Windows 10 / 11 · macOS 11+ (Apple Silicon)

A Typora alternative for the 90% of times you just read

Typora is a wonderful Markdown editor. But think about your last twenty .md opens — READMEs, docs, notes your AI tools just wrote. You didn't edit any of them. mdpeek is the missing reader: a 2 MB app that double-clicks any .md file open, rendered like a webpage, in under a second.

Download for Windows — Free Download for Mac — Free

2 MB installer · Zero config · 100% offline, no account, no ads

Different tools for different jobs

Let's be honest up front: Typora is an editor, and a genuinely good one. If you write Markdown all day — documentation, books, blog posts — buy Typora. It's $14.99 well spent, and this page won't pretend otherwise.

But writing and reading are different jobs, and most of us do far more of the second:

  • ·Typora is a ~110 MB WYSIWYG editor that boots in a few seconds — built for the writing desk.
  • ·mdpeek is a 2 MB dedicated viewer that opens in under a second — built for the reading you do all day.
  • ·Live refresh re-renders the moment anything saves the file — scroll position intact. Watching Claude, Cursor or Copilot write CLAUDE.md / AGENTS.md becomes a glance, not an editor juggling act.
  • ·Reading furniture included: floating outline, history grouped by day, favorites, 9 color themes plus dark mode, font and column-width controls, PDF / single-file HTML export.

So the real question isn't "Typora or mdpeek" — it's whether you need a reader that complements (or replaces) your editor. Keep Typora for writing; let mdpeek be the default app your .md files open in. Want the full three-way breakdown? Read mdpeek vs Typora vs VS Code.

Compared

mdpeek vs Typora, honestly

mdpeek Typora
PurposeDedicated .md readerWYSIWYG Markdown editor
PriceFree · $9.99 Pro one-time$14.99 one-time, up to 3 devices
Install size2 MB~110 MB (Windows)
Double-click a .md file✓ Opens rendered, under a secondEditor window, a few seconds
StartupUnder a secondA few seconds
EditingPro: F2 WYSIWYG live edit, F3 split-screen — great for quick fixes✓ Excellent full-time editor
Offline / no account✓ 100% local, no account, no ads✓ Works offline
Mermaid & math✓ Pro ($9.99)✓ Included
Trial modelFree forever · Pro: 100 trial opens, then a dismissible "Maybe Later"15-day free trial
Best forReading READMEs, docs, AI outputHeavy daily writing

Details on the free and Pro editions: pricing · Platform pages: Windows · macOS

Which one

An honest recommendation, both ways

When you should buy Typora instead

  • ·You write long Markdown daily — documentation, articles, a book.
  • ·You want one tool for writing and reading, and a few seconds of startup doesn't bother you.
  • ·You need Pandoc-style export variety — DOCX, EPUB, LaTeX and friends. mdpeek exports PDF and single-file HTML only.

Seriously — if that's you, Typora is excellent and worth every cent of its $14.99.

When mdpeek is the better fit

  • ·Most of your .md opens are reading: READMEs, docs, changelogs, AI-generated notes.
  • ·You watch files change live — live refresh keeps your scroll while AI tools write.
  • ·Quick typo fixes are enough — F2 live edit / F3 split-screen (Pro) cover that.
  • ·You're on a low-spec machine where 2 MB and under-a-second startup matter.
  • ·You want it free — the full reading experience costs nothing, forever.
FAQ

Typora alternative, answered

Is mdpeek a free Typora alternative?
Yes — for reading. The Community Edition is free forever with the complete reading experience: double-click open, live refresh, floating outline, history, 9 color themes plus dark mode, and PDF / single-file HTML export. The Pro Edition ($9.99 one-time) adds Mermaid diagrams, KaTeX math and two editing modes. If what you need is a full-time writing tool, Typora is the better buy.
Can mdpeek edit Markdown like Typora?
For quick edits, yes. mdpeek Pro adds F2 WYSIWYG Live Edit — Obsidian-style, you edit right in the rendered page — and F3 split-screen editing. That's ideal for fixing a typo or updating a line in a README. For heavy daily writing, Typora's editor remains the better tool; mdpeek is a reader first.
Is Typora worth $14.99?
If you write Markdown for a living, absolutely. It's a one-time purchase covering up to 3 devices, and its WYSIWYG editor is genuinely excellent. But if 90% of your .md opens are reading — READMEs, docs, AI-generated notes — a 110 MB editor booting for seconds just to read a file is overkill, and the money is better saved.
Can I use mdpeek and Typora together?
Yes — that's the setup we recommend. Set mdpeek as the default app for .md files so double-clicking opens them for instant reading. When you do need to write, press F4 inside mdpeek to jump straight into your editor (Typora, VS Code, anything) at the exact line you're reading. Reader and writer, each doing its job.
Does mdpeek work offline?
100%. mdpeek runs entirely locally: no account, no ads, no sign-in, and your files never leave your machine. Install it once and it works the same on a plane as it does at your desk.

Free to read. $9.99 if you ever need more.

2 MB installer, one-click setup, zero configuration, 100% offline. Community Edition free forever — and Pro never hard-locks: 100 free trial opens, then just a dismissible "Maybe Later".

Download for Windows Download for Mac

Windows 10 / 11 · macOS 11+ (Apple Silicon) · Prefer not to install anything? View Markdown online · Back to mdpeek home