Side-by-side comparisons with the Mac Markdown appsyou're probably choosing between. Pricing, memory footprint, native vs Electron, Mermaid support, QuickLook, and which ones are still maintained.
Glow is Charm's free, MIT-licensed terminal Markdown reader. Verified October 2026: v3.0.0, no Mermaid, no inline images, stash removed. Plus Glow vs mdcat.
vs MacDownMacDown 3000 is the free, universal continuation of MacDown, which still runs under Rosetta. Verified October 2026: Apple Silicon, Homebrew, Mermaid, viewers.
vs Markdown Better ViewMarkdown Better View costs $9.99 with Quick Look, Mermaid and KaTeX, but needs macOS 15. Where it beats MacMD Viewer — and where it does not.
vs Marked 2Marked 2 alternative on Mac: MacMD Viewer adds Finder QuickLook and themes; Marked 2 wins on custom CSS and export. Compare both.
vs Marked QLMarked QL is a $9.99 Quick Look extension from the author of Marked. It previews; MacMD Viewer previews and reads. Where each one ends.
vs MarkTextMarkText vs MacMD Viewer on Mac: free open-source editor vs native SwiftUI reader with Finder QuickLook and Mermaid. Who each one is for.
vs MD-ViewerMD-Viewer is free on the Mac App Store and exports PDF — but it is a 124.8 MB download with no Quick Look and no Mermaid. Both facts checked at the source.
vs MDHeroMDHero is free, MIT-licensed, under 8 MB and renders KaTeX — but Apple Silicon only, with no Quick Look extension. Where each app wins.
vs MevaMeva is free to start, cross-platform, renders LaTeX; Pro costs $14.99. MacMD Viewer costs $19.99 and previews in Finder. An honest side-by-side.
vs ObsidianObsidian is a 293 MB Electron vault app, free for any use; MacMD Viewer is a 16 MB native SwiftUI reader. Side by side, verified 29 July 2026.
vs QLMarkdownQLMarkdown is free, open source and actively maintained in 2026. Here is where it wins, and where MacMD Viewer's standalone reading app earns its $19.99.
vs ReaddownReaddown is free with QuickLook, Mermaid and math; MacMD Viewer is $19.99. The real question is how much Markdown you read — occasionally, or all day.
vs TelescopoTelescopo: 7-day trial, then $49.99 lifetime on its site (or Setapp); MacMD Viewer is $19.99 once. Real gaps: Quick Look in Finder, macOS 14 support.
vs TyporaTypora costs $14.99 one-time for up to 3 devices after a 15-day free trial. Verified Mac facts, and why a read-only viewer pairs with the editor you use.
vs ZettlrZettlr is a free, open-source Markdown editor for academic writing, with Zotero citations and Pandoc export. Verified October 2026, plus Zettlr vs Obsidian.
Read the Best Markdown Viewer for Mac in 2026 roundup, start with the MD viewer for Mac page, or see all MacMD Viewer features.
MacMD Viewer