Marklens vs MarkView
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Marklens
This app is a fast, native Markdown viewer for macOS, iPadOS, and iPhone. It renders .md files instantly with beautiful typography, themes, syntax highlighting, and diagrams. Designed for reading, it offers a private and friction-free experience.
- Instant Markdown rendering
- Syntax highlighting for 30+ languages
- Mermaid diagram support
- GitHub-Flavored Markdown
- Light and dark themes
- Export to PDF
- Quick Look preview on macOS
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Marklens is a fast, native Markdown viewer for macOS, iPadOS, and iPhone. Open any .md file with a click and see it rendered immediately — beautiful typography, light and dark themes, syntax-highlighted code, and Mermaid diagrams. No editor, no library, no friction. HIGHLIGHTS • Instant render — every .md opens in a clean, focused window • 30+ language syntax highlighting via highlight.js, bundled offline • Mermaid 11 diagrams — flowcharts, sequence, state, xy-charts and more • GitHub-Flavored Markdown — tables, task lists, footnotes, strikethrough • Light and dark theme matching the system appearance • Quick Look on macOS — press Space on any .md in Finder for a rendered preview • Export to PDF on every platform • Pinch-to-zoom on iPadOS and iPhone, ⌘+ / ⌘− / ⌘0 on macOS • Open files via drag-and-drop, the Share Sheet, or the Files app MADE FOR READING Marklens doesn't try to be a notes app or a knowledge base. It opens a file, renders it perfectly, and gets out of the way. If you write Markdown in another tool — VS Code, Obsidian, GitHub, your favorite text editor — Marklens is the viewer you reach for to look at the result. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Marklens collects nothing. No analytics, no telemetry, no crash reports, no network requests. Every rendering asset — Mermaid, highlight.js, fonts — ships inside the app. Read the full privacy policy at https://donald-jackson.github.io/marklens/privacy/ OPEN SOURCE Marklens is MIT-licensed and developed in the open. Source, issues, and contribution guide live at https://github.com/donald-jackson/marklens.
MarkView
A lightweight and private Markdown reader for Apple devices. It focuses on a clean reading experience, fast loading, and robust privacy by processing all documents locally. Enjoy features like dark/light modes, table of contents, and full-text search.
- Lightweight and fast loading
- Local processing for privacy
- Dark and light modes
- Table of contents and search
- Supports Mermaid charts and math formulas
- Read-only design
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MarkView is a lightweight, clutter-free Markdown viewer, built for fast, private, local document reading. Open Markdown notes, READMEs, exported files and long .md documents effortlessly on iPhone and iPad. It strips away cumbersome project-management logic — simply open, read, and revisit your files anytime. Import and open files directly from the Files app or the system Share Sheet. No account sign-up, no cloud uploads — all your files stay local and private on your device. Core Features • Lightweight & Minimal Fast file loading and a clean, distraction-free reading interface, with no redundant toolbars or complicated setup. • Private Local Reading Every file renders locally on your device. No sign-ins, no cloud uploads — your document privacy is fully protected. • Optimized Reading Experience Elegant typography, adaptive light/dark modes, a table of contents, in-file search and progress tracking deliver comfortable reading even for long documents. • Full Format & System Support Supports all mainstream Markdown formats, native Files and Share Sheet access, plus quick revisit through recent documents. • Rich Rendering & Safe Read-Only Faithfully renders tables, code blocks, Mermaid diagrams, math formulas and more. Pure read-only mode never modifies your original files. If you're looking for a lightweight, elegant, privacy-focused Markdown viewer that respects your local files, MarkView is your ideal choice.
Screenshots
Verdict
Marklens and MarkView both sit at 5.0 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of MarkView's written reviews are positive against 0% of Marklens's. Marklens's advantage is price (Free vs $0.99). On rating, ratings volume, update cadence 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
Marklens is free to download; MarkView costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Marklens against 5.0 for MarkView. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 4 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 0% of Marklens's written reviews are positive against 100% of MarkView's.
Marklens ships an update monthly, MarkView every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Marklens | MarkView |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $0.99 |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) | 5.0 (4 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 4 — better |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 28 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Donald Jackson | 迪 黎 |
Customer experience
Marklens
MarkView
In-app purchases
Marklens
No in-app purchases
MarkView
No in-app purchases









