MarsDawn
Best Markdown viewer for Mac (2026)
The best Markdown viewer depends on what you read. If it is notes you write yourself, an all-in-one editor is enough. If it is long documents with diagrams and math, or files an AI agent keeps rewriting, check how each app handles live reload, Mermaid and PDF. The apps below are in alphabetical order, and each one gets who it suits, one honest drawback and its price.
MacDown 3000
The original MacDown is no longer maintained. MacDown 3000 is the community continuation: free and open source (MIT), native, with Mermaid, MathJax, PDF export, live reload and Quick Look.
- Suits: people who want a free native split view.
- Drawback: no documented way to open a file at a line from the command line.
- Price: free.
Marked
Marked 3 is a previewer for Markdown you write in another app. It reloads whenever the file changes, has MathJax and KaTeX, and prints paginated PDFs with page numbers. Marked 2 is still sold.
- Suits: writers who keep their own editor and want a polished preview and print.
- Drawback: Quick Look is a separate app, Marked QL (USD 9.99).
- Price: Marked 3 is a free download, then USD 2.99/month, USD 29.99/year or USD 69.99 lifetime. Marked 2 is USD 14.99 direct or USD 13.99 on the Mac App Store.
MarkEdit
A light, free native editor (CodeMirror in a web view) with Quick Look.
- Suits: people who want a fast plain-text editor that feels at home on the Mac.
- Drawback: Mermaid and math need the official extensions, and PDF export needs Pandoc.
- Price: free.
MarsDawn
A native Mac app that shows the source and a live preview side by side, with Mermaid and KaTeX built in. When an agent saves the file, the open window takes the change as one undoable "Update from Disk". marsdawn open notes.md:120 opens a file at a line, and there is a skill and an MCP server for agents. Quick Look works with or without the trial. Copy for AI and Copy Reference hand text to an agent. Nothing leaves your Mac unless you choose.
- Suits: people reviewing Markdown that AI agents write.
- Drawback: the PDF export has no page numbers.
- Price: free download with a 14-day trial, then USD 4.99 once. No account. Mac App Store only.
Obsidian
A notes app built around a vault of linked Markdown files, with Mermaid, MathJax, PDF export and live reload.
- Suits: people building a knowledge base of their own notes.
- Drawback: it is an Electron app, and it works best with files inside a vault.
- Price: free. Sync and Publish are paid.
QLMarkdown
A Quick Look extension: select a .md file in Finder and press Space. Mermaid and MathJax are opt-in.
- Suits: people who only want to glance at files in Finder.
- Drawback: it is not an app for reading or editing, and has no documented PDF export.
- Price: free (GPL-3.0).
Typora
A seamless editor where the preview is the document, with Mermaid, MathJax and PDF export with page numbers in the header or footer.
- Suits: people who prefer to write in a WYSIWYG-style view.
- Drawback: no separate source and preview side by side.
- Price: USD 14.99 once, for up to 3 devices.
VS Code preview
The built-in Markdown preview, with Mermaid built in since 1.121 and KaTeX. code -g file:line opens a file at a line.
- Suits: developers who already live in VS Code.
- Drawback: it is an Electron app, and has no built-in PDF export.
- Price: free.
Comparison
| App | Price | Mermaid | Math | Live reload | CLI at line | Quick Look | Build | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MacDown 3000 | Free | Yes | MathJax | Yes | Yes | Not documented | Yes | Native |
| Marked 3 | From USD 2.99/mo | Yes | MathJax, KaTeX | Yes, page numbers | Yes | Not documented | Marked QL, USD 9.99 | Native |
| MarkEdit | Free | Extension | KaTeX (extension) | Pandoc | Not documented | Not documented | Yes | Native (web view) |
| MarsDawn | USD 4.99 once | Yes | KaTeX | Yes, no page numbers | Yes, undoable | Yes | Yes | Native |
| Obsidian | Free | Yes | MathJax | Yes | Yes | Not documented | Not documented | Electron |
| QLMarkdown | Free | Opt-in | MathJax (opt-in) | Not documented | n/a | n/a | It is one | Native |
| Typora | USD 14.99 once | Yes | MathJax | Yes, page numbers | Not documented | Not documented | Not documented | Native |
| VS Code | Free | Yes (1.121+) | KaTeX | No | Not documented | Yes | Not documented | Electron |
Who MarsDawn is not for
- You need page numbers in your PDFs. Typora and Marked 3 add them, MarsDawn does not.
- You keep a linked knowledge base of your own notes. Obsidian is built for that.
- You never leave VS Code. Its built-in preview is free, and VS Code is adding an experimental Markdown view to its Agents window.
- You only want a preview in Finder. QLMarkdown is free.
FAQ
Which free Markdown viewers for Mac have Mermaid?
MacDown 3000, Obsidian and VS Code (1.121 and later) have it built in. QLMarkdown has it as an option, and MarkEdit through an extension.
Which ones export PDF with page numbers?
Typora and Marked 3. MarsDawn exports PDF without page numbers.
Which ones open a file at a specific line from the command line?
MarsDawn (marsdawn open notes.md:120) and VS Code (code -g file:line). For the others it is not documented.
Which ones are native Mac apps rather than Electron?
All of them except Obsidian and VS Code. MarkEdit is native with its editor in a web view.
