UnmarkedOur pick
Unmarked is our pick for a Mac. You get it from the App Store or as a signed and notarized disk image, it writes Word files without Pandoc and it has separate views for reading and presenting. MarkText is the choice if you need open source, or one editor across the Mac, Windows and Linux.
| Question | Unmarked | MarkText |
|---|---|---|
| Installing on a Mac | From the Mac App Store, or a notarized disk image you drag to Applications | An unsigned download from GitHub. The release notes give a Terminal command to clear the quarantine flag after you install |
| Built with | Swift with AppKit and SwiftUI | Electron, shared with the Windows and Linux versions |
| Writing and reading | Write styles the page and reveals each mark at the cursor. Read is a separate view with no editing layer | One realtime WYSIWYG surface for both, with Source Code mode on ⌥⌘S |
| Equations | LaTeX while you write. Typeset in Read, Present and PDF, and real equations in Word | KaTeX, typeset in the editor while you type |
| Word and slides | Writes .docx itself, tables and equations included. Present turns headings into slides | HTML and PDF built in. Word goes through Pandoc, installed separately and switched on in Preferences. No slides |
| Platforms | Mac only | macOS, Windows and Linux, open source under the MIT license |
Getting it onto your Mac
Unmarked is on the Mac App Store. It installs like anything else you get there, and updates arrive through the store. The same app also comes as a notarized disk image from this site: drag it to Applications and open it.
MarkText's downloads are on GitHub. Its Mac builds aren't signed with an Apple Developer ID or notarized, so the release notes include a Terminal command that clears the quarantine flag, to run once after you move the app to Applications.
The project is active. Its rebuilt editor shipped as 0.20 on October 2, 2026.
A .docx without a second program
MarkText exports HTML and PDF on its own. For Word it hands the file to Pandoc. Pandoc is a separate install, and the Convert with Pandoc menu stays hidden until you turn it on in Preferences.
Unmarked writes the Word file itself. Headings arrive as Word heading styles, so Word's outline works. Lists stay lists, tables stay editable and equations land as Word equations you can change.
The same file can also go full screen. Present makes a slide from each H1 or H2, holds on the last one and keeps the display awake. MarkText has no presentation mode.
A view that's only for reading
MarkText edits in a single rendered surface and switches to Source Code mode when you want the raw Markdown. Unmarked keeps writing and reading apart.
In Write the formatting appears as you type, and the marks surface around your cursor. Read takes the editing layer away entirely, so the window holds the finished page and nothing else. It's the view to leave open on a document you're checking, and ⌘E moves between the two.
Which one fits your work?
Choose Unmarked if
- You'd rather install from the App Store, or from a notarized download with no Terminal step.
- You send Word files and don't want to set up Pandoc for them.
- You want a reading view with the editor out of the way.
- You present from the file you write in, with no Pandoc step.
Choose MarkText only if
- Open source is a requirement for the tools you use.
- You work across the Mac, Windows and Linux, or want a folder tree, tabs and search across files in one window.