Kitsmith / Markdown Editors
MacMarkdown Editors
7 hand-verified markdown editors for Mac.
Typora, Bear, and iA Writer are the three best-known picks, and each takes a different stance on how Markdown should look while you write. Typora hides syntax symbols entirely, rendering headers, tables, and math live — "what you see is what you mean" — for a one-time $14.99 purchase after a 15-day trial. Bear organizes Markdown notes by nested tags rather than folders, with a genuinely usable free tier before Bear Pro ($2.99/mo or $29.99/yr) adds iCloud sync and more export formats — Mac App Store only, no direct download. iA Writer strips the interface down further still: Focus Mode dims everything but the current sentence, Style Check flags clichés and filler words on-device, and Authorship color-codes your own typing versus pasted AI text — a one-time $49.99 Mac App Store purchase with no subscription.
Marked, Zettlr, and the two smaller, more specialized editors round out the section. Marked isn’t an editor at all — it’s a live previewer that watches a file and re-renders the instant any editor saves it (Scrivener, Ulysses, Obsidian, even vim), defaulting to a $2.99/mo subscription with a $69.99 one-time "Permanent Unlock" for anyone who’d rather not subscribe. Zettlr is a free, open-source "publication workbench" built for academic writing — Zotero/JabRef citation integration across 9,000+ styles, Zettelkasten-style note linking, and Pandoc-powered journal export profiles. MultiMarkdown Composer is free at its base (one document, no export) with paid Standard/Pro upgrades for multi-document support and export formats. MacDown 3000 is a free, open-source (MIT) 2026 continuation of the original, unmaintained MacDown project — a different maintainer, not the original team, worth knowing before treating older MacDown reviews as describing this app.
All 7 apps
No apps match those filters.
Typora
$14.99 one-time (without tax), 15-day free trial, usable on up to 3 devicesA minimal Markdown editor that renders formatting live as you type, with no separate source and preview panes.
Bear
Free; Bear Pro $2.99/mo or $29.99/yr (15% savings vs. monthly), 7-day free trialA tag-based Markdown notes app for Mac and iOS with a genuinely usable free tier — Bear Pro adds iCloud sync, more themes, and export formats.
iA Writer
$49.99 one-time (Mac App Store); 7-day free trial downloadable directly from the developer, no credit card requiredA distraction-free Markdown writing app whose Focus Mode dims everything but your current sentence — one-time $49.99 purchase, 7-day free trial.
Marked
$2.99/mo (or a $69.99 one-time Permanent Unlock / Marked 3 Pro, intro pricing) via direct download or the Mac App Store; also on SetappA live Markdown previewer, not an editor — pairs with any text editor and updates automatically every time you save, with proofreading and rich export.
Zettlr
Free and open source; supported by donationsA free, open-source Markdown workbench built for academic writing — citation manager integration, Zettelkasten-style note linking, and one-click journal export via Pandoc.
MultiMarkdown Composer
Free base version (Mac App Store); Standard and Pro upgrades available as in-app purchases, current prices not published on the developer’s siteA text editor built around the MultiMarkdown syntax, with a free Mac App Store base version and paid Standard/Pro upgrade tiers.
MacDown 3000
Free and open sourceA free, open-source continuation of the discontinued MacDown editor, started by a different maintainer in 2026 — not the original project, but built in its spirit.
The verdict
We haven't singled out a top pick here yet — every one of the 7 is hand-verified, so start wherever your job description points you. 2 of the 7 are free, and 2 are open source. Paid options range $2.99–$49.99, one-time or subscription depending on the app.
Mac markdown editors — questions people ask
Is there a free Markdown editor for Mac?
Zettlr and MacDown 3000 are both free and open source. Bear’s free tier is also real — local notes and basic export — with Bear Pro ($2.99/mo or $29.99/yr) adding iCloud sync and more export formats.
What’s the difference between Marked and a normal Markdown editor?
Marked isn’t an editor at all — it has no text-editing surface of its own. It watches a file saved from any other app (Bear, Typora, even vim) and re-renders a live preview the instant you save, adding proofreading tools and export on top.
Which Markdown editor is built for academic writing?
Zettlr — it integrates with Zotero, JabRef, or Juris-M for citations across 9,000+ styles, links notes Zettelkasten-style, and exports to journal- or conference-specific formats via Pandoc, including LaTeX.
Is MacDown 3000 the same app as the original MacDown?
No — the original MacDown (2014–2021) went unmaintained, and MacDown 3000 is a separately maintained continuation started by a different developer in 2026. Same rendering lineage and spirit, different codebase and maintainer.