url — run targeted extraction on any page • save_extractor / list_extractors — teach Xmd a new site, reusable from then on Because the server reuses Xmd's real WebView, your agent can fetch JavaScript-rendered pages that pure HTTP-fetch tools can't — pull exactly what it needs from a page, then save it as a reusable extractor so Xmd handles that site automatically next time. One-click config snippet, live request log, all local on 127.0.0.1. No cloud relay, no API key, no subscription. This makes Xmd probably the easiest way to give an LLM agent first-class web and PDF reading capabilities on macOS. PRIVATE & LOCAL No account. No subscription. No cloud round-trip. Extraction happens on your device. Files stay on your device. NATIVE EVERYWHERE SwiftUI on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Vision Pro. Share Sheet extension on iOS — send a link from Safari, get a Markdown file back. Keyboard shortcut to convert (⌘↩). Save as .md or copy to clipboard. GREAT FOR • Note-takers building a personal knowledge base in Obsidian / Logseq / Bear • Researchers archiving sources in a readable, diff-friendly format • Writers collecting reference material • Engineers saving documentation pages offline • Mac users who run AI agents locally (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Zed, custom MCP clients) and want them to read the live web and PDFs Made with care. Built to be extended — bring your own extractors.
cyberWriter
This app offers a comprehensive Markdown editing experience with live WYSIWYG, split-screen editing, and the ability to link notes into a knowledge graph. It supports diagrams, charts, and math, with a built-in terminal for vault management and optional AI integration. All data is stored locally and offline.
- Live WYSIWYG Markdown editing
- Knowledge graph with wikilinks
- Built-in GLOW terminal with AI
- Support for diagrams, charts, and math
- Offline and private by design
- Export to PDF, Word, and HTML
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cyberWriter turns plain Markdown into a live studio - write in true WYSIWYG, split screen editing, link your notes into a knowledge graph, and drop in diagrams, charts, drawings from excalidraw, and KaTeX math. All native, all offline, no account required. Even use the built in GLOW terminal to manage, script and create docs in your vault, with your own AI models if you'd like. Bring your own vault from any popular markdown editor and unleash your potential. It reads and writes ordinary .md files in your own folders - including iCloud Drive - so your notes stay portable, future-proof, and yours. WRITE • Live WYSIWYG editing with a one-tap raw-Markdown toggle • Tables, callouts, task lists, footnotes, code blocks • Split view, focus mode, and beautiful themes • Clip a web page → clean Markdown, images and all * New TOML Support and Pageless PDF exports POWER TOOLS • GLOW terminal - a built-in command line for your vault, with your AI model on the prompt • Live data blocks - pull from any API straight into a note • Typed YAML properties with an inline editor • Dataview-style query blocks to list and filter across your vault • Templates, find & replace, snippets, and media embeds (audio, video, PDF, CSV) LINK • [[Wikilinks]] and automatic backlinks across your vault • #tags, a quick-open switcher, and hover previews • An interactive 3D knowledge graph of your notes SHOW • Mermaid diagrams - flowcharts, sequence, Gantt, and more • Vega-Lite charts straight from your data • Excalidraw hand-drawn diagrams • LaTeX math, beautifully typeset • Play any note as slides or spaced-repetition flash cards CAPTURE & EXPORT • Voice notes and on-device dictation • Export to PDF, Word, and HTML - no external tools, no cloud PRIVATE BY DESIGN • Fully offline. No account, no sign-up, no telemetry, no ads • Optional AI connects only to a provider you choose - a local server (Ollama, LM Studio, oMLX etc), your own API key, or Apple Intelligence on supported devices. Nothing leaves your device unless you set it up. One purchase. Your notes, your device, your rules.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Xmd at $9.99 against cyberWriter's $14.99. cyberWriter's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 4 weeks) and chart position (#188 vs unranked). On ads, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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
Xmd costs $9.99 and cyberWriter $14.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Xmd ships an update every 4 weeks, cyberWriter weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Xmd | cyberWriter |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9.99 — better | $14.99 |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (6 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 6 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 weeks | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | — | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #188 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 9 MB | 48 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Marco Tini | John Taverna |
In-app purchases
Xmd
No in-app purchases
cyberWriter
No in-app purchases









