Byword vs MarkText
Byword
bywordapp.comMarkText
marktext.meSide by side
| Figure | Byword | MarkText |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 4 | 1 |
| Spec score · Text App | 8.2 (#10) | 8.3 (#8) |
| Spec score · Markdown editors | 7.5 (#24) | 8.5 (#6) |
| Spec score · Writing Apps | 7.5 (#116) | 7.9 (#80) |
| Export | Users can preview documents in the app and export to HTML, PDF, or rich text. | The site says documents can be exported as PDF or self-contained HTML. |
| Export formats | HTML,PDF,rich text | basic |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Local file support | Yes | Yes |
| Supported platforms | macos,ios | Downloads are offered for macOS, Windows and Linux. |
| Privacy | The Mac App Store listing says the developer indicates that the app does not collect data; Apple says this information has not been verified by Apple. | The homepage says MarkText requires no account and has no tracking. |
| Publishing workflow | cms | none |
| Support | The Mac listing says customer support is available by email at [email protected]. | The homepage says the project is built by volunteers and invites users to sponsor development on GitHub. |
Plans
Byword
- MacPrice not published
- iPhone and iPadPrice not published
- Byword for iPhone and iPad$5.99, paid once
- Byword for Mac$10.99, paid once
In their own words
MarkText
MarkText is a free, open-source desktop Markdown editor that displays formatted text as you write. It offers WYSIWYG preview and source-code editing, plus focus and typewriter modes. Writing features include tables, KaTeX math, diagrams, footnotes, code highlighting, and YAML, TOML, and JSON front matter. Listed diagram tools include Mermaid, Vega, and Vega-Lite. The editor has 33 light and dark themes, with CSS customization available. Documents can be exported as PDF or self-contained HTML, and local files are supported. MarkText runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows. Installation notes require macOS 11 or later and Windows 10 or 11, and provide arm64 and x64 installers for those systems. Homebrew, Chocolatey, and Winget are also listed as installation options. The homepage says MarkText needs no account and has no tracking. It is released under the MIT License, has no subscription, and is described as a volunteer-built project.