UnmarkedOur pick
When your writing has to stay a Markdown file, say a blog post in a static-site repo or a manuscript you build with Pandoc, Unmarked is the pick. It edits that file in place, with Read mode and Present at no charge. Ulysses earns its price when you want a writing library around long projects, with goals, a grammar and style check and publishing to WordPress or Ghost.
| Question | Unmarked | Ulysses |
|---|---|---|
| Where the text lives | In the .md file you opened, saved in place | In the Ulysses library. Opening a Markdown file imports a copy |
| Plain Markdown folders | Opens a file from any folder. Local images render, and new ones go into the document's assets folder | External folders edit .md files in place, with limits on images, Markdown XL extras and links |
| The finished look | Read mode shows the rendered document, apart from the editor | A markup editor. The formatted look shows in the export preview |
| Slides | Present turns the document into full-screen slides | Ulysses' help suggests Deckset, a separate app, through an external folder |
| Sending it on | Word, PDF and self-contained HTML | Word, PDF, HTML and ePub through style sheets, plus publishing to WordPress, Ghost and Micro.blog |
| Price | Free | $5.99 a month or $39.99 a year after a seven-day trial, or a $199.99 one-time license, in the US |
A library, or the file itself
Ulysses keeps your writing inside its library, with no Open, Save or Finder access. A Markdown file you bring in is copied there, and the original stays as it was.
Unmarked works on the original. Double-click the file and edit it. The change lands in that same file about two seconds after you stop typing. Git sees the change. So does the next app that opens the file.
It works the other way too. If git or an assistant rewrites the file while it's open, Unmarked shows the new version without losing your place.
External folders come with conditions
Ulysses does have a route to plain files. External folders let it edit Markdown in place, and its help suggests them for Git repositories and Dropbox.
Those files follow Ulysses' rules. Local images can't be embedded. Markdown XL extras such as comments and highlights aren't available. And when Ulysses edits an existing file, it reformats the links to match your Ulysses setting.
Unmarked has no special mode for outside files, because every file it opens is one. Local images in the folder render, and the Insert menu's Image command copies a new picture into the document's assets folder and links it.
Write, read and present one document
Ulysses calls its editor WYSIWYM. The text you see while writing is marked up, and the formatted look comes from an export style, seen in the export preview.
Unmarked keeps two views of the file. Write shows the formatting as you type and hides the Markdown marks away from the cursor. Read (⌘E) is the finished document, with no markup in view.
Present plays the same file as full-screen slides, straight from the text you wrote.
Long projects or single documents
Ulysses is built for long work assembled from many sheets, like a book, with writing goals and deadlines along the way. It checks grammar and style in more than 20 languages, syncs across Mac, iPhone and iPad and publishes straight to WordPress, Ghost or Micro.blog. If that's your work, the library is the point.
Which one fits your work?
Choose Unmarked if
- A static-site generator, Pandoc or another app needs the original file, not a copy.
- Local images in the folder should show as you work.
- You want to see the finished document without opening an export preview.
- Slides should come straight from the text.
Choose Ulysses only if
- You're writing a book or another long project across many sheets, with goals and deadlines.
- You want a grammar and style check and direct publishing to WordPress or Ghost in the same app.