Comparison

Marklens vs PlainMark Editor

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

PlainMark Editor

Features
Read full description

Write clearly. Stay in control of your files. PlainMark is a fast, focused Markdown editor for iPhone and iPad. Write in readable Markdown, switch instantly to a polished formatted view, and export your work without wrestling with a complicated workspace. WHY PLAINMARK • Source and Formatted views for writing your way • Native formatting controls for headings, bold, italic, links, lists, quotes, code, and more • Line numbers and live document statistics • Open and save standard Markdown files • Export to PDF, PNG, HTML, RTF, plain text, or Markdown • High-resolution full-document PNG export • Paginated PDF export for sharing or printing PRIVATE BY DESIGN No account. No cloud lock-in. No ads. PlainMark works with files stored on your device and only shares a document when you choose to export or send it. BUILT FOR FOCUS PlainMark keeps the interface quiet and the document front and center. It is ideal for notes, drafts, documentation, README files, articles, and any writing that should stay portable. Open a file or start fresh. Write in plain Markdown. Export anywhere.

Screenshots

Marklens3 screens
PlainMark Editor4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Marklens at Free against PlainMark Editor's $0.99. Marklens also leads on iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.0). On ads, 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

Marklens is free to download; PlainMark Editor costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Marklens versus PlainMark Editor: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMarklensPlainMark Editor
PriceFree — better$0.99
Rating5.0 (3 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyMonthly—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS18.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB0 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDonald JacksonCommerce Beacon

In-app purchases

None

Marklens

No in-app purchases

None

PlainMark Editor

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Marklens free?
Marklens is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PlainMark Editor free?
PlainMark Editor costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Marklens or PlainMark Editor have ads?
Neither Marklens nor PlainMark Editor shows ads.

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