Comparison

Marklens vs MDer

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

MDer

Features
Read full description

Give your Markdown files a calm, native home on iPhone and iPad. MDer brings together a document library, a focused editor, and a dedicated reading experience. ORGANIZE YOUR LIBRARY Search titles and document contents. Sort your library, use collection filters, mark favorites, and pin notes. Start with a template, duplicate a document, or restore a note from Recently Deleted. WRITE WITH FOCUS Apply Markdown formatting at the cursor or to selected text. Use native undo and redo, Find, and hardware keyboard shortcuts. Live word and character counts, estimated reading time, and automatic local saving help you keep writing. Clear save status and retry controls let you respond if a save fails. READ COMFORTABLY Enjoy serif typography, comfortable line lengths, adjustable text size, and Paper, Sepia, or Night themes. Read headings, nested lists, checklists, tables, quotes, code blocks, and reference links. Navigate with the heading outline and return to your saved reading position. Long code blocks scroll horizontally and can be copied. External images appear as placeholders rather than loading automatically. OPEN FILES, KEEP CONTROL • Import Markdown and plain-text files, including multiple files at once • Open Markdown documents from Files • Export and share standard Markdown through the iOS share sheet • Recover notes from Recently Deleted before permanent removal • Keep document content locally without creating an account • Use layouts that adapt to iPhone, iPad, larger text, and the software keyboard PRIVATE DOCUMENTS MDer does not include an AI service and does not send document titles or content to AI providers. Documents are stored on your device. You choose when to export or share them. MDer Pro is ad-free. MDer Free displays a Google AdMob banner and hides it while the software keyboard is open. Advertising privacy options are available when required. Advertising data is handled separately from document content; details appear in the App Store privacy label and privacy policy.

Screenshots

Marklens3 screens
MDer3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Marklens at none against MDer's shown. On price, update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Marklens ships an update monthly, MDer every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 19, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Marklens versus MDer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMarklensMDer
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDonald Jackson福恩 毛

In-app purchases

None

Marklens

No in-app purchases

None

MDer

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Marklens free?
Marklens is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is MDer free?
MDer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Marklens or MDer have ads?
MDer shows ads; Marklens does not.
Which is updated more often, Marklens or MDer?
Marklens ships an update monthly, and MDer every 2 weeks. Most recently, Marklens was updated on September 19, 2026 and MDer on September 21, 2026.

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