Ghostwriter vs StackEdit
Ghostwriter
ghostwriter.kde.org
StackEdit
stackedit.ioSide by side
| Figure | Ghostwriter | StackEdit |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Text App | 8.4 (#6) | 8.0 (#14) |
| Spec score · Markdown editors | 8.4 (#9) | 8.7 (#2) |
| Export formats | HTML,Pandoc,MultiMarkdown,commonmark | Markdown,HTML,PDF |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| License | The project site says ghostwriter is distributed under the GNU General Public License v3.0. | The maker’s site links StackEdit to the Apache License. |
| Live preview | It previews Markdown documents as HTML and lets users copy the HTML or export to another format. | Synchronizes editor and preview scrolling |
| Local file support | Yes | Yes |
| Markdown flavor | github_flavored | custom |
| Supported platforms | Windows,Linux,macOS | web,chrome_extension,self_hosted |
Plans
In their own words
Ghostwriter
Ghostwriter is a free Markdown text editor for distraction-free writing, available on Linux and Windows, with unofficial community-provided macOS support. It stores documents as local files and previews Markdown as HTML, which can be copied or exported. GitHub-flavored Markdown is supported, and export options include HTML, Pandoc, MultiMarkdown, and commonmark. Focus Mode highlights a selected area around the cursor, such as a line, sentence, paragraph, or three lines. Full-screen mode and Hemingway Mode provide other writing setups; Hemingway Mode disables backspace and delete. The editor includes light and dark themes, with options to create custom themes. Writers also get live word counts, document and session statistics, a document outline, autosave, and file backups. Linux installation instructions cover Ubuntu, Fedora, and Arch Linux. The Windows download page lists a portable 64-bit version for Windows 10. On macOS, users must compile the source because an installer is not available. Ghostwriter is distributed under the GNU General Public License version 3.0.
StackEdit
StackEdit is an in-browser Markdown editor for writing, formatting and publishing documents. It highlights Markdown syntax and offers formatting controls alongside a live preview whose scrolling follows the editor. The site says it remains accessible for offline writing, and it supports local files as well as cloud sync with Google Drive, Dropbox and GitHub. Writers can share collaborative workspaces; when two collaborators edit the same file simultaneously, StackEdit merges their changes. Files also support inline comments and embedded discussions. The editor handles Markdown Extra, GitHub Flavored Markdown and CommonMark, with features configurable. It can publish blog posts to Blogger, WordPress and Zendesk, using Markdown, HTML or Handlebars-template formatting. Other supported content includes LaTeX mathematical expressions, sequence diagrams, flow charts, musical scores in ABC notation and emoji markup. Export formats are Markdown, HTML and PDF. StackEdit is listed as free and open source under an Apache License. Supported platforms include the web, a Chrome extension and self-hosting; the maker’s site displays a 2013–2019 copyright range.