Markdown viewer or Markdown editor: which do you need?

Short answer: if you write Markdown, use an editor: VS Code for code projects, Typora for documents, Obsidian for a collection of notes. If you mostly read Markdown that someone or something else wrote, such as a README, documentation or a coding agent’s plan, a read-only viewer is simpler and can’t change the file.

Updated 15 October 2026. Prices and features are from each product’s website on this date.

Editors

VS Code, free. A code editor with a Markdown preview beside the source (Ctrl+K V). The built-in preview draws Mermaid diagrams and KaTeX math. Best if the Markdown sits next to code.
Typora, $14.99 after a 15-day trial. Formats as you type, hiding the symbols, with no separate preview. Diagrams, math, and export to PDF, HTML and, through pandoc, Word. Best for writing long documents.
Obsidian, free for personal use; a commercial licence is optional. A notes app built on a folder (“vault”) of .md files, with links between notes, Mermaid and math. Best for a personal knowledge base, less handy for one stray file.
MarkText, free and open source (MIT licence). A Typora-style editor for Windows, macOS and Linux with math and HTML and PDF export.
Notepad on Windows 11, built in. Recent versions show headings, lists, bold, italic and links formatted. Fine for simple files, not for tables or code.
Google Docs. Since October 2026 it can edit .md files in Markdown Mode, which suits sharing and commenting.

Why a viewer instead

An editor is a heavier tool than reading needs, and it puts the file one keystroke from an accidental change. A viewer is better when:

You read more than you write. Documentation, README files, release notes.
A program writes the file. A coding agent revising its plan, or a build script producing a report. You want to watch it, not edit it while it is being written.
The file isn’t yours. A viewer that loads nothing from the internet and runs no scripts is a safer way to open a file someone sent you.

A viewer in Chrome: Quire Markdown

Quire Markdown is our extension, free on the Chrome Web Store. What it does and doesn’t do:

Opens a local file, a dropped file or pasted text. Rendered, source and split views; heading outline; find; light, dark or system theme.
Tables, task lists, strikethrough and highlighted code with a copy button.
Follow file re-renders a file chosen with Open file when it changes, while the tab is visible.
Print or save as PDF, or download an HTML copy.
It doesn’t edit. It doesn’t load images, draw diagrams or render math. It opens UTF-8 files up to 2 MB.
No account and no upload to us.

Quire Markdown in the dark theme with the rendered page and Markdown source side by side — Split view in the dark theme: the rendered page beside the Markdown source.

How to choose

Decide whether you write or read
If you write the files, choose an editor. If someone else, or a program, writes them and you read them, a viewer may be enough.
Check what your files contain
Diagrams, math and images need a tool that draws them. Plain text, tables and code work almost everywhere.
Check where the files live
One file at a time suits a viewer or a general editor. A folder of linked notes suits a notes app such as Obsidian.
Try before switching
All the tools below are free or have a free trial.

Questions

Can I use both?

Yes, and many people do: write in VS Code or Typora, and keep a viewer open to read the result, or to read files you don’t write yourself.

Is there a Markdown viewer that needs no install?

GitHub shows Markdown files formatted, and Google Drive previews them. Both need the file to be uploaded to them.

More guides

All guides · Quire homepage