Dev tools · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to MiaoYan

Lightweight Markdown app to help you write great sentences.

Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. MiaoYan launched in 2022; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1. 1
   Typora▲236

   A truly minimal markdown editor.

   2019 · typora.io · its alternatives →

2. 2
   Typed▲256

   The stunning markdown and writing app for Mac

   2014 · realmacsoftware.com · its alternatives →

3. 3
   Hemingway Editor 3.0▲410

   Make your writing bold and clear, send to Medium/Wordpress

   2017 · hemingwayapp.com · its alternatives →

4. 4
   An open-source, collaborative, WYSIWYG Markdown editor▲460

   Inspired by the design and UI/UX of apps like Notion, and utility of open-source apps like StackEdit, I decided to create a minimalistic, local-only WYSIWYG Markdown editor. Some features worth highlighting: - Monaco editor and Prettier integration for code snippets - Tables (apparently the holy grail of WYSIWYG editing) - Embeds (for CodePen, CodeSandbox and YouTube, most useful for HTML or JSON exports) - Accepts Markdown paste-in, and "exports"/generates HTML, Markdown and JSON outputs - Collaboration (with real-time awareness and initial commenting system, available only when…

   2023 · editor.vrite.io · its alternatives →

5. 5
   Fluently Beta▲500

   Write fluently in any language

   2020 · fluently.so · its alternatives →

6. 6
   OpenMarkdown▲189

   A feather-light, local-first Markdown editor built for you and your agent.

   Jul 2026 · openmarkdown.dev · its alternatives →

7. 7
   Kraa 1.0▲359

   Hi HN! Excited to share the public beta of Kraa – a web-based markdown editor. It's aiming to be distraction-free and has strong separation of the document's styling from the experience of writing it — while still alowing for rich customization. Example of a leaf with custom styles: https://kraa.io/kraa/examples/echolibrary Curious about your feedback in hopes of improving Kraa before the planned launch later this year.

   Dec 2025 · kraa.io · its alternatives →

8. 8LF
   LightPaper for Mac – Free Markdown editor▲132

   I'm not the author of the app (nor i have any connection with them, just a random user). iA Writer and Writer Pro aren't well suited for me as a developer. They feel quite "strange" to me. Mou is a good option (free too) but still missing some features. So far this, this editor is the most complete user-friendly. Hope it helps!

   2013 · clockworkengine.com · its alternatives →

9. 9
   NotePlan 3▲264

   Native (Mac & iOS) note-taking based on local Markdown files

   2020 · noteplan.co · its alternatives →

10. 10
    Canvas for iOS▲307

    Write with your team, in realtime, using markdown

    2016 · its alternatives →

11. 11
    Neptune by Hashnode▲250

    Our Markdown-based WYSIWYG editor for composing blog posts

    2022 · hashnode.com · its alternatives →

12. 12
    TOAST UI Editor▲119

    Markdown WYSIWYG editor

    2018 · its alternatives →

13. 13
    MagicDown▲96

    A minimal markdown editor making your writing look magical ✨

    2018 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →

14. 14
    A Markdown Notepad App▲57

    A markdown notepad app. Contribute to kenforthewin/noted development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2019 · github.com · its alternatives →

15. 15
    Textual Markdown – a Markdown “browser” in the terminal▲254

    Hi HN, This is a TUI app which displays interactive Markdown documents. Interactive in the sense that you can scroll code fences / tables / and click links. There's a Table of Contents extracted from the MD, and a very rudimentary browser like forward + back. I'm thinking it could be the starting point for a variety of hypertext like applications in the terminal. Very much a work in progress.

    2022 · github.com · its alternatives →

16. 16
    Macdown▲87

    Open source Markdown editor for macOS. Contribute to MacDownApp/macdown development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2014 · github.com · its alternatives →

17. 17
    Typed▲104

    New Markdown Editor for Mac by Realmac Software (pre-launch)

    2014 · realmacsoftware.com · its alternatives →

18. 18
    iA Writer 6▲144

    A laser focused writing app

    2022 · ia.net · its alternatives →

19. 19
    flomo▲90

    The minimal memo taking tool to empower better thinking

    2021 · flomoapp.com · its alternatives →

20. 20
    Typewriter for Markdown▲67

    iOS and macOS native markdown editor with live preview

    2021 · eightysix.github.io · its alternatives →

21. 21
    Hemingway Desktop App▲218

    An editor that makes your writing bold and clear.

    2014 · hemingwayapp.com · its alternatives →

22. 22IS
    I spent 10 months building a Markdown editor for Mac, iOS and web▲69

    25d ago · markdown.beauty · its alternatives →

23. 23
    Fluently▲159

    Write fluently in any language

    2021 · fluently.so · its alternatives →

24. 24
    Dumbdown – A dumb alternative to Markdown▲107

    Scroll is a language for scientists of all ages. Scroll includes a command line app that builds static blogs, websites, CSVs, text files, and more. - breck7/scroll

    2021 · github.com · its alternatives →

Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →