Read Markdown vs Ledge Notebook
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Read Markdown
This app offers a fast and lightweight way to view and edit Markdown files on your iPhone and iPad. It renders files like GitHub, supports syntax highlighting, and allows for offline editing with a convenient formatting bar. Changes are saved directly to your files without needing an account or internet connection.
- GitHub-style Markdown rendering
- Offline reading and editing
- Syntax highlighting for code
- Live Mermaid diagram support
- Formatting toolbar for editing
- Edit in place with Files app integration
- PDF export
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Read Markdown (R.md) is the fast, lightweight way to read and edit Markdown on iPhone and iPad. Open a .md file and it appears instantly, rendered exactly like GitHub, in a clean, distraction free layout. Need to change something? Tap the pencil and edit, with a formatting bar right above the keyboard. Truly native, no accounts, no setup, no internet. WHY READ MARKDOWN • Fast: opens in a blink and scrolls smoothly, even for big documents. • Lightweight: a tiny native app that is easy on memory and battery. • Dead simple: just open a file and read. Nothing to configure. READING • Renders like GitHub, including tables, task lists and blockquotes. • Syntax highlighting for code blocks, with a copy button on each one. • Live Mermaid diagrams: flowcharts and sequence diagrams render in the page. • Dark mode that follows your system appearance. • Live outline: tap a heading to jump, or filter to find one. On iPad it stays open in a sidebar. • Images next to your document and links to other .md files just work. • Find in page, adjustable text size, and a list of recent files. • Export a clean, paginated A4 PDF and share it anywhere. EDITING • Reading stays reading: the app only switches to editing when you tap the pencil. • On iPad, edit side by side with a live preview that updates as you type. • Formatting bar for headings, bold, italic, code, links, lists, checklists and tables, plus undo and redo. • Smart typing: Return continues lists, code fences close themselves, and pasting a URL over selected text makes a link. • Tick a checkbox right in the rendered page and the change is saved to your file. • Light syntax colors in the editor, a clear unsaved indicator, and a prompt before you close. • Plays well with other apps: changes made elsewhere are detected, and you choose to reload or keep yours. • Hardware keyboard shortcuts on iPad: Cmd+B, Cmd+I, Cmd+K and Cmd+S. WORKS WITH YOUR FILES Open documents from the Files app, iCloud Drive or any other app with Open In. Files are edited in place, so nothing is copied or uploaded. Works fully offline. No account, no tracking, and your files never leave your device. Perfect for developers, writers and anyone who reads README files, design docs and notes. Download Read Markdown and open your first .md file in seconds.
Ledge Notebook
This app allows you to write and execute code directly within your Markdown notes. It connects to your own server via SSH, keeping your data private and secure. Organize your notes with workspaces, folders, and search, and run commands with live output.
- Execute shell, Python, Node, and more
- Live Markdown preview
- Connects to your own server via SSH
- Organize notes with workspaces and folders
- Securely store environment secrets
- AI agent integration for prompts
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Ledge is a Markdown notebook that runs the code in your notes. Write the commands for a deploy, a fix or a setup once, with the reasoning beside them, and run each block with a tap. The output appears right under the block. On iPhone and iPad, Ledge opens the notes on your own server: a Linux machine or a Mac running the free Ledge server, reached over SSH. Your notes, shells and commands stay on your machine. RUN ANYTHING • Shell, Python, Node, TypeScript, Ruby, PHP and Redis blocks run with the tools on your server • Add SQL or any other language by naming the command that runs it, such as psql or mysql • Prompt blocks hand a request to an AI agent on your server, such as Claude Code, which can read your notes • Answer a running command's prompts by typing into its output, with ^C, ^D, Esc and arrow keys above the keyboard • Each note keeps its own shell, so a cd or an exported variable carries into the next block • Give a note its own working directory, environment and secrets, kept outside the note • Run a note's blocks on another machine over SSH with one line at the top of the note • Mark a risky block to ask before it runs • A command keeps running on the server after you lock the phone, and its output is waiting when you come back WRITE AND ORGANIZE • Markdown with live preview, tables, checklists and images, including photos from the camera • Link notes to each other, with outline, backlinks and tags panels • Workspaces, folders, favorites and full-text search • Use the same notes from Ledge for Mac and from every phone and iPad you pair PRIVATE AND SECURE • You stay in control of your notes: they live on your own machine, not on our servers or anyone else's • No Ledge account, no sign-up and no third party in between • Sign in with a key made in the Secure Enclave that never leaves the device, or with a password kept in the keychain • Each server's host key is confirmed on the first connection and checked on every one after • Lock sensitive notes with a passphrase • Add a server by scanning the QR code it prints WHAT YOU NEED A Mac or a Linux machine you can reach over SSH, with the Ledge server installed. One command installs it, with no root access, no open port and no background service. The guide in the app walks you through it. Ledge is free and open source.
Screenshots
Verdict
Read Markdown and Ledge Notebook are too close to call on the numbers: across 7 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Read Markdown ships an update every 6 days, Ledge Notebook every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Read Markdown | Ledge Notebook |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | — | 2 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 days | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 5 MB | 13 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | VU THANH | Dan Stevens |
In-app purchases
Read Markdown
No in-app purchases
Ledge Notebook
No in-app purchases









