Markdown note-taking and publication workflow
Zettlr is a cross-platform desktop Markdown editor and note-taking application aimed at writers/academics, offering citation management and Pandoc/LaTeX-based export to Word, PDF, HTML, and other formats.
Solves the same problem with a different architecture or at a different layer. Expect to rewrite the integration.
Pick Joplin when you need encrypted multi-device sync and mobile clients instead of an academic citation/export workbench.
Joplin - the privacy-focused note taking app with sync capabilities for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS.
Pick Notesnook when you want an Evernote-style, end-to-end encrypted notes app with sync rather than Pandoc/LaTeX publication features.
A fully open source & end-to-end encrypted note taking alternative to Evernote.
Pick VNote when you prefer a native C++/Qt desktop Markdown note-taking app and Vim-like controls over an Electron publication tool.
A pleasant note-taking platform in native C++.
Pick FSNotes when you are Apple-only and want native Markdown notes with iCloud sync on Mac and iPhone.
Fast Markdown note-taking app for Mac and iPhone
Pick flatnotes when you want a self-hosted, database-less web UI over a flat folder of Markdown files instead of a local desktop app.
A self-hosted, database-less note taking web app that utilises a flat folder of markdown files for storage.
Pick Foam when you already work in VS Code and want Markdown PKM with backlinks/graphs rather than a standalone desktop workbench.
A personal knowledge management and sharing system for VSCode
Pick YN when you want an extensible desktop Markdown editor with terminal, plugins, and applets instead of citation-aware publishing.
A highly extensible Markdown editor. Version control, AI Copilot, mind map, documents encryption, code snippet running, integrated terminal, chart embedding, HTML applets, Reveal.js, plug-in, and macro replacement.
Pick nb when you prefer a terminal/CLI note-taking system with local web access and Pandoc conversion over an Electron GUI.
CLI and local web plain text note‑taking, bookmarking, and archiving with linking, tagging, filtering, search, Git versioning & syncing, Pandoc conversion, + more, in a single portable script.
An earlier or more limited way to do the job. Still the right call when you need something small, proven, or CPU-only.
Pick MiaoYan when you only need a lightweight native macOS Markdown scratchpad, not citations, sync, or academic export.
⛷ Lightweight Markdown app to help you write great sentences.
Pick Dillinger when you need browser-based Markdown editing and cloud-service export without a local note library or citation tools.
The last Markdown editor, ever.
Pick Markor when you need Markdown/text notes and todos on Android only, not desktop publication features.
Text editor - Notes & ToDo (for Android) - Markdown, todo.txt, plaintext, math, ..
Pick MarkEdit when you want a simple native Mac TextEdit-style Markdown editor, not a full note/publication manager.
Just like TextEdit on Mac but dedicated to Markdown.
Pick MarkFlowy when you want WYSIWYG Markdown editing with AI assistance instead of a source-first Pandoc/LaTeX publishing workflow.
AI-powered cross-platform editor for WYSIWYG Markdown and general-purpose text editing.
Pick Solomd when you want a local-first Markdown vault and MCP integration for LLM coding agents over academic citation/export features.
A markdown editor — and the bridge to your LLM. Local-first, MIT, ~15 MB. Bundled MCP server lets Claude Code / Codex / Cursor drive your vault directly. 14 AI providers BYOK.
Pick MarkText when you want a simple cross-platform WYSIWYG Markdown editor without the citation, note-management, and Pandoc workbench.
📝A simple and elegant markdown editor, available for Linux, macOS and Windows.
Pick PanWriter when you want a focused Pandoc Markdown writer with paginated preview and citations but no full note library.
Markdown editor with pandoc integration and paginated preview.
Pick Marker when you need a minimal GTK3 Markdown editor on Linux rather than Zettlr's complete workbench.
🖊 A gtk3 markdown editor
These projects were analysed and named Zettlr among their alternatives. The relationship is not symmetric — how Zettlr rates them is a separate judgement, made when Zettlr is analysed in its own right.
calls Zettlr “Choose it when you write academic or Zettelkasten Markdown notes and want built-in citations, file management, and exports.”
The Markdown-based note-taking app that doesn't suck.
calls Zettlr “Choose when you want a standalone Electron Markdown editor with academic citation and Zettelkasten, without Yank Note's plugin/applet ecosystem.”
A highly extensible Markdown editor. Version control, AI Copilot, mind map, documents encryption, code snippet running, integrated terminal, chart embedding, HTML applets, Reveal.js, plug-in, and macro replacement.
calls Zettlr “Choose when you need citation support, Zettelkasten, and Pandoc publication workflows rather than MarkText's minimal writing UI.”
📝A simple and elegant markdown editor, available for Linux, macOS and Windows.
calls Zettlr “choose for academic writing and citation/export workflows rather than for general-purpose everyday Markdown notebooks.”
A pleasant note-taking platform in native C++.
calls Zettlr “Choose for academic writing with citations and full publication workflow; a heavier Electron-based editor.”
⛷ Lightweight Markdown app to help you write great sentences.