A MarkText alternative that leaves the desk with you
MarkText is free, open source and pleasant to write in: the Markdown turns into formatting as you type. It is also a desktop app, with no tablet, no phone and no sync. Inkiostro writes the same visual way on Mac, iPad and iPhone, over the same plain .md files, and keeps them in step through iCloud.
MarkText costs nothing, is MIT-licensed and runs on macOS, Windows and Linux. Its realtime preview — the document formats itself as you write, much like Typora — is why it became the standard free recommendation, and after a quiet spell it is moving again: version 0.21.1 shipped in October 2026. Nobody should pay for an editor they do not need, and if MarkText does everything you ask of it on one computer, keep it.
What it does not do is follow you. There is no MarkText for iPad, iPhone or Android, and no sync: files stay wherever you saved them. Inkiostro is native on Mac, iPad and iPhone, one purchase covers all three, and iCloud keeps the same document current on each of them in the free tier.
Since version 1.12 Inkiostro also writes the way MarkText does. The visual editor shows headings, bold, lists, tables and formulas formatted as you type; the Markdown editor shows the symbols, with a rendered preview alongside. The visual editor is part of Pro, with a 7-day free trial; the Markdown editor, iCloud sync, LaTeX, Mermaid and PDF export are free with no time limit.
Inkiostro vs MarkText, feature by feature
A ✓ means it ships today. Notes mark the differences worth knowing about.
| Feature | Inkiostro | MarkText |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free · Pro $19.99 once | Free, open source (MIT) |
| Editing model | Your choice: visual editor (Pro, 7-day trial) or Markdown + rendered preview | Visual (realtime preview), plus a source code mode |
| Mac app | Native | Electron |
| iPad and iPhone apps | ✓ | — |
| Windows / Linux | — | ✓ |
| Sync across devices | iCloud, free | None built in — use a synced folder |
| Version history with restore | Pro · 40 versions per file, restore a single paragraph | — |
| LaTeX math | Free (KaTeX) | Yes (KaTeX) |
| Diagrams | Mermaid, free | Mermaid, PlantUML, Vega-Lite, flowchart.js |
| PDF export | Free · formulas, diagrams and code stay selectable text | ✓ |
| HTML export | Pro · single file, styles and images embedded | ✓ |
| EPUB export | Pro, built in | — |
| Focus & Typewriter mode | Pro | Free |
| Plain .md files on disk | ✓ | ✓ |
MarkText — pricing and features checked on 10 October 2026 from the official site of MarkText. Both products change — verify before you buy.
Where MarkText is still the right choice
- It is free, all of it, and open source. If price decides and you only ever write on a computer, MarkText wins outright.
- You work on Windows or Linux, or move between them and a Mac. Inkiostro is native to Apple devices, with a separate app for Android.
- You draw more than Mermaid. PlantUML, Vega-Lite charts and flowchart.js render in MarkText; Inkiostro draws Mermaid only.
- Focus and Typewriter mode are free in MarkText; in Inkiostro they are part of Pro.
Where Inkiostro pulls ahead
- It goes where you go. Native iPad and iPhone apps with the same two editors, a formatting bar above the keyboard, and one purchase for all three devices.
- Sync that is part of the app. iCloud keeps every document current on Mac, iPad and iPhone in the free tier, with nothing to set up.
- Version history: up to 40 automatic versions per document, a line-by-line diff and single-paragraph restore.
- EPUB built in. A real ebook with a navigation table of contents, cover and metadata.
- PDF that stays text. Equations, Mermaid diagrams and highlighted code are exported as selectable, searchable text rather than images.
- A native Mac app rather than an Electron one: it starts quickly and behaves like the rest of macOS.
Nothing to migrate
MarkText and Inkiostro both work on ordinary .md files, so there is no import and no conversion. Put your documents in Inkiostro’s iCloud folder, or point Pro’s external folders at the folder they already live in, and they open as they are. Math carries over unchanged, since both render it with KaTeX, and so do Mermaid blocks. PlantUML, Vega-Lite and flowchart.js blocks stay in the file as code, but Inkiostro does not draw them.