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iA Writer vs MarkText: catalog facts
iA Writer	MarkText
Paid A paid purchase or subscription is required, depending on platform.	Free Free and open source under the MIT licence, funded by community sponsorship.
Windows, macOS, Android, iOS	Windows, macOS, Linux
Syntax control highlights adjectives, conjunctions and filler words Plain Markdown files in your own folders, with no proprietary library	Live in-place rendering with no preview pane and no leftover syntax characters CommonMark, GitHub Flavored Markdown and some Pandoc Markdown, plus KaTeX maths
Paid on every platform, with separate purchases in places Deliberately few features; it is not an organiser or notebook	Development is slow, with long gaps between releases Electron, so it is heavy for a text editor
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Closed source	Open source
License not stated	License: MIT
Not stated if an account is needed	No account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 22, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 21, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.