A Markdown viewer for Mac.
Which kind do you need?

Which kind of Markdown app do you need?

Start with the document and the task. A file you need to glance at in Finder does not necessarily need a full editing environment. A draft that you will revise all afternoon deserves one. A set of linked specifications benefits from navigation between files as well as headings within a page.

A useful shortlist has three categories:

• Readers: open an existing file as a document and keep the rendered content central.
• Editors and note systems: make writing, revising or maintaining a collection the main activity.
• Preview and publishing companions: keep your existing editor and add proofing, presentation or output controls.

These categories overlap. QuickMD has source editing. Typora has folders and an outline. Obsidian opens external files. Marked follows linked documents. Choose the working arrangement, not a label that makes the other apps sound less capable.

The options at a glance

Scroll sideways to see every column →

The individual pages link the official documentation and explain the practical differences. Price is one part of the choice; a free tool that does the job is a sensible outcome. Taxes, purchase channels and licence terms may differ.

If you mostly read files written elsewhere

For READMEs, specifications and agent-generated reports, start by checking how you enter and leave the document. Does it open from its existing location? Can you find the current heading? Can you follow a supporting file and return to the original passage?

MacMD Viewer makes the source boundary explicit: it is read-only. QuickMD combines native reading with optional source corrections. Aero Markdown also allows corrections, but puts the folder tree, page and outline together. Its relative links and back/forward history are intended for reading a project as a connected set.

The first question is therefore not which app renders a short paragraph. It is whether you need one document or the surrounding folder. For an occasional file, the free browser reader may be enough. It has a narrower scope than the Mac app: it does not follow local-file links, load images, or render Mermaid and math.

If you mostly write or maintain notes

A live-preview editor can let you write directly in formatted text. Typora documents a file tree, outline, local-file links and extensive export options. It is relevant when the same surface needs to support drafting and reading. Its feature page explains that approach.

Obsidian’s main value is the note system around local files. A vault can be an existing folder, and Markdown links can coexist with Obsidian-specific syntax. Importantly, the 1.14 desktop release also opens individual external files and adds macOS Quick Look. You do not have to call it cloud-only or vault-only to explain why a separate reader may suit a project review.

MarkText is relevant when the writing environment must work across macOS, Windows and Linux. Original MacDown is relevant to source-and-preview editing, but identify the exact release or continuation before using old feature descriptions. A reader can sit beside an editor you already like; the decision does not have to replace your writing setup.

If you prepare a finished publication

When the output needs a particular format or presentation, work backward from that artifact. A PDF reading copy, a manuscript and an EPUB are different requirements.

Marked 3 documents proofing and a broad publishing workflow beside an external editor. Its export documentation and linked-file navigation deserve attention if you need both output controls and movement through related documents. Finder Quick Look is provided by the separate Marked QL product.

Aero Markdown’s output is narrower: print, PDF and local HTML from the document you are reading. It is appropriate to evaluate those commands for a reading copy, without presenting them as a replacement for a publication system. Open the saved result outside the app and inspect tables, images, diagrams and links before handing it off.

Quick Look, reload and auto-open are three different things

Quick Look is the Finder preview you invoke with Space. A compatible extension supplies the rendered Markdown. It helps you inspect a file without settling into a full reading session. MacMD Viewer and recent Obsidian versions document this; Aero Markdown includes it in its native project.

Reload refreshes a document that is already open after its source changes. In Aero Markdown, it preserves the current heading when there are no unsaved edits. If you have also edited, your text remains and the app reports the disk change. Reload does not imply that every new file in the folder opens itself.

Auto-open needs another action or integration to tell the reader which file to show. Aero Markdown’s optional local hooks cover Claude Code, Cursor and Windsurf. Codex is not in that list, although rewriting the file already open can trigger reload. MacMD Viewer also documents optional agent integrations. Check this boundary separately from the phrase “live preview.”

A short test with your actual documents

Choose a representative folder, or download our fictional project kit. Keep the source files and local assets together, then work through these tasks:

1. Open the README and identify the project’s purpose.
2. Follow the specification into architecture and decisions.
3. Return to the acceptance criteria without losing the route.
4. Read a wide table, code block and diagram that matter to you.
5. Save a change from another editor and inspect the reload behavior.
6. If you need editing, correct a copy and verify the saved source.
7. Export a reading copy and open it outside the app.

Record the version, settings and any task that felt awkward. A missing test result is not a missing feature. If an available app already handles your files comfortably, use it. Consider Aero Markdown when its connected reading arrangement solves a repeated need, and confirm its availability before planning around a download.