Typora does not run on iPad — here is what does
Typora is a macOS, Windows and Linux app. There is no iPadOS or iOS version, and there has never been one. If you liked Typora on your Mac and want the same document on your iPad, this is the gap Inkiostro fills.
This is the shortest comparison on the site, because the central fact is not a matter of opinion: Typora ships for macOS, Windows and Linux, and there is no iPad or iPhone app. If you searched for one, that is the answer, and no amount of comparison table will change it.
Inkiostro is native on iPhone, iPad and Mac, and one purchase covers all three. On iPad the editor and live preview sit side by side with your files a tap away; on iPhone the formatting toolbar sits above the keyboard; on Mac it is a full three-pane window. iCloud keeps the same document current on all of them, and that is in the free tier.
The honest caveat: Typora and Inkiostro do not edit the same way. Typora is true WYSIWYG — you type `# Heading` and the markup disappears, replaced by the rendered heading, with no preview pane at all. Inkiostro shows you Markdown with live syntax highlighting alongside a rendered preview. If seamless WYSIWYG is the specific thing you love about Typora, you should know that going in.
Inkiostro vs Typora, feature by feature
A ✓ means it ships today. Notes mark the differences worth knowing about.
| Feature | Inkiostro | Typora |
|---|---|---|
| iPad app | ✓ | — |
| iPhone app | ✓ | — |
| Mac app | Native | ✓ |
| Windows / Linux | — | ✓ |
| Price | Free · Pro $19.99 once | $14.99 once, up to 3 devices |
| Editing model | Markdown with live highlighting + rendered preview | True WYSIWYG, markup hidden as you type |
| iCloud sync across devices | Free | No sync (local files) |
| LaTeX math (KaTeX) | Free | ✓ |
| Mermaid diagrams | Free | ✓ |
| Version history with restore | Pro · 40 versions per file, line-by-line diff | — |
| PDF export | Free · formulas, diagrams and code stay selectable text | ✓ |
| EPUB export | Pro | — |
| Self-contained HTML export | Pro | ✓ |
| Plain .md files on disk | ✓ | ✓ |
| Custom CSS themes | 29 built-in themes | Full custom CSS |
Typora — pricing and features checked on 13 August 2026 from Typora. own site. Both products change — verify before you buy.
Where Typora is still the right choice
- You work on Windows or Linux. Inkiostro is Apple-only and always will be.
- True WYSIWYG is the feature you actually want. Typora hides the markup as you type and nothing else does it quite as smoothly.
- You write your own CSS themes. Typora takes arbitrary CSS; Inkiostro gives you 29 built-in themes and no stylesheet slot.
- You never write on a tablet or a phone, in which case the whole premise of this page does not apply to you.
Where Inkiostro pulls ahead
- It exists on iPad and iPhone. Native apps, not a web wrapper, with a formatting toolbar above the keyboard and the preview side by side on iPad.
- iCloud sync in the free tier: start a document on the Mac, keep writing on the iPad on the train, finish it on the phone.
- Version history: up to 40 automatic versions per document with a line-by-line diff and single-paragraph restore. Typora relies on your filesystem and whatever backup you have set up.
- EPUB export to a real ebook with a navigation table of contents, which Typora does not do.
- PDF where equations, diagrams and highlighted code remain selectable text rather than images.
Nothing to migrate
Both apps work on ordinary .md files, so there is no export, no conversion and no import. Put your existing Typora documents in Inkiostro's iCloud folder and they open as they are — LaTeX blocks, Mermaid diagrams, YAML front matter and footnotes included. You can keep editing the same files in Typora on a Windows machine at the same time.