Open Source ghostwriter AlternativesText Editors & Note-taking Tools like ghostwriter

The best open source alternative to ghostwriter is Notesnook. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to ghostwriter and loads of them is open source so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source alternatives to ghostwriter are Zettlr, Trilium Notes, Pulsar Editor and MarkText.

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Most ghostwriter alternatives are Text Editors, but you can also narrow the list to Note-taking Tools or Todo List Managers. Another popular filter is Open Source.
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Alternatives
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Alternatives list

  1. Notesnook icon
     229 likes

    Offers open-source, end-to-end encrypted notes with device-based privacy, cross-platform support, private vault, secure sync, offline access, markdown editor, exports to multiple formats, automatic backups, organizational tools, and strong encryption.

    421 Notesnook alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2021

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Google Chrome
    • Flathub
    • F-Droid
    • Software as a Service (SaaS)
    • Flatpak
    • Self-Hosted
    Good alternative?
     
  2. Zettlr icon
     272 likes

    Unified writing platform offering note-taking, easy citations with Zotero integration, LaTeX/Word templates, snippets, themes, dark modes, code highlighting, multi-language support, and knowledge management with Zettelkasten for seamless writing from notes to books.

    284 Zettlr alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2018

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    Good alternative?
     
  3. Trilium Notes icon
     129 likes

    The original trilium is transfered to this repo by its owner and the app continues to develop here as stated here: https://github.com/TriliumNext/Trilium

    443 Trilium Notes alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2018

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Self-Hosted
    • Google Chrome
    • Cloudron
    • Mozilla Firefox
    Good alternative?
     
  4. Pulsar Editor icon
     51 likes

    A Community-led Hyper-Hackable Text Editor, built on Electron. and based on everything we love about our favorite editors.

    99 Pulsar Editor alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2022

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Chrome OS
    • BSD
    • Electron
    Good alternative?
     
  5. MarkText icon
     122 likes

    Open-source Markdown editor on Mac, Windows, and Linux offering real-time preview, clean interface, and various themes. Supports math expressions, exports HTML/PDF, allows image pasting, and more.

    155 MarkText alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2018

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Good alternative?
     
  6. Clean, native Markdown editor for macOS with syntax highlighting, real-time GitHub Flavored Markdown and Mermaid diagram preview, KaTeX math support, synchronized side-by-side editing, QuickLook integration, PDF export, format shortcuts, and no subscriptions.

    93 Clearly Markdown alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2026

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Good alternative?
     
  7. Marknote icon
     29 likes

    Marknote lets you create rich text notes and easily organise them into notebooks. You can personalise your notebooks by choosing an icon and accent color for each one, making it easy to distinguish between them and keep your notes at your fingertips.

    149 Marknote alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2024

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    • Snapcraft
    Good alternative?
     
  8. FocusWriter icon
     216 likes

    Simple but configurable and themeable, distraction-free text editor for writers. Open-source and available across desktop platforms.

    113 FocusWriter alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2010

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • PortableApps.com
    Good alternative?
     
  9. Ferrite icon
     14 likes

    Fast, native text editor supporting Markdown, JSON, YAML, and TOML with live preview, syntax highlighting, Mermaid diagrams, CSV/TSV viewing, collapsible trees, Git integration, regex find/replace, customizable themes, zen mode, and multi-language support.

    66 Ferrite alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2026

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    Good alternative?
     
  10. StackEdit icon
     92 likes

    Full-featured, open-source Markdown editor based on PageDown, the Markdown library used by Stack Overflow and the other Stack Exchange sites.

    100 StackEdit alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2013

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Chrome OS
    • Google Chrome
    Good alternative?
     
  11. Downright icon
     9 likes

    Native macOS Markdown reader and editor with Document, Split, and Source views, customizable themes, Finder and Quick Look integration, real-time file monitoring, broad Markdown support, and the ability to review external file changes. Free and MIT licensed.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Since

    • New

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Homebrew
    Good alternative?
     
  12. novelWriter icon
     35 likes

    novelWriter is a Markdown-like text editor designed for writing novels and larger projects of many smaller plain text documents. It uses its own flavor of Markdown that supports a meta data syntax for comments, synopsis and cross-referencing between files.

    116 novelWriter alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2019

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Qt
    • Python
    Good alternative?
     
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