Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

1 Writer VS MacDown

Compare 1 Writer VS MacDown and see what are their differences

1 Writer logo 1 Writer

Beautiful & easy to use Markdown editor w/ powerful features

MacDown logo MacDown

MacDown is an open source Markdown editor for OS X, released under the MIT License.
  • 1 Writer Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-17
  • MacDown Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-09-30

1 Writer features and specs

  • Markdown Support
    1Writer provides excellent support for Markdown, allowing users to format documents with ease and create clean, readable text.
  • iCloud and Dropbox Sync
    This app offers seamless integration with iCloud and Dropbox, enabling users to sync their documents across multiple devices effortlessly.
  • Customizable Editor
    1Writer allows users to customize the editing interface, including themes and font options, to create a personalized writing environment.
  • JavaScript Automation
    Users can automate repetitive tasks using JavaScript, enhancing productivity by creating their own scripts for common actions.
  • In-App Browser
    The built-in browser allows users to research content without leaving the app, providing a more streamlined writing and editing workflow.

Possible disadvantages of 1 Writer

  • Limited Platform Availability
    1Writer is only available on iOS devices, restricting access for those who primarily use other operating systems like Android or Windows.
  • No Native Collaboration Features
    The app lacks built-in collaboration tools, which can be a drawback for users who need real-time collaboration on documents.
  • One-Time Purchase Cost
    While the app is available for a one-time purchase, the absence of a free version may be a barrier for users unwilling to pay upfront without trying the full feature set.
  • Learning Curve for Automation
    Utilizing JavaScript for automation may be challenging for users unfamiliar with programming, posing a potential learning curve.
  • Basic File Management
    File management within the app is relatively basic, which might not meet the needs of users seeking advanced organizational features.

MacDown features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    MacDown features a clean and intuitive interface, making it accessible for both novice and experienced users to write and edit Markdown.
  • Live Preview
    It provides a live preview feature that allows users to see the rendered Markdown output alongside the editor, which is useful for immediate visual feedback.
  • Open-Source
    MacDown is an open-source application, allowing users to contribute to its development or customize the tool to fit their specific needs.
  • Keyboard Shortcuts
    The application supports a variety of keyboard shortcuts, enhancing productivity and enabling faster Markdown editing.
  • Customizable Themes
    Users can customize the editor's themes and styles, allowing personalization to suit individual preferences or to have a specific aesthetic.

Possible disadvantages of MacDown

  • Mac-Only
    MacDown is only available for macOS, limiting its use to Mac users and excluding those on other operating systems like Windows or Linux.
  • Limited Advanced Features
    Compared to some other Markdown editors, MacDown might lack certain advanced features that power users might expect, such as integrated version control.
  • Performance Issues
    Some users have reported performance issues, such as lag or crashes, especially when working with large Markdown files.
  • Slow Development
    The development and update cycle for MacDown can be slow, meaning that bugs and feature requests might take longer to be addressed.
  • Learning Curve for Customization
    While customizable, new users might find the process of tweaking themes and styles to be complex and time-consuming.

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MacDown videos

BARRAS DE CORTE DA MACDOWN | APRESENTANDO MODs | FS19

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to 1 Writer and MacDown)
Markdown Editor
13 13%
87% 87
Text Editors
10 10%
90% 90
Office & Productivity
100 100%
0% 0
Markdown Viewer
12 12%
88% 88

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, MacDown should be more popular than 1 Writer. It has been mentiond 8 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

1 Writer mentions (4)

  • Typewriter 2.0: search for the perfect writing experience on iPad
    This made me try several significantly cheaper alternatives to iA Writer: iWriter Pro, 1Writer, and Byword. All have the same issue: Markdown syntax highlighting is too bright for my taste. I can recommend iWriter Pro, though, if you could live with bright colors — it’s a decent app and almost ten times cheaper than iA Writer. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • FSNotes v5: Notes manager for macOS and iOS – native, open source
    Lot's of discussion about other apps but none cover the main selling point for me. FSNotes was created initially as an open source Notational Velocity / NVAlt replacement when NVAlt broke on one of the MacOS version upgrades. It can be configured to replicate the amazing modal search / create interface from those apps. There is also NVUltra [0] from Brett Terpstra, his successor to NVAlt. It is still in beta after... - Source: Hacker News / over 3 years ago
  • ZK and Apple Notes (or alternative)
    To get started with Zettelkasten on iOS for free, I recommend either Craft, 1Writer, or Remnote. With 1Writer, you can work directly with markdown files (unlike Craft) as well as use bidirectional linking which can easily interface well with other top-tier apps like Obsidian, Logseq, etc. later. With Remnote, there's no official iOS app yet but you can create, edit and access your notes from any web browser,... Source: about 4 years ago
  • [FEATURE] A Bunch of Feature Requests From a Passionate New NotePlan User
    1Writer does this really well and is pretty easy for non-technical users. Drafts has insanely powerful custom keyboard features, and is generally just a beast of a text editor, but it’s much more complicated and not particularly user friendly for the less geeky crowd. Source: about 4 years ago

MacDown mentions (8)

  • Show HN: NotesHub: cross-platform, Markdown-based note-taking app
    Thank you for crafting and sharing this. Have been looking for a modern MacDown[0] replacement, and this fit the bill nicely. Especially appreciate the reasonable, one-time cost and support for local storage. The "Key Features" section mentions "Export notes to PDF"; please consider adding an "Export notes to HTML" option. Custom theme support for the preview pane via CSS would be helpful too. [0]... - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
  • Epub rendering with Pandoc
    I write a LOT of documentation in Markdown for $DAYJOB. I normally use Marked2 (not free, but I paid for my license 7-8 years ago) or MacDown (free) to preview them, and to export them to PDF. Both of these programs are specific to macOS, but a web search for "markdown editor" turns up a few dozen others, for other platforms. Most of these will have an "export to PDF" function built into them. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Good Free Application For Reading `.md` Files On Mac Pro
    MacDown is free, open source and super simple. Has been my go-to Markdown editor for years. Highly recommend. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Ask HN: Is there any beautiful Markdown editor?
    Macdown: https://macdown.uranusjr.com/ And here's a huge list: https://github.com/mundimark/awesome-markdown-editors. - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
  • High probability of conversion issues from PDF to Epub
    So I convert the PDF to Markdown format. Then I use my Markdown editor of choice, Macdown, to clean up the text and then convert the resulting document into the format that I want. Source: over 2 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing 1 Writer and MacDown, you can also consider the following products

Pine - A lightweight, modern macOS markdown editor written in Swift

Typora - A minimal Markdown reading & writing app.

Dillinger - joemccann has 95 repositories available. Follow their code on GitHub.

Markdown by DaringFireball - Text-to-HTML conversion tool/syntax for web writers, by John Gruber

EME - Elegant Markdown editor

Write.md - Sharable, distraction free markdown editor.