Dillinger vs Markra

Dillinger is a free web-based Markdown editor with live preview, cloud sync, and no signup requirement. Its Monaco editor includes syntax highlighting, multiple cursors, find and replace, and autocompletion. A side-by-side preview renders Markdown as you type and keeps scrolling aligned with the editor. Documents can be imported by drag and drop and exported as Markdown, styled HTML, or PDF. Dillinger also imports and saves files through GitHub, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, and Bitbucket; GitHub support covers public and private repositories and lets users save edits back. After the initial load, the editor works offline and keeps drafts in local storage, although cloud sync requires connectivity. Other options include dark mode, fullscreen Zen mode, and Vim and Emacs keybindings. The site describes use by developers, technical writers, and AI builders writing READMEs, documentation, blog posts, and LLM prompts. Documents save automatically in the browser, and the features page says data is not stored on Dillinger’s servers. The Free plan is free, with no signup, paywall, or usage limits.

Markra is a local-first, open-source Markdown workspace with native AI review, offered as a desktop app and web editor. It supports WYSIWYG and source editing, with inline rendering for links, images, tables, tasks, callouts, code, math, and Mermaid diagrams. Users can open files or folders and keep local files, tabs, and rich editing together; documents remain ordinary Markdown files, and writing does not require an account. AI can answer questions, rewrite or summarize text, and propose edits, but users must approve changes before they are applied. AI features require at least one configured provider, including cloud providers, Ollama, or OpenAI-compatible endpoints. Provider API keys and custom headers are stored in local settings, and exported settings can include them. Notes can optionally sync through WebDAV, which preserves conflict copies. Desktop downloads are available for macOS, Windows, and Linux. Desktop exports include HTML, PDF, and Pandoc formats when configured; the web editor supports HTML download and browser print or PDF. Core features are free; AI use requires a configured provider.