The short answer
If you open Markdown files from disk or from the web all day, want them rendered right where they are, and like choosing a theme and a parser, keep the extension. If you want a document set for reading, printing or handing to someone else, with nothing to install or switch on, use MarkdownPaper. Both are free to try in a minute, so the quickest answer is to open the same file in each.
Where Markdown Viewer is the better choice
- It renders the file where it is. Open a
.mdfile or link and the tab shows it rendered, at the file's own address. Bookmarks, the back button and refreshing work as they do for any page. - It reloads by itself. With autoreload switched on, it checks local files and files served from your own machine every second and shows the new version. The MarkdownPaper web reader shows a file as it was when you opened it; only the desktop app follows changes.
- It is yours to configure. More than 30 themes, your own CSS, a choice of three Markdown parsers with their compiler options, and emoji shortcodes.
- It is free and open source, under the MIT license, with years of use behind it.
- It lives in the browser you already use, whether that is Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Brave, Opera or Vivaldi, with no other app or tab to open.
Where MarkdownPaper is the better choice
- Nothing to install or switch on. The web reader is a page. There is no file access permission to grant and no site list to maintain, which also matters on a work computer where extensions are managed. Mermaid diagrams, math, footnotes and the contents are on from the start rather than options to enable.
- Safari and phones. The extension is listed for Chromium browsers and Firefox. The web reader works in any current browser, Safari included, and on a phone you can open a .md file from the Files app.
- The page as typography. Text is set to a measure counted in characters, 74 by default, in a serif made for reading. Drag either edge of the page to change it. The contents sit in the page margin, and the few controls fade out while you read.
- Handing it on. A print stylesheet sets real page margins for a PDF, a saved HTML file carries its own fonts, and a rendered page copies into Google Docs with its tables intact. The extension documents no export of its own.
- Opening files from the desktop. The MarkdownPaper
desktop app can be the app your computer uses for
.mdfiles, so a double click in Finder or File Explorer opens a page rather than a browser tab, and the page follows the file as it changes.
Side by side
| Markdown Viewer extension | MarkdownPaper | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A browser extension | A web reader, and a Mac and Windows app |
| Browsers | Chrome, Firefox, Edge and other Chromium browsers | Any current browser, Safari included |
| Local files | After allowing access to file URLs | Choose or drop the file; no permission |
| Diagrams, math, contents | Off until switched on in its options | On from the start |
| Math | MathJax | KaTeX |
| Follows file changes | Autoreload, every second, when enabled | In the desktop app |
| Appearance | More than 30 themes and custom CSS | Three paper stocks, width set in characters |
| Export | None documented | Print to PDF, self contained HTML, rich text |
If the extension is not working
These cover most of what goes wrong, taken from the extension's own documentation.
A local file shows as plain text. The extension cannot read files on
disk until you allow it. Go to chrome://extensions, find Markdown Viewer,
choose Details, and turn on Allow access to file URLs. The extension's
Advanced Options also show an Allow Access button when this is off.
A file on a website shows as plain text. Remote sites are off until you
add them. Open the extension's Advanced Options and add the site under Site
Access. A pattern such as *://raw.githubusercontent.com covers both http
and https.
Diagrams, math or the contents are missing. Mermaid, MathJax and the table of contents are all off by default. Turn them on in the extension's content options. Autoreload is off by default too.
Firefox downloads the file instead of showing it. Firefox treats Markdown as a download on some systems, Linux in particular, until the file type is registered as text. The extension's Firefox notes give the steps for each setup.
If none of that helps, or you would rather not configure anything, drop the file onto the web reader instead. It needs no permission because you hand it the one file.
Price
The Markdown Viewer extension is free and open source. The MarkdownPaper web reader is free too, with no account and no limits.
The MarkdownPaper desktop app: Coming soon to the Mac App Store and the Microsoft Store. $6.99 launch price, paid once, with no subscription. About the desktop app.
Using both
They do not get in each other's way. Keep the extension for glancing at files as you browse, and open a document in MarkdownPaper when it deserves a proper read, needs printing, or is going to somebody else. If you mostly read Markdown inside a code editor instead, the VS Code comparison covers that.
Questions
Can Chrome open a .md file without an extension?
It opens one, but usually as plain text, symbols and all. To read it as a formatted page without installing anything, open it in the web reader by choosing the file or dropping it on the page.
Does the Markdown Viewer extension work in Safari?
It is not listed for Safari. Its install links cover Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera, Brave, Chromium and Vivaldi. The MarkdownPaper web reader works in Safari.
Does MarkdownPaper need access to my files?
No. The browser hands MarkdownPaper only the file you choose or drop, and the document is rendered in your browser without being uploaded. The desktop app likewise opens only files and folders you pick or double click.
Does MarkdownPaper reload when the file changes?
The desktop app does, and it waits while you are editing in MarkdownPaper so it never overwrites what you are typing. The web reader does not watch files; the extension's autoreload is the better fit for that in a browser.