OpenMark vs MacDown

Actively developed vs effectively abandoned

MacDown was a great free markdown editor — in 2016. It hasn't shipped a release since 2020, has no active maintainer, and doesn't support Mermaid diagrams or modern macOS design. OpenMark is built for macOS Tahoe in 2026. Here's the full comparison.

Feature comparison

Feature
OpenMark
MacDown
Status
Actively developed — built for macOS Tahoe in 2026
Last updated 2020 — effectively abandoned, no Tahoe support
Design
Liquid Glass — native macOS Tahoe design language
Pre-Ventura macOS design — dated interface, no updates
Editing
Toggle between rendered view and code view — smooth transitions
Classic side-by-side split view (code left, preview right)
Mermaid diagrams
Built-in — flowcharts, sequence, Gantt, ER, pie, and more
Not supported
Math / LaTeX
Built-in KaTeX — fast, fully offline
Partial MathJax support via legacy integration
Performance
Native SwiftUI — instant launch, minimal memory
Objective-C with WebView preview — showing its age
Runtime
SwiftUI — Apple's modern UI framework
Objective-C — legacy framework, no longer updated
Pricing
$9.99 — one-time purchase
Free and open source
Export
PDF and HTML export built-in
HTML export; PDF via print
Maintenance
Active bug fixes, feature development, and macOS compatibility
No active maintainer — bugs remain unfixed, future uncertain

Which one should you choose?

Choose OpenMark if…

  • You want an editor that works correctly on macOS Tahoe
  • You need Mermaid diagrams or LaTeX math — neither works in MacDown
  • You want active bug fixes and new features as macOS evolves
  • You want Liquid Glass design and native SwiftUI performance

Choose MacDown if…

  • You need a free option and don't require Mermaid or modern macOS support
  • You prefer a classic side-by-side split view layout
  • You're on an older macOS version where MacDown still runs correctly
  • You want open-source software you can inspect and fork

Try OpenMark — $9.99, one-time

Built for macOS Tahoe. Mermaid and LaTeX included. Actively maintained.

Download on the Mac App Store

Also compare OpenMark with:

vs Obsidian →vs VS Code →vs Typora →vs iA Writer →vs Bear →vs Ulysses →vs MarkEdit →vs Mark Text →