UnmarkedOur pick
If the finished page matters as much as the source, pick Unmarked. What MarkEdit adds through extensions is already in the app, and PDF, Word and slides come with it. Pick MarkEdit for open-source editing of very large source files, with multiple carets, scripting and extensions.
| Question | Unmarked | MarkEdit |
|---|---|---|
| Made for | Reading, editing and handing off Markdown documents | Editing Markdown source, very large files included |
| Reading view | Read, built in: the rendered page with no syntax | Source editor. Preview, overlay and syntax-hidden views come from the official View Modes extension |
| Math and code | Typeset math, and code colored by its language tag, built in | Formula popovers in the core app. Rendered math and colored code come from official extensions |
| Tables | Built in as a grid, with range selection, cut and paste of cells, and rich copy | Pipe text, or editable cells and range selection from the official Interactive Tables extension |
| After writing | Present, PDF, Word and HTML, with math and colored code carried in | No built-in PDF, Word or slides. The View Modes extension saves HTML and copies rich text |
| macOS | macOS 15 or later | macOS 26 or later for the current release. Older releases cover macOS 12 to 15 |
| Price and install | Free. Mac App Store or notarized direct download | Free and open source (MIT). From GitHub or Homebrew, and it updates itself from GitHub |
What arrives with the app
MarkEdit's core app is a source editor, with popover previews for tables, formulas and Mermaid diagrams. The rest comes as official extensions from its in-app extension manager. View Modes adds a preview beside the source, an overlay preview and a mode that hides the syntax. Language Data colors code. Interactive Tables edits cells visually.
Unmarked builds those jobs in. Switch to Read and the syntax is gone, leaving just the page. In Write, headings look like headings and bold looks bold, and the marks show only where the cursor is. Equations are typeset in Read, a fenced block with a language tag is colored in both modes, and a table is a grid in both.
Equations and code in the file you send
MarkEdit has no PDF or Word export. You copy a Pandoc command and run it in Terminal, or save clean or styled HTML from the View Modes extension. A community extension adds PDF. There is no slide mode.
Unmarked's exports carry what the document holds. The PDF typesets each equation as vector text and keeps code in color. The Word file gets equations and tables you can edit. HTML comes out as a single file with its styles and images inside and every equation as MathML. Present shows the same file as full-screen slides that break at its headings, with the equations and colored code on screen.
Where MarkEdit is the better tool
MarkEdit pitches itself as a 4 MB app for million-line files, and its tools fit that job: multiple carets, code folding, strict GFM, Shortcuts actions and AppleScript, and an API for writing your own extensions. It's free and open source.
If you live in huge source files and script your edits, keep MarkEdit.
Which one fits your work?
Choose Unmarked if
- You want a Read view, typeset math and colored code without adding extensions.
- Your documents go out as PDF, Word or slides, equations and code included.
- Tables should arrive in Word as tables you can edit.
Choose MarkEdit only if
- You work in giant source files, with multiple carets and folded code.
- You want an open-source editor you can script with Shortcuts and AppleScript and extend with your own code.