Composer vs HedgeDoc
Composer
usecomposer.mdHedgeDoc
hedgedoc.orgSide by side
| Figure | Composer | HedgeDoc |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $5.99/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 4 | 1 |
| Spec score · Markdown editors | 8.4 (#10) | 8.5 (#5) |
Plans
In their own words
Composer
Composer is a web-based, real-time Markdown editor where people and AI agents work on shared documents. Agents connect through MCP and join documents as collaborators, with permission to read and write shared content. Changes synchronize across teammates, devices, and sessions. Composer uses plain Markdown, keeping files readable in other editors, and supports Markdown export. The listed publishing workflow is none. Free users receive unlimited public documents and collaborators, plus up to seven private documents, three collaborators per private document, and a 10 MB upload limit. Pro removes the private-document and collaborator limits and adds early access to new features. Pro Annual costs $5.99 a month billed annually at $71.88 a year; Pro Monthly costs $7.99 a month billed monthly. Users can cancel anytime, with paid access continuing through the period. Stripe handles checkout.
HedgeDoc
HedgeDoc is a free, open-source Markdown editor for collaborative notes, diagrams, and presentations. It runs in a browser and can be self-hosted. People can edit notes together in real time by sharing a link, and guests can access notes. Notes can include graphs, diagrams, and embedded content; Markdown slides can be presented using reveal.js. Revision history records changes and lets users restore earlier versions. HedgeDoc 1.x offers six note-permission settings, from open editing to private access, and only the note owner can change a note’s permission. Its documentation describes authentication integrations such as LDAP, OAuth, SAML, GitHub, GitLab, Keycloak, Mattermost, Nextcloud, and Microsoft Entra ID. Image uploads can use filesystem, Imgur, S3, MinIO, Azure, or Lutim storage. Deployment options include a ready-to-use bundle and an official Docker image for amd64 and arm64. Built-in PDF export is deactivated after security vulnerabilities; browser print-to-PDF is suggested instead. The source code is licensed under AGPL 3.0.