Comparison

Marklens vs Markdown.md

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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.

About

Markdown.md

This app offers a fast, offline Markdown reader and editor with advanced rendering capabilities, including syntax highlighting and diagram support. Organize your documents with folders and tags, and export them in various formats. It prioritizes privacy with no account or tracking required.

Highlights
  • Offline Markdown reading and editing
  • Advanced rendering with syntax highlighting
  • Support for diagrams, math, and images
  • Customizable themes and fonts
  • Document organization with folders and tags
  • Export to PDF, HTML, and Markdown
  • Privacy-focused with no tracking
Read full description

Markdown.md is a beautiful, blazing-fast Markdown reader, editor, and library — built to work 100% offline, with no account and no tracking. Whether you live in READMEs, technical docs, meeting notes, or your own writing, every document renders cleanly and opens instantly. BEAUTIFUL RENDERING Headings, bold, italics, tables, task lists, blockquotes, and nested lists all render with care. Fenced code blocks get real syntax highlighting for dozens of languages. Mermaid diagrams — flowcharts, sequence, Gantt, class, and state — and Excalidraw sketches render inline. SVG graphics, LaTeX math, footnotes, images, and embedded video links are supported too, along with YAML frontmatter. MAKE READING YOURS Choose a reading font and a separate code font from the system faces plus 100+ bundled typefaces, with a searchable picker and favorites. Fine-tune text size, line spacing, and content width (Narrow, Normal, Wide). Pick from 14+ built-in themes — GitHub, Solarized, One Dark, Dracula, Nord, Catppuccin, Tokyo Night, Gruvbox, Rosé Pine, Ayu, Everforest, Night Owl, Kanagawa, Monokai — each in light and dark, or craft your own with a color picker. Set backgrounds like Paper or Sepia, and override the theme per document. Move through long files with a searchable outline and a scrubber, find text with a live match counter, flip to raw source, and pick up right where you left off. A REAL EDITOR, BUILT IN Write and edit with a syntax-highlighted editor and a full formatting toolbar: headings, bold, italic, strikethrough, inline code, bullet/numbered/task lists, blockquotes, indent and outdent, plus one-tap insert for links, images, tables, and code blocks. Undo and redo, autosave, live preview, and word, character, line, and reading-time stats. ORGANIZE YOUR LIBRARY Keep everything tidy with folders, tags, and full-text search. Sort by name, created, or last opened, filter by folder or tag, and switch between list and grid. Rename, duplicate, move, and delete with ease. IMPORT FROM ANYWHERE Open files from the Files app, the Share Sheet, and AirDrop, paste a link to any Markdown file, or browse public GitHub repositories by owner/repo or URL — then read them offline. EXPORT & SHARE Turn any document into a polished PDF, HTML, Markdown, or plain-text file, each with a preview before you share. Back up and restore your entire library too. EVERYTHING IN ONE PLACE The attachments panel automatically gathers every link, image, code block, diagram, video, and footnote into one searchable view — copy links, view code, or save images to Photos or Files. HIGHLIGHTS & BOOKMARKS Highlight passages in five colors, add notes, and jump straight back to them anytime. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Rendering happens on-device with all assets bundled — no CDN, no account, no tracking. Turn on iCloud to sync documents, folders, tags, bookmarks, and appearance across devices, or keep everything local. Lock the app with Face ID or Touch ID. BUILT FOR iPHONE, iPAD & MAC Enjoy a sidebar and split view on iPad, and run it on your Mac. Free to use with up to 10 documents and 20 bookmarks. Unlock unlimited documents, bookmarks, and usage with Pro. https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Marklens3 screens
Markdown.md4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Marklens at none against Markdown.md's 2. Marklens also leads on iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.2). On price, rating, ratings volume 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. Markdown.md sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Marklens asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Marklens against 5.0 for Markdown.md. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 1 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Marklens versus Markdown.md: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMarklensMarkdown.md
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings2 — better1
Update frequencyMonthly—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.0 — better26.2
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB50 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDonald JacksonLife Utility Apps, LLC

Customer experience

Marklens

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral100.0%
Negative0.0%

Markdown.md

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Marklens

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Markdown.md

Subscriptions1
  • Monthly$3.991 Month
One-time1
  • Lifetime Access$19.99

Questions

Is Marklens free?
Marklens is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Markdown.md free?
Markdown.md is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Marklens or Markdown.md?
Marklens and Markdown.md are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Marklens or Markdown.md have ads?
Neither Marklens nor Markdown.md shows ads.

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