7 alternativesMarkEdit: Free, open source
The best MarkEdit alternatives
For most people the best alternative to MarkEdit is Scrivener, and the best free one is Cotypist.
ScrivenerPick this if you're writing a novel, script or thesis and need sections you can rearrange beside your research.$59.99 onceCompare at a glance
MarkEdit is highlighted, so you can see what you give up and what you gain.
| App | Price | How you pay | Mac | iPhone | iPad | App Store | Developer | Setapp | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 MarkEdit | Free, open source | Free | Too few ratings | ||||||
| Scrivener | $59.99 once | Pay once | Too few ratings | ||||||
 Ulysses | From $5.99 | Subscription | 4.6 | ||||||
 iA Writer | From $19.99 | Pay once | 4.6 | ||||||
 Typora | $14.99 once | Pay once | Too few ratings | ||||||
 Cotypist | Free to start | Free, with paid upgrades | Too few ratings | ||||||
 Bike | Free to start | Free, with paid upgrades | Too few ratings | ||||||
 Wymark | Free | Free | Too few ratings |
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The alternatives, in order
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Pick this if you're writing a novel, script or thesis and need sections you can rearrange beside your research.
Break a book or thesis into movable sections with research beside the draft, for $59.99 once and no subscription.
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Pick it if you run a blog or write long pieces and want every draft in 1 library that syncs.
A distraction-free writing library for blogs and books that publishes straight to WordPress and Ghost.
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Pick it if you want a calm screen, plain Markdown files and a nudge when you lean on filler words.
A calm Markdown editor that dims everything but your current sentence and flags filler words as you write.
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Pick this if you write in Markdown but want the page to look finished while you type.
A Markdown editor that hides the symbols and shows formatting live, with exports to PDF, Word and EPUB.
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Pick it if you write a lot of email and messages and want autocomplete in every app, with the model running on your own Mac.
Inline autocomplete for every Mac app, generated on your Mac, with a free tier of 100 accepted words a day.
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Pick it if you plan articles, projects or talks as nested lists and want a keyboard-first outliner.
A native, keyboard-driven outliner that stays quick with huge documents, from the maker of TaskPaper.
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Pick it if you write in Markdown and regularly hand drafts to Claude, ChatGPT or an editor for revisions.
Track changes and comments for plain Markdown files, so you can review every edit an AI or a colleague made.
When MarkEdit is still the right pick
You write README files or blog drafts in Markdown and want an editor that opens instantly.
MarkEdit prices and verdictFree, open source