The short answer
If you write most of what you open, buy Typora. If you mostly read Markdown that colleagues, repositories or AI tools produce, such as specs, plans, READMEs and notes, a reader will serve you better, and you can find out in a browser tab before paying for anything.
Where Typora is the better choice
- Writing. Live rendering is the reason Typora exists: you type Markdown and it becomes formatted text in place, with focus and typewriter modes for long drafts. MarkdownPaper has an editor for fixing a document, not for drafting a book.
- Making it look like yours. Every Typora theme is CSS, there is a gallery of community themes, and you can write your own. MarkdownPaper has three paper stocks and, on purpose, nothing else.
- Export formats. Typora exports PDF, HTML and images itself, and Word, EPUB, LaTeX and more through Pandoc. MarkdownPaper prints to PDF, saves an HTML file and copies rich text.
- Linux. Typora runs on Linux as well as Mac and Windows. MarkdownPaper's desktop app is for Mac and Windows only, although the web reader works in any browser on Linux.
- Organising files while you write. A file tree and an outline can sit beside the document whenever you want them.
Where MarkdownPaper is the better choice
- Reading long documents. 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, and the column and the type scale together. The contents sit in the page margin rather than in a sidebar.
- Nothing on screen but the page. There is no toolbar, sidebar or tab strip, and the few controls fade out after a moment of stillness.
- Files something else is writing. Keep the desktop app beside a terminal or another editor, and the page updates when a program rewrites the file, whether that is a script, a colleague's editor or a coding agent. Opening a file never changes it.
- Trying before paying. The web reader uses the same renderer as the desktop app. It is free, with no account and no install, and nothing is uploaded: the page is rendered in your browser.
- Handing it on. Print gives real page margins for a PDF, a saved HTML file carries its own fonts, and a rendered page copies into Google Docs with its headings and tables intact. A share link carries the whole document inside the link itself.
Side by side
| Typora | MarkdownPaper | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Writing, rendered as you type | Reading the finished page |
| Where it runs | Mac, Windows and Linux app | Any browser, or a Mac and Windows app |
| Trying it | A 15 day trial | The web reader, free with no install |
| Appearance | Themes, restyled freely with CSS | Three paper stocks, width set in characters |
| Contents | Outline in a sidebar | In the page margin |
| Math and diagrams | MathJax and Mermaid | KaTeX and Mermaid |
| Export | PDF, HTML and images; more formats with Pandoc | Print to PDF, self contained HTML, rich text |
Price
Typora costs $14.99, paid once, for up to three devices on any mix of Mac, Windows and Linux, after a 15 day trial. That is the price on Typora's store on the date at the top of this page.
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.
MarkdownPaper is sold separately in each store, so a Mac and a Windows PC need a purchase each. The web reader stays free on both.
Using both
Typora and MarkdownPaper open the same plain .md files, so there is nothing
to convert and nothing to import. Write in Typora; when the document is done,
or when somebody else needs to read it, open the file in MarkdownPaper or
paste its text into the reader. On the desktop, choose which one opens .md
files by double click and reach the other through Open With.
If your writing happens in a code editor instead, the VS Code comparison covers that workflow.
Questions
Is Typora free?
No. Typora was free while it was in beta and has been a paid app since version 1.0. It offers a 15 day trial before you buy.
Is there a free Typora alternative?
For writing, MarkText is the closest: it is free, open source, and renders as you type the way Typora does. Its maintenance resumed in 2026 after a long pause. For reading, the MarkdownPaper web reader is free, with no limits and no account.
Can MarkdownPaper edit Markdown?
Yes. Press E, or the pencil, for a focused editor, and open a split view
beside a live page if you want one. In the desktop app, changes to a document
opened from a file are saved back to that file. It is built for correcting a
document, not for drafting one.
Does MarkdownPaper work on Linux?
The web reader does, in any current browser, and keeps working offline once it has been opened. There is no Linux desktop app.