MacDown AlternativesOnly apps categorised as Note-taking Tools

The best Note-taking alternative to MacDown is Typora. It's not free, so if you're looking for a free alternative, you could try ghostwriter or Marknote. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to MacDown and 13 are Note-taking Tools so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Note-taking Tool alternatives to MacDown are MarkFlowy, Fleschkey, Notepack and Notepad App.

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MacDown alternatives are mainly Note-taking Tools but may also be Text Editors or Todo List Managers.  Filter by these or use the filter bar below if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of MacDown.
MacDown iconMacDown
  23
  • FreeOpen Source
  • ...

MacDown is an open source Markdown editor for macOS, released under the MIT License. It is heavily influenced by Chen Luo’s Mou.

More about MacDown
MacDown alternatives page was last updated Oct 25, 2024
  1. Typora icon
     314 likes

    A minimalist Markdown editor offering cross-platform synchronization, live preview, and seamless export/import in various formats like PDF, DOCX, and LaTeX. Features include distraction-free Focus and Typewriter modes, file management with tree and articles panels, and content organization through an outline...

    163 Typora alternatives
    Typora screenshot 1

    License model

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Electron

    Top Typora Features

    1.  Support for MarkDown
    2.  Live Preview
    3.  Distraction-free
    4.  Write files in markdown
    5.  WYSIWYG Support
    6.  Save as Markdown
    7.  Support for Themes
    8.  Lightweight
    9.  Support for LaTeX
    10.  Syntax Highlighting
    11.  Spell Checking
    12.  No registration required
    Typora iconMacDown Icon

    Typora VS MacDown

    Is Typora a good alternative to MacDown?
     
    • Typora is the most popular Windows, Mac & Linux alternative to MacDown.

    • Typora is the most popular commercial alternative to MacDown.

    • Typora is Paid and ProprietaryMacDown is Free and Open Source
    • Typora is LightweightMacDown is not according to our users
  2. ghostwriter icon
     97 likes

    No excuses. No distractions. Just write. ghostwriter is a feature-rich text editor using Markdown syntax which makes it suitable for note-taking, document redaction, simple HTML website creation and much more.

    133 ghostwriter alternatives
    ghostwriter screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Mac

    Top ghostwriter Features

    1.  Support for MarkDown
    2.  Dark Mode
    3.  Simple text editor
    4.  Lightweight
    5.  Stay Focused
    6.  Distraction-free Writing
    7.  Spell Checking
    8.  Live Preview
    9.  Portable
    10.  Ad-free
    11.  Works Offline
    12.  Support for LaTeX
    ghostwriter iconMacDown Icon

    ghostwriter VS MacDown

    Is ghostwriter a good alternative to MacDown?
     
    • ghostwriter is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to MacDown.

    • ghostwriter is Free and Open SourceMacDown is also Free and Open Source
    • ghostwriter is LightweightMacDown is not according to our users
  3. Marknote icon
     13 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.

    76 Marknote alternatives
    Marknote screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    • Flathub

    Top Marknote Features

    1.  Support for MarkDown
    2.  Ad-free
    3.  Save as Markdown
    4.  Notebook
    5.  No Tracking
    6.  Lightweight
    7.  Works Offline
    8.  Privacy focused
    9.  WYSIWYG Support
    10.  No registration required
    11.  Spell Checking
    12.  Dark Mode
    Marknote iconMacDown Icon

    Marknote VS MacDown

    Is Marknote a good alternative to MacDown?
     
  4. MarkFlowy icon
     8 likes

    Modern markdown editor application, Build fast and efficient workflows.

    51 MarkFlowy alternatives
    MarkFlowy screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux

    MarkFlowy Features

    1.  Write files in markdown
    2.  Works Offline
    3.  Lightweight
    4.  Dark Mode
    5.  No registration required
    6.  Support for MarkDown
    7.  Live Preview
    8.  Distraction-free
    9.  WYSIWYG Support
    MarkFlowy iconMacDown Icon

    MarkFlowy VS MacDown

    Is MarkFlowy a good alternative to MacDown?
     
  5. Fleschkey icon
     3 likes

    Fleschkey is a smart writing assistant that helps improve readability, clarity, and style by analyzing text using the Flesch-Kincaid readability test in real-time.

    52 Fleschkey alternatives
    Fleschkey screenshot 1

    License model

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Software as a Service (SaaS)

    Top Fleschkey Features

    1.  Dark Mode
    2.  Privacy focused
    3.  Ad-free
    4.  No Tracking
    5.  Embedded media
    6.  Local Storage
    7.  Rich Text Editor
    8.  Embedded video
    9.  Readability
    10.  Writing assistance
    11.  Minimalistic
    Fleschkey iconMacDown Icon

    Fleschkey VS MacDown

    Is Fleschkey a good alternative to MacDown?
     
    • Fleschkey is the most popular SaaS alternative to MacDown.

    • Fleschkey is Paid and ProprietaryMacDown is Free and Open Source
    • Fleschkey is Privacy focusedMacDown is not according to our users
  6. Notepack icon
     14 likes

    Privacy oriented, without vendor lock in note organizer, todo list desktop application. Work offline with text, markdown and pdf files.

    335 Notepack alternatives
    Markdown support

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux

    Notepack Features

    1.  Note organization
    2.  Knowledge Management
    3.  Lightweight
    4.  Support for MarkDown
    5.  Ad-free
    6.  Dark Mode
    7.  Works Offline
    8.  No Tracking
    9.  Privacy focused
    10.  WebDAV Sync
    Notepack iconMacDown Icon

    Notepack VS MacDown

    Is Notepack a good alternative to MacDown?
     
  7. Notepad App icon
     3 likes

    A markdown-based notes app for macOS, with simplicity and moderation.

    67 Notepad App alternatives
    Notepad App screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeProprietary

    Platforms

    • Mac

    Notepad App Features

    1.  Support for MarkDown
    2.  Dark Mode
    Notepad App iconMacDown Icon

    Notepad App VS MacDown

    Is Notepad App a good alternative to MacDown?
     
  8. Paper icon
     4 likes

    Super-clean writing space with a lot of configurability that stays out of sight when you don’t need it.

    125 Paper alternatives
    Paper screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreemiumProprietary

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • iPhone
    • iPad

    Paper Features

    1.  Dark Mode
    2.  Ad-free
    3.  WYSIWYG Support
    4.  Distraction-free
    5.  Syntax Highlighting
    6.  Support for MarkDown
    7.  Minimalistic
    8.  Fullscreen support
    9.  Distraction-free Writing
    10.  Customizable
    Paper iconMacDown Icon

    Paper VS MacDown

    Is Paper a good alternative to MacDown?
     
  9. ToolStack Folio icon
     1 like

    A beautiful markdown note-taking app for GNOME (forked from Paper).

    48 ToolStack Folio alternatives
    Preferences window

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    • Snapcraft

    ToolStack Folio Features

    1.  Ad-free
    2.  No Tracking
    3.  Dark Mode
    4.  Live Preview
    5.  No registration required
    6.  Notebook
    7.  Gtk
    ToolStack Folio iconMacDown Icon

    ToolStack Folio VS MacDown

    Is ToolStack Folio a good alternative to MacDown?
     
  10. Deepdwn icon
     2 likes

    Deepdwn is a markdown editing suite, designed to organize and edit collections of markdown files.

    96 Deepdwn alternatives
    Deepdwn screenshot 1

    License model

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux

    Top Deepdwn Features

    1.  Syntax Highlighting
    2.  Spell Checking
    3.  Full-Text Search
    4.  No registration required
    5.  Ad-free
    6.  Live Preview
    7.  Support for MarkDown
    8.  Dark Mode
    9.  Autocompletion
    10.  Support for LaTeX
    11.  No Tracking
    12.  Distraction-free
    Deepdwn iconMacDown Icon

    Deepdwn VS MacDown

    Is Deepdwn a good alternative to MacDown?
     
  11. SpringNotes icon
     3 likes

    Write styled Markdown notes, sync across Mac, iPhone and iPad add to-dos and tags, export to a variety of formats and choose your favourite style from a variety of colourful themes.

    183 SpringNotes alternatives
    SpringNotes screenshot 1

    License model

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • iPhone
    • iPad

    SpringNotes Features

    1.  Support for MarkDown
    2.  Note organization
    3.  Notebook
    SpringNotes iconMacDown Icon

    SpringNotes VS MacDown

    Is SpringNotes a good alternative to MacDown?
     
  12. PileMD icon
     4 likes

    PileMd has a really beautiful Markdown Editor, looks like Preview. It's like a RichText Editor but it's actually Markdown, and it works like a word processor, complete with Undo/Redo histories, list completion and clickable urls.

    77 PileMD alternatives
    Beautiful but simple editor.

    License model

    • FreeProprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Discontinued

    Last release was in 2016, still available from the website.

    PileMD iconMacDown Icon

    PileMD VS MacDown

    Is PileMD a good alternative to MacDown?
     
12 of 13 MacDown alternatives