Life & fun · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to Writing – A lightweight distraction-free editor (MathJax and Markdown)

Writing is a lightweight distraction-free text editor, in the browser (Markdown and LaTeX supported). - josephernest/writing

Writing is a lightweight, distraction-free text editor designed for users who want to focus on their content. It supports Markdown formatting and MathJax for mathematical expressions, making it suitable for writers… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Writing – A lightweight distraction-free editor (MathJax and Markdown) launched in 2017; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1. 1
   Simply Write▲154

   Distraction-free writing tool

   2025 · simplywrite.online · its alternatives →

2. 2AD
   a distraction-free Markdown editor▲74

   2012 · pencil.asleepysamurai.com · its alternatives →

3. 3
   BetterWrite▲134

   So this weekend I and a friend of mine (@ronitrajfr) created a minimalist writing editor. It's ui is clean, beautiful and distraction free, it also has a vim mode and everything stays on your computer no authentication is required to write your thoughts and all we wanted an application where we just start typing with no BS and that's what we made. and did I tell ya that it's open source as well lmk your thoughts and feedback!!

   Dec 2025 · betterwrite.ronitt.xyz · its alternatives →

4. 4
   IO▲633

   A light-weight and powerful editor for authentic writing

   2016 · its alternatives →

5. 5AS
   A small weekend project - Distraction Free Writing▲43

   2013 · solitarydesigns.net · its alternatives →

6. 6
   Writty▲292

   An open-source text editor to help you focus on what matters

   2020 · its alternatives →

7. 7OA
   OverType – A Markdown WYSIWYG editor that's just a textarea▲471

   Hi HN! I got so frustrated with modern WYSIWYG editors that I started to play around with building my own. The problem I had was simple: I wanted a low-tech way to type styled text, but I didn't want to load a complex 500KB library, especially if I was going to initialize it dozens of times on the same page. Markdown in a plain was the best alternative to a full WYSIWYG, but its main drawback is how ugly it looks without any formatting. I can handle it, but my clients certainly can't. I went down the ContentEditable rabbit hole for a few years, but always came to realize others had solved it…

   2025 · its alternatives →

8. 8WM
   Write.md – a shareable distraction-free Markdown editor▲105

   2020 · writemd.xyz · its alternatives →

9. 9IV
   I've built yet another distraction free writing app which exports LaTeX▲45

   MonsterWriter is the academic writing tool for students and researchers. Distraction-free document editing, powerful citation management, and full LaTeX workspace support. Better than Overleaf.

   2020 · monsterwriter.app · its alternatives →

10. 10
    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 →

11. 11
    Left▲383

    A minimalist multi-platform text editor

    2018 · hundredrabbits.itch.io · its alternatives →

12. 12
    Write▲76

    clean, simple and distraction-free writing environment

    2019 · write.techulus.com · its alternatives →

13. 13LF
    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 →

14. 14
    Write – a distraction-free text editor to improve your writing skills▲12

    A distraction-free text editor to improve your writing skills - stoope/writer

    2023 · github.com · its alternatives →

15. 15
    Sentence Studio▲147

    The only way to get (really) good at writing

    2024 · sentencestudio.pages.dev · its alternatives →

16. 16DF
    Distraction Free Reader/Writer▲85

    2013 · inkpen.in · its alternatives →

17. 17
    Easy Writer▲115

    Simple, elegant, distraction free writing.

    2018 · apps.microsoft.com · its alternatives →

18. 18
    Paragraphs▲272

    A minimalist writing app for Mac

    2015 · its alternatives →

19. 19
    Turn your fancy, expensive computer into a stupid typewriter▲90

    A tool for just writing. No editing allowed.

    2020 · couchto50k.club · its alternatives →

20. 20RT
    Rich Text Math Editing on the Web with Markdown and AsciiMath▲45

    2021 · writer.math.dev · its alternatives →

21. 21
    Write.md▲137

    Sharable, distraction free markdown editor.

    2020 · its alternatives →

22. 22
    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 →

23. 23
    Let's Markdown!▲81

    Write Markdown together

    2022 · kudasakti168login.com · its alternatives →

24. 24WO
    Writedown - Open Source Markdown Diary▲99

    2023 · writedown.app · 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 →