All Markdown vs StackEdit
StackEdit is an in-browser Markdown editor with a large feature set — sync with Google Drive, Dropbox and GitHub, publishing to blogging platforms, LaTeX maths, UML and Mermaid diagrams, and offline support.
| All Markdown | StackEdit | |
|---|---|---|
| Where documents are processed | In the browser tab, always | In the browser, with sync and publishing going through services |
| Account required | None, ever | None to write; provider accounts to sync or publish |
| Sync and publish | None by design | Google Drive, Dropbox, GitHub, blogging platforms |
| LaTeX maths and diagrams | Not supported | LaTeX, UML and Mermaid |
| Export formats | PDF, Word .docx, standalone HTML, Markdown, rich text | Markdown, HTML, PDF and styled variants |
| Import and convert | .docx, .html, PDF and pasted rich text convert to Markdown | Markdown files and synced documents |
| Interface size | Deliberately small | Large, with settings and extensions |
| Works offline | Yes, and installable as an app | Yes, through a service worker |
Two different bets
StackEdit bets that a Markdown editor should do everything: maths, diagrams, sync, publishing, workspaces, extensions. It is a serious piece of software and the bet pays off if you need those things.
All Markdown bets the opposite way. It does one category of thing — write, preview, convert, export — and it does it without a server. There is no sync because there is nothing to sync to, and that is not an omission; it is what the product is.
Where StackEdit is the better choice
- Your documents contain LaTeX equations, UML or Mermaid diagrams
- You want the same document available on every machine you use
- You publish to a blog or documentation platform from your editor
Where this one is
- The document should not travel, and you want that to be structurally true
- You are converting Word, PDF or pasted content into Markdown
- You want to open a file and start, with nothing to configure first
What StackEdit does better
- StackEdit renders LaTeX maths, UML and Mermaid diagrams. If your documents contain equations or diagrams, that is a decisive advantage and All Markdown does not have it.
- StackEdit can publish directly to blogging and documentation platforms, and synchronise a workspace with Google Drive, Dropbox or GitHub, so a document can live in one place and be edited from anywhere.
- StackEdit's feature surface is simply larger — comments, a scrollable table of contents, multiple workspaces, extension settings. If you want a lot of controls, it has them.
What All Markdown does better
- Nothing leaves the tab. StackEdit's sync and publishing features exist precisely because documents move; here they do not, and there is no account that could make them.
- The interface is deliberately small. Three view modes, a splitter, an export menu — the whole thing is learnable in a minute, which is the opposite trade StackEdit makes.
- Real conversion in and out — .docx, .html, PDF and pasted rich text become Markdown, and Markdown becomes a genuine .docx, a PDF or a standalone HTML file.
- No workspace concept to understand. Open a file, or drop one on the page, and it is there in a tab.
Which to choose
StackEdit is the better tool if your Markdown contains maths or diagrams, or if you want it synced to Drive or published straight to a blog — those are things this editor does not do and is not trying to. All Markdown is the better tool when the document is confidential, when you are converting Word or PDF files rather than authoring from scratch, or when you want an editor you do not have to learn. If you are choosing on privacy alone, the distinction that matters is that StackEdit's best features require the document to move and this one has no mechanism that could move it.
Common questions
- What is the main difference between All Markdown and StackEdit?
- Scope and destination. StackEdit is a large editor built around synchronising and publishing documents to other services; All Markdown is a small one built around never sending them anywhere. Both edit Markdown in a browser tab with a live preview.
- Does All Markdown support LaTeX or Mermaid diagrams?
- No. StackEdit does, and if your documents contain equations or diagrams it is the better choice for that reason alone. All Markdown covers GitHub Flavored Markdown — headings, lists, tables, task lists, code blocks with syntax highlighting, footnotes and front matter.
- Can I move my documents from StackEdit to All Markdown?
- Yes. Export them from StackEdit as .md files and drop them anywhere on the editor page, or paste the Markdown straight in. Nothing is uploaded when you do — the file is read by the browser, not sent to a server.
- Do my documents stay on my device?
- Yes. They are held in this browser's local storage and never transmitted. Closing the tab keeps them; clearing the browser's data or using the Reset button removes them, and there is no copy anywhere else because none was ever made.
- Which is faster?
- Both open in a browser tab, so neither has an install to wait for. All Markdown ships a deliberately small critical path and loads the heavier converters only when you ask for one, which makes the first paint quicker; StackEdit does more once it is running.
Written from public information about StackEdit and from using it. Features change; if something here is out of date, the other project's own documentation is the authority, not this page.