Marked Review (2026): Pricing, Features & Honest Verdict

TLDR

Marked is a macOS Markdown previewer and proofreading tool that live-renders any editor’s Markdown with custom themes, exports, and writing checks. We found it the best Markdown preview companion on the Mac, and it has held that spot for years. Best for: Mac writers and developers who live in Markdown. Price: from $29.99/year or a one-time lifetime unlock (free trial). Rating: 7.9/10.

What is Marked?

Marked is a Mac app that watches a Markdown file and renders a live, styled preview as you write in whatever editor you prefer. That last part is the whole point. Marked does not try to be your editor. It sits next to BBEdit, VS Code, Scrivener, Word, Obsidian, or plain TextEdit and shows you a clean preview of the document, updating every time you save. It was built by Brett Terpstra, a developer who has been a fixture in the Mac and Markdown community for over a decade.

Marked 3 is the current version, and it adds more than a pretty preview. It includes proofreading tools that flag repeated words, weak writing, and readability problems, plus a wide set of export options. For people who write in Markdown but need to deliver a PDF, an EPUB, or a styled HTML page, Marked is the bridge between a plain text file and a finished document.

What are Marked’s key features?

Live preview for any editor

Point Marked at a file and it renders it instantly, refreshing on every save. Because it is editor-agnostic, you keep your existing setup and just add a preview window. This is a much better model than switching to a Markdown app that forces its own editor on you, and it is why long-time users keep Marked around.

Proofreading and style checking

Marked 3 includes proofing tools that catch repeated words, overused phrases, weak writing, and readability issues, with readability statistics on demand. For writers who edit their own work, this is a genuine reason to keep Marked open rather than treating it as a passive preview pane.

Powerful export options

You can export to PDF, HTML, DOCX, EPUB, RTF, and more, with full control over the output through custom CSS themes. That means a Markdown draft can become a branded PDF or a clean web page without copying text into another app. The CSS theming is deep enough that you can match a house style.

Custom themes and navigation

Marked ships with multiple preview themes and supports your own CSS, so the preview can look like your final published page. It also handles wiki-style navigation with backlinks and includes a speed-reading mode, which are nice touches for people managing larger sets of linked notes.

How much does Marked cost?

Marked 3 launched with introductory pricing of $2.99 per month, $29.99 per year, or a one-time lifetime unlock, and it offers a free trial so you can test it before paying. The older Marked 2 remains available as a $14.99 one-time purchase for people who do not want the new version’s extra features.

The move to a subscription is the controversial part. Marked 2 was a one-time $14.99 app, and some long-time owners are not thrilled about a recurring fee. That said, the yearly price is low for a tool you use every day, and the lifetime unlock option exists for anyone who refuses to rent software. Compared to all-in-one Markdown editors like Ulysses at around $5.99 per month or iA Writer at a one-time $49.99, Marked is cheap because it does one job instead of replacing your whole workflow.

Who is Marked best for?

Use Marked if you write a lot of Markdown on a Mac and want a live preview, proofing, and export without abandoning your current editor. It is ideal for technical writers, developers writing docs, bloggers, and anyone juggling Markdown across several apps.

Skip Marked if you work on Windows, Linux, or in the browser, because it is macOS only. Also skip it if your editor already gives you a preview you are happy with and you never need styled exports or proofing. Marked is a companion app, and if you do not feel the gap it fills, you do not need it.

Best Marked alternatives

Obsidian is a free, cross-platform notes app with a built-in Markdown preview and a huge plugin ecosystem, though it is an editor and knowledge base rather than a dedicated previewer.

Typora is a clean $14.99 one-time Markdown editor with seamless live preview built in, available on Mac, Windows, and Linux, for people who want editing and preview in one window.

iA Writer is a focused $49.99 Markdown writing app with strong export and a distraction-free interface, a better fit if you want a polished editor instead of a preview companion.

Final verdict: Is Marked worth it?

Marked is worth it if Markdown is part of your daily work and you have settled on an editor you do not want to leave. Nothing else does the editor-agnostic preview-and-proof job as cleanly, and the export options turn plain text into deliverables without friction. At $29.99 a year, or a one-time lifetime unlock, it is an easy call for heavy Markdown users.

The subscription shift is a fair gripe, and if you only occasionally touch Markdown, the free preview in your editor or a tool like Typora will cover you. But for writers and developers who open a Markdown file every day, Marked remains the most capable preview companion on the Mac, and the lifetime option removes the only real objection to buying it.