Dillinger vs MarkText
Dillinger
dillinger.ioMarkText
marktext.meSide by side
| Figure | Dillinger | MarkText |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Markdown editors | 8.1 (#13) | 8.5 (#6) |
| Spec score · Text App | 8.1 (#12) | 8.3 (#8) |
| Audience | The homepage describes the editor as a tool for developers, technical writers, and AI builders writing READMEs, documentation, blog posts, and LLM prompts. | The homepage describes MarkText as a desktop Markdown editor for writing with real-time rendering and minimal distractions. |
| Export formats | Markdown,HTML,PDF | basic |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Integrations | Dillinger can import and save files with GitHub, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, and Bitbucket. | The repository lists Homebrew, Chocolatey and Winget installation options. |
| Local file support | Yes | Yes |
| Supported platforms | web | Downloads are offered for macOS, Windows and Linux. |
Plans
In their own words
Dillinger
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.
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.