MDXEditor vs Pell

MDXEditor is a web-based React component for writing Markdown in a rich-text editor. It accepts and returns Markdown strings, without converting documents through an intermediate HTML representation. Its editing engine uses Lexical, and developers can add capabilities with plugins or build plugins for additional Markdown constructs. Listed tools include headings, quotes, links, lists, images, tables, code blocks, front matter, shortcuts, directives, JSX components, source editing, diff views, and a customizable toolbar. Table editing covers rows, columns, and alignment, with Markdown allowed in cells but not HTML tables. Images can come from URLs or local devices, be pasted or dropped, and use an integrator-provided upload handler. Code blocks support syntax highlighting and language-aware editing, with CodeMirror available for editable blocks. It is installed from npm in React projects and has setup guides for Next.js, Vite, Remix, and Create React App. It is self-hosted, free at free, and licensed under MIT. Server rendering and changes to font size, color, or family are not supported.

Pell is a free, self-hosted WYSIWYG text editor for web pages. It is written in pure JavaScript using ES6 and has no dependencies. The package is listed at 1.38 kB minified and gzipped, or 3.54 kB minified. Built-in actions cover bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, headings, paragraphs, quotes, lists, code, horizontal rules, links, and images. You can add custom actions and decide which controls appear and in what order. Styling can be changed through Pell’s Sass file or by overriding CSS. The onChange callback provides the editor’s HTML output, and the project demonstrates converting that HTML to Markdown with Turndown. Installation is documented through npm or by including a browser script and stylesheet. React and Vue examples are available. Listed browser support includes IE 9+, Chrome 5+, Firefox 4+, Safari 5+, and Opera 11.6+. Pell uses the MIT license.