HedgeDoc vs MarkText

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.

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.